The first type of addition we are going to talk about is the garage addition. When it comes to garage additions, they bring a great range of advantages. Doing a garage addition does not require drywall or finished flooring, heating or cooling systems, which makes it a simple and pretty straightforward addition. You can make a garage addition in order to make room for your car (some insurance premiums can be reduced by having a garage space for your cars) or use it like a storage space for gardening supplies, sporting equipment, different collections, old furniture or clothes you are planning to donate. The biggest advantage about adding a garage to your home is the fact that many people ignore homes without garages when looking for a house to buy, because it’s such and important commodity.

Next, we are going to talk about kitchen expansions, which are also extremely important when planning to sell a home, because they will definitely make your home stand out from other traditional homes. Expanding your kitchen can also bring you a lot of other advantages, since you can use the space for new appliances, such as a new dishwasher, but also for storage.

Other great home additions would be bedroom suites or a second bathroom. Now, if the garage is not a simple project, these are even more complex. So, if you feel that you don’t have enough experience in the area, you should hire a good renovation contractor. That’s quite easy to do. For example, if you live in the Calgary area, all you have to do is to do an online search and type in “home additions Calgary” and you will find all the information you need.

A renovation isn’t a simple job, and it can become troublesome if you have a historic home you are planning to renovate. In case you don’t have experience in the field, we have to point out that a renovation isn’t the same thing with preservation and restoration. The act of preserving a historic home means taking all the needed measures in order to maintain its current state while restoration means returning the home to its previous state. As we said, renovation has elements of both, because it restores the home to its previous, historically accurate state, while making some adjustments to suit the modern lifestyle.

Because it can be really difficult to do a proper historic home renovation, in this article, we are going to give you some valuable information regarding this process.

The first thing you should know is the fact that there are three important elements that shouldn’t be missing. First of all, you will need to get educated in this matter, get all the information you need regarding legislation and make a thorough plan.

Although usually the craftsmen you will hire will have the ability to guide you through the renovation, you still have to be as informed as possible. This way, you will have the ability to make the right decisions. You may wonder how you can achieve that. Well, you can visit a local preservation association or a community restoration group so that you can learn from the experience of others. To find out more about the legislation regarding the renovation of historic homes, you can simply do an online search with the region where you live, like “historic home renovation Calgary”.

Next, you will have to find great, trustworthy contractors and then obtain some of the special materials, that usually can’t be found during a trip to Home Depot. You can find great contractors by asking for referrals from friends, family or neighbors. Carefully look through their portfolio and make sure that they have successfully handled historic renovations before. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and clear up any misunderstandings, so that you won’t have any unpleasant surprises in the future. To make sure that you choose the right contractor, go to the Better Business Bureau site and see what their feedback score is, and consult the opinions of past customers and see if they have some unsolved issues.

Renovating a home is never an easy job, especially for someone who is doing it for the first time. That is why it is best to learn from the mistakes of others who have done it before you. In this article, we are going to give you a glimpse of what a renovation means, by counting the biggest renovation mistakes a homeowner can make.

1) The first mistake you can make when renovating your home for the first time is buying the cheapest materials. You may think that you are doing a great job saving money, but the truth is that in the end, you get what you pay for, meaning less quality. If you feel like buying quality materials is just too much for you right now, you should wait until you have more money so that you can do a proper renovation.

2) A second mistake would be taking inaccurate measurements. If you want to do the renovation on your own, you have to be very careful when taking the measurements, because an inch can make all the difference and if you measure incorrectly, you will waste materials, without getting the results you’re after.

3) Another common mistake is skipping prep work and beginning the renovation without enough planning. Although you may think that this saves you time and money, in the end, you will see that you will get the opposite result.

4) You may be tempted to use the tools you have and improvise instead of investing in new tools, also to save some money. However, this can be a big mistake, that can have two consequences: you will either break the tool or ruin the project altogether (in some cases both can happen).

5) The last mistake we are going to talk about is not realizing the importance of lighting. The right lighting fixtures can completely change the look of the home and can bring a whole new ambiance.

An extra piece of advice we have for you is about renovation contractors. Definitely the biggest mistake you can make is trying to complete a renovation project without having enough experience, because, as we said in the beginning of the article, renovations aren’t as simple as they sometimes seem. That’s why it’s better to have an experienced contractor handle the project. Finding contractors in your area is quite easy, you just have to use some keywords and your location, like “exterior house renovations Calgary” and you will get all the contact information you need.

No matter how modern your kitchen may be, you just can’t imagine one without cabinets. Many people overlook kitchen cabinetry when renovating and redesigning their homes, because they assume they are just boxes with shelves, but the truth is that the kitchen is the focal point of every home and each detail should represent your personality. In this article, we are going to talk about custom cabinets and all the advantages they can bring.

Although they can sometimes be more expensive than regular cabinets, custom made cabinets offer a broad range of advantages, the most important one being the fact that they offer unlimited freedom when it comes to choosing the design of your kitchen. By using custom cabinetry, you can make your dream kitchen a reality.

Also, the fact that they are made by hand, and not on assembly lines, gives them a longer life and a more detailed look. That’s because custom cabinet makers take pride in their trade and only use quality materials, giving in the same time special attention to every detail of their products.

Another great advantage of choosing custom cabinetry is being able to choose the type of wood you use, as well as its source. You can purchase hardwood from a local source and negotiate its price.

You can always choose the elements you want to include in the cabinets, as well as their size. A custom cabinet will always fit in your kitchen perfectly, which means that you will be able to make the most out of the space you have. You can cover every inch of your kitchen, which is great, especially if you have a limited space.

