Full house renovation complete!

After a lot of difficult and time consuming effort, we managed to wrap up the renovation project. This was well beyond a lipstick type house flip as shown on HGTV where some photogenic hosts are able to perform renovation miracles with a tiny budget. Somehow those TV couples seem able to hire trades who like to work for free ands shop at suppliers where material costs are a fraction of what you might purchase at your local hardware store.

Some lessons we’ve been able to draw from this project include the following:

• While my speciality remains new building, which I prefer over old homes, renovations are possible because the trades we use have a lot of renovation experience, and at some stage of the project it just becomes routine construction, and we can do that. Many of the same managerial and organizational skills of the inner city home builder translate well to renovation.

• Renovations are much cheaper and quicker than home building, thus the attraction to this type of work. After the endless marathon of permitting, designing, and struggle to get big projects launched, a renovation is a modest outlay of resources (1/3 to 1/2 of a typical new build budget).

• Changing the layout was a powerful and cost effective way to transform the dated living rooms on the old bungalow, and restoring what we could, such as the hardwood floor, made a huge difference for a small expense.

• Remaining in control of the deal, by being in control of the realtor/buyer is essential. You just cannot allow yourself to be operating at the whim of a client who hasn’t actually paid you yet. The endless barrage of wants/demands/requests/changes is just not tenable for the budget or schedule of the renovator. As long as you are the owner of the building, you make the decisions that suit your business, and any potential client can choose to buy it when it is complete, or not. Entering into a pre-sale arrangement of a 60 year old house may lead to a false expectation that not only are you changing every single item on the build, you are going to be delivering a new product. The impossible standards of this type of client can quickly sour relations.

• Transforming a date and horrible old bungalow into something refreshing and new is quite possible on a budget, provided you have the right knowledge and contacts. Since most people lack the fundamental skills needed, I’d advise they avoid this scale of a build. Too much risk!

Final product is very rewarding for the builder!

From dated and nasty to a really livable, like new, 60 year old home. We’ve extended the life of that bungalow indefinitely and it can house a new family for generations to come.

Hydronic rough-in ready

With a large crew of zip tie helpers we were able to knockout both basements quickly. This is definitely a job where 3-4 people makes it go way easier. Inspection is called and we can likely get this approved and then poured in the next few days. We do need good weather to pour the slabs so hopefully the fall remains nice and dry.

Framing day 12

With the trusses delivered and assembled we again ran out of material. Fortunately a late day delivery got us back in business. Hard for the builders to keep up with the framers when conditions are optimal.

Tall wall building

This is another post commenting on the remarkable productivity of the framers. No technical hurdle appears to slow these guys down. They just proceed with limited discussion or philosophy and productivity ensues. Raising a 25 ft tall wall wasn’t a challenge for the two of them although there was some bludgeoning needed to get it to fit. Enough scrap has been produced to fill a bin and almost all the framing is done with the exception of the roof, planned for delivery after the holiday weekend.

Framing day 7

The framers are continuing to produce at a rate we’ve had a hard time keeping up with for material delivery. The pace will slow with a long weekend approaching and the low likelihood of us moving the roof truss delivery day forward. Regardless we’ve been blessed with stable weather and a great crew.

The machine is the framers secret weapon. Anything to make a tough job easier.

Framing progress

Lots of updates from k35. We’ve got plumbing in the basement, the sewer and water deep services connected and the framers are on the second floor walls.

Framing begins

With foundation backfill and a large load of floor joist material delivered, the k35 project framing work is officially underway. It is always a nice stage of the project to see the structure go up. Summer weather and a good crew will mean quick progress and we can get it sealed up by the time fall arrives.

Raspberry season market update

We are well past the midpoint of 2019 and various reports in the industry are cautiously calling out a bottom. I’m not so certain. I think we may be observing a behaviour common to the Calgary market where stubborn and prideful sellers refuse to drop prices or even list property they no longer want. Most people consider their primary residence an investment and certainly for a rental property there is this built in expectation that even a cash flow negative rental somehow inflated in value each year. In my view most Calgary rental properties don’t warrant the valuation they already have and certainly haven’t earned a boost over the past couple (5) years … I had a seller contact me recently and offered to sell me a bunch of low demand low rebuild potential properties at very high cost. The local market seems not to have instilled any discipline in ambitious sellers.

2019 is more than half over and the raspberry crop has peaked. The raspberry crop was better than the summer real estate market this year.

Cribbing stage

We have now arrived at the stage of the project where we are building the basement walls. This is another specialized task that uses some really old building techniques with plywood forms held together with metal ties and wood braces. It is the sort of rough and hard construction labour that most people would not be capable of doing. Various high tech prefab approaches have been considered for building basements. For now the old ways seem continue to be the most predictable and cost effective.

Footing pour

It is always nice to begin the process of building up rather than tearing down at a new project. With the footing in place the wall forms can be raised over the next few days.

Are single detached homes some kind of endangered species worthy of our conservation?

