The Home Improvement Thread

[Ashasx]

Yeah that's what I'm concerned about (I live in the SE). Hail, rust. Seems like a neat product but quite a bit more expensive than concrete fibre board.

I know it's not as common to do the whole exterior, but I see accents on homes with essentially the same product.

[kevman]

Has anyone done any significant extension and/or remodel work to a home in Calgary lately? If so, how much was it per sq. ft.?

We're trying to sort out a budget and determine if our dreams are realistic. One of the contractors we've reached out to has suggested $450/sq. ft. but our architects have seen quotes come in at $1,000/sq. ft. and sometimes even higher

[blender]

Originally Posted by kevman

Has anyone done any significant extension and/or remodel work to a home in Calgary lately? If so, how much was it per sq. ft.?

We're trying to sort out a budget and determine if our dreams are realistic. One of the contractors we've reached out to has suggested $450/sq. ft. but our architects have seen quotes come in at $1,000/sq. ft. and sometimes even higher

I'm not in Calgary, but it really depends on what is getting renovated. Millwork is expensive, carpet isnt. Walk-in shower with custom glass enclosure is expensive, new interior doors and hardware, not so much.
Sq ft cost isnt the best way to estimate renovation work. It's more suited to new construction.

Even then it can be problematic. For example, finished space vs unfinished, building up vs building out, finishes and exterior cladding/roofing can drive costs dramatically.

[kevman]

Luckily for us, we're not custom cabinet millwork people in our preferred aesthetics.

Absolutely understand that kitchens cost more than bedrooms, just trying to get a feel for some of the projects people have completed recently.

[Shazam]

Extension will be very expensive. I would also have 25% extra in money as a contingency.

A bathroom ensuite remodel will cost about $40k.
A regular bathroom will be around $20k.
A kitchen starts at $35k. That's with cabinet reuse.

[TheIronMaiden]

I am looking for advice with respect to replacing the roof on my house.
The current roof is Sheet Metal and has been there since 1979 when the house was built.
I will need to replace it, and likely all of the sub roof.

What in your opinion is the best roofing material on the market, as I would rather not have to go through all of this again in 20 years.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

I am looking for advice with respect to replacing the roof on my house.
The current roof is Sheet Metal and has been there since 1979 when the house was built.
I will need to replace it, and likely all of the sub roof.

What in your opinion is the best roofing material on the market, as I would rather not have to go through all of this again in 20 years.

I’ve been trying to ball park budget for this same thing so I will follow intently. I have zero concept… but am assuming I’m looking at min $20,000.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I'll tell you the metal roof for my building is being quoted at about $40k. Of course that wouldn't include removal of an existing roof but does include the extra cost of building in a remote area.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

I’ve been trying to ball park budget for this same thing so I will follow intently. I have zero concept… but am assuming I’m looking at min $20,000.

I am getting my roof replaced due to hail damage. Normal asphalt shingles quote is just shy of $30K, but that includes ripping out the old one and disposal. Upgrading to a class 4 shingle (hail proof) and that added a little over 30% to the cost of the basic shingles from about $16K to 21K and bumped the quote to about $36K.

A cursory glance at the additional work for eavestroughs and stucco sealing/repainting makes it seem like that portion is approximately $10K, but I'm not entirely sure those costs can be avoided when installing a new roof, thus I assume it's fair to say it's technically part of the cost of a new roof?

[kevman]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

I’ve been trying to ball park budget for this same thing so I will follow intently. I have zero concept… but am assuming I’m looking at min $20,000.

In 2023 we paid $6/sq. ft. to have some asphalt shingles replaced with basic builder grade. The removal of the old shingles was around $1/sq. ft. of the cost. This was on a basic bungalow so these costs might go up on a 2-storey.

For comparison, we had some standing seem roofing done in 2022 for ~$17/sq. ft. This time on a basic gable roof on a garage so again costs may go up with more complicated roof designs working higher from the ground.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I am getting my roof replaced due to hail damage. Normal asphalt shingles quote is just shy of $30K, but that includes ripping out the old one and disposal. Upgrading to a class 4 shingle (hail proof) and that added a little over 30% to the cost of the basic shingles from about $16K to 21K and bumped the quote to about $36K.