As you can see, custom made kitchen cabinets may be more expensive than regular ones, but given the fact they have so many advantages, you will get high-quality cabinets for basically the same price.

If you are thinking about choosing a custom kitchen, but you don’t have a contractor in mind, you should know that there are a lot of businesses out there that can make your custom cabinets or can cover all the aspects of a custom kitchen as a whole. To find such a contractor, you can ask for referrals from friends, neighbors or family or you can do a simple online search. For example, if you live in Calgary, you can simply search for custom kitchen Calgary and you will obtain a list with all the contractors in your area.

If you are planning to invest in a home, you have to know everything there is to know about the types of homes that are available out there. Every one of them has its advantages and disadvantages, so it’s best to have it all laid on the table and make an informed decision. This is why, in this article, we are going to talk about the three main types of houses available on the market, custom houses, spec homes, and tract homes. Many people don’t know what they are and what are the differences between them, so we are going to give you some information on the subject.

Custom homes are the types of homes that are built to suit the taste of the owner. The customers are always involved in the building process and have a great deal of freedom when it comes to choosing colors, materials, fixtures, design and many other aspects of the home. Choosing to have a custom home built is the perfect way to get your dream home. This is probably the main advantage of a custom home, the fact that the owner has complete control over the end result.

The main disadvantage of building a custom home is definitely the uncertainty, because the truth is there’s no guarantee that the project will turn out as you imagine it. By buying a home that is already built, you don’t buy the house of your dreams, but you know what you are paying for, while in the case of a custom built home it is sometimes hard to see the bigger picture. This is why it is so important to choose a great contractor. You can easily find a list with possible contractors in your area by doing a simple online search. For example, if you live in the Calgary area, you can simply type in “custom built homes Calgary” and you will get an extensive list, which you can narrow down by looking at online feedback, experience and portfolio.

Spec homes are homes that are built for a speculative purpose, to be sold later on. Although the buyer can have some options if the home isn’t completely finished (selections like paint and tile color, general design etc.), buying a spec home usually means limited freedom of choice for the owner.

Tract homes are the most inexpensive types of homes available out there, because the contractors buy the building products in bulk, at a much cheaper price. Their main advantage is their price, but this may mean that the quality of the build may have been neglected when some of the building choices were made.

Renovating your home is never easy, especially if it’s the first time you are doing this. That’s why, in this particular article, we are going to give you some advice on what to do when planning to renovate your home. So, when you start to renovate your home, you have to follow some basic steps to ensure that the renovation is done properly:

1) First check the wiring and, if necessary, get it done by a professional. In most cases, homes & older buildings have very few electrical outlets, so this would be the perfect time to fix them. Therefore, our recommendation is to have the electrician install more outlets. If necessary, you should also contact a plumber and have the pipes changed.

2) If the walls are brick and you are looking to add suspended furniture, our advice for you is to mount plugs before painting.

3) If you smoke in the house, avoid white walls. You can try darker shades, like gray. Unlike shades of yellow or beige, or blue / green, on which tobacco is highly visible, gray is neutral enough to be ideal for kitchens where people smoke constantly.

4) When it comes to flooring, it must be chosen with a lot of care. You might want white, but it’s not always a good idea. It’s better if you choose a neutral color because if the floor is too dark or too light, you will see every speck of dust. Therefore, a “middle” solution would be preferred.

5) Find a top contractor. Unless you have a lot of free time and renovation expertise, it’s always a good idea to hire a contractor to take care of the job for you. There are a lot of companies in that field, so it isn’t so difficult to find a list with potential contractors. For example, if you live in the Calgary area, all you have to do is to make a simple online search and type in “renovation Calgary”. However, the trick is to narrow down the list by going to their website and checking if they have enough experience in the field, lists with past projects and all the licenses and permits they may need. Next, you can go on Houzz or other similar sites and see if a certain company has a good feedback score. Another useful tool you can use when looking for a great contractor is the Better Business Bureau Site, where you can find relevant information about a certain company, as well as feedback from past customers.

Renovating your home is a very important process, so having a good relationship with the contractor of your choice and making informed decisions is very important. That’s why, in this article, we are going to give you some advice on all the things you should do to make sure that the renovation goes smoothly.

The first thing you should do is to establish exactly what you want to achieve through the renovation. A contractor can advise and guide you, but you can’t expect them to have all the answers. In order to give them a clear image of what you want a certain room to look like, you have to be clear about your preferences. To achieve this, you can make a short list with the things you don’t like about your home and how you would like to change them. Before discussing this with the contractor, make sure to show the list to your family, to see if they agree or if they have something to add.

Another thing you should do is prepare your family for the renovation. A renovation project can bring a lot of noise, dust, dirt, and personal intrusion, but it can be bearable if you properly organize your activities. You should consult the contractor’s schedule and try to make the home accessible to them at all times. Try to organize your household activities around the renovation activities and you will find a way to make it work. If it ever gets too much, you can take a small family trip for a couple of days, to relax and get away from it all.

Also, you should try to always communicate with your contractor because that means you will have a deeper understanding about every aspect of the renovation. In order to achieve this, you have to ask questions every time you don’t understand something, you have to look over drawings and sketches and be in touch with every detail of the project. Make sure to give the contractor your contact information, like a cell number, to give him the possibility to reach you at any time.

Lastly, if it is the first time you work with a certain contractor, make sure to check his references. Check if the company has enough experience in the field and what their past clients think of them. You can find all this information online, on sites like Yelp. Another way to find a great contractor is to use the Better Business Bureau. For example, if you live in the Calgary area, on the BBB site of your region you will find all the Calgary renovation companies and you can see the feedback score for each of them.