FYI, I had 10 year old Class 4 shingles, and they still got wrecked in the 2023 hail storm.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Extension will be very expensive. I would also have 25% extra in money as a contingency.

A bathroom ensuite remodel will cost about $40k.
A regular bathroom will be around $20k.
A kitchen starts at $35k. That's with cabinet reuse.

I just talked to a contractor about my ensuite and closet. It was pretty much in the 50k range. I have heard similar estimates.

I am in the process of having my kitchen/entryway/spare bathroom renovated along with new flooring and some millwork in the living room and laundry room. I would say about 1,000 sqft of space.

it was 100k for contractor work - not including new appliances, lighting, hardware.

Included materials and extra plumbing and lighting. Materials ate up the bulk of that as the choices were premium.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

FYI, I had 10 year old Class 4 shingles, and they still got wrecked in the 2023 hail storm.

Ya, the words "hail proof" are not compatible with asphalt shingles. Hail resistant? Sure.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

FYI, I had 10 year old Class 4 shingles, and they still got wrecked in the 2023 hail storm.

Sorry, I think proper term is hail resistant as Fuzz said, not hail proof.

I just had a weird feeling that if a roof isn't class 4 or higher, insurance companies may start to refuse to replace or repairs those types of roofs for future hail events.

Insurance company offered an incentive to go with class 4, so I decided to take advantage of it.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Cappy

I just talked to a contractor about my ensuite and closet. It was pretty much in the 50k range. I have heard similar estimates.

I am in the process of having my kitchen/entryway/spare bathroom renovated along with new flooring and some millwork in the living room and laundry room. I would say about 1,000 sqft of space.

it was 100k for contractor work - not including new appliances, lighting, hardware.

Included materials and extra plumbing and lighting. Materials ate up the bulk of that as the choices were premium.

If the assumption is that labour was $100K and it was 1/3 the total cost, $300K for 1000 sq ft is $300 /sq ft and you had premium stuff put in.

$450-1000 /sq ft for a 500 sq ft extension, I can believe. But any form of renovation within a home with a decently solid structure/foundation seems inexplicably high.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Cappy

I just talked to a contractor about my ensuite and closet. It was pretty much in the 50k range. I have heard similar estimates.

I am in the process of having my kitchen/entryway/spare bathroom renovated along with new flooring and some millwork in the living room and laundry room. I would say about 1,000 sqft of space.

it was 100k for contractor work - not including new appliances, lighting, hardware.

Included materials and extra plumbing and lighting. Materials ate up the bulk of that as the choices were premium.

That’s a good price.

[calgarygeologist]

Does anyone have recommendations for electric fireplace inserts? Is that something that could be installed easily as a DIY project? We currently have a gas fireplace insert and I'm thinking about replacing it because it needs some service work and we never use it. I mentioned previously that the pilot light wouldn't stay on when the outside temperature was really cold, like -20 or colder. When the pilot light goes out it lets in cold air. We had it serviced and cleaned but it still has the same issue. I'm thinking because we never actually use the fireplace it might be better to just insulate and close up the old fireplace box and put in an electric unit for looks and maybe a little bit of heat. It doesn't need to throw off a lot of heat and it would be ideal if the fireplace had some interesting/unique visual modes (I'm assuming visuals can be much more intricate now.)

[BigNumbers]

Does anyone have recommendations for someone to come do maintainer on a Navien tankless water heater? It’s 8 years old and hasn’t been serviced (at least it’s fed by a water softener, so not as big a problem with mineral deposits internally).

Recently it’s gotten a little louder when it turns on, so probably means I should t have neglected it

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

Does anyone have recommendations for someone to come do maintainer on a Navien tankless water heater? It’s 8 years old and hasn’t been serviced (at least it’s fed by a water softener, so not as big a problem with mineral deposits internally).

Recently it’s gotten a little louder when it turns on, so probably means I should t have neglected it

I have had both Knight and Sundance service mine in the past and they were fine, but I recently went with Caledonian Plumbing and I would recommend them.

[Twitchy15]

anyone have a recommendation for roofing companies? Need to replace my roof this summer and possibly going to be doing spray foam insulation from the outside on half the house. SO kind of considering using the spray foam company for roofing as well as it might hopefully make communication and scheduling easier I would hope. beyond the foam is the company.