I’ve heard this type of comment before and always found it inherently cringeworthy. It often relates to a sentimental view of the ‘gold old days’ because homes aren’t ‘built like they used to be’. I’ve torn down enough of these so called jewels of 50’s construction and they are far from wonderful once you see the guts of how they were built. The old house conservation sentiment also can come from a wish to protect history. The problem is the old bungalow doesn’t have any architectural value that couldn’t be easily replaced. We aren’t talking about mid century modern builds from Palm Springs. Just simple boxes with thin walls and site built trusses that need a lot of partition walls to be held up. Often they are plagued with vermiculite and asbestos drywall compound. The plumbing and electrical is completely rotten and would never pass an inspection today. Yet these are considered worthy of protection by the same people that’d never want to live in them without a full renovation. Yet the renovation expense isn’t worth it as the property only can trade at land value and not much more. And the same people that want other people to pay to conserve bungalows would also complain about the cost of suburban sprawl. Replacing the bungalow with a rowhouse project is perhaps the best way to add some density back into older neigbourhoods where the population is dropping because family size is less today. So I was interested in seeing a new map made about the proportion of single zoned land in Calgary. Definitely seems to indicate we aren’t short or detached housing options. What we are really short on is reinvestment in inner city urbanism that’d make more people willing to live in a smaller attached home vs a cheap house in suburbia.

Look at the desperate shortage we have of detached zoned property in Calgary!

Excavation complete at k35

We are deep underground at the k35 semi d. At this point we can get the Footings poured and walls set up. Unfortunately we missed the window to get my survey crew in and the footing crew is also booked elsewhere. I’m hearing reports the industry is quite busy. This conflicts with the other end of the business which is sales. Perhaps a positive forward looking indicator?

Sidewalk removal and restoration project - almost done

During the permitting phase of the Richmond semi d project we had a large security deposit requirement to fund the eventual sidewalk replacement. Unfortunately the funds are required in advance of the DP being issued by the City, so that while you have paid for the work to be done, it won’t likely be done for another year, but the City gets to use the funds for whatever purpose it desires. It is a terrible use of precious builder capital to tie up that much money for work that can’t be done for a year, but you can’t delay funding these deposits or you will never get a permit to begin work. An option was to hire a private contractor to do the work a little sooner, however, we were shocked at the pricing for replacing 50 ft of sidewalk and curb. It was far better to wait for the City to bid out a large number of jobs so the work could be done according to its rates (about half of the lowest private contractor). Despite the City getting a way better price on the job than we could ourselves, our original deposit wasn’t enough, and we had to top it up. Despite this added cost, the overall project was as much as $15k less than hiring it out ourselves, so we feel we really dodged a terrifying cost.

Work is almost done and finally our clients will be able to access the front door by driving in from the street.

About that vintage hardwood restoration project...

I have been neglecting my website updating this past July, maybe too distracted by the summer weather and lots of other business related stuff ongoing. Anyway, the hardwood project at the renovation site was quite a lengthy process, and I learned a fair bit as well. One factor was the requirement for good power to run the sander and vacuum machine. That pro level equipment doesn’t play nicely with the old panel still in the house (electrician was away and it didn’t get changed soon enough). We got lucky and salvaged a bunch of identical material to piece in from another job site, which was free to acquire. This was great and the finished product looks totally fantastic. I am super impressed with the way it turned out, from absolutely awful to a charmingly restored ‘like new’ hardwood floor. I would estimate that to do this in a new home with new site finished oak would cost about $10,000 for the small bungalow we worked on, if you could even get it from a store. We’ve considered salvaging enough of this to do a full new build such as at K35, but it does not seem viable. We’d have to do a lot of work to get 2000 sq ft of product. Are we that motivated?

Just a light buff and this is done. Walked around today on it barefoot. Lovely natural wood, and extremely old, probably 200 year old material here that looks almost new in 2019.

One of the many stages of sanding, this is the final round…already looked great raw.

Hidden gem of a floor right here, and this was a good spot. There was some really bad areas…

Killarney35 - tree removal, demo and excavation

Site work is proceeding at the new project site. We’ve had a large tree first pruned by the utility company because it was growing into the power lines. To do this we first demolished the garage in the lane and pulled the machine well into the centre of the now crushed house. This allowed access for the tree trimmer elevator rig to drive into the back yard. This was far safer because they didn’t have to work over or through the power lines, which is next to impossible to do. Once the trimmers left, more demolition and hauling could begin in earnest. Once more space was made on site the pruning crew could arrive to actually climb the tree and cut it down in large chunks. So the excavation operator had to take a few half days off as the tree was managed. I wasn’t aware of the schedule juggling at the outset of the project to deal with such a large tree growing into the power lines, so another management lesson has been learned.

Making space for the tree removal crews to access the yard

Dropping each of the large limbs safely

Another round of touchups

I met with the siding installer and we tackled a bunch of exterior touchups including painting over some colour matched caulking that didn’t match very well. We filled a few nail holes and added some fasteners in a few spots that seemed to have buckled a little, typical Calgary response to heating, cooling and humidity. Then of course effort was made to fix up areas where the stucco was spread on the siding and silicon caulked a few flashings. At this point you have to say enough because you can continue to do touchups forever. Once the exterior handrails go on we can get the photographer to return to do the exterior shots and list the second half of the building. Expect to see this complete by the end of the week and new photos will be published.

Tricky ladder work but we’ve got a skilled pro named Claude

Another City fee increase, adjusted to inflation (+97%)

I was not surprised to see another City fee increase passed on to the builders. This time it is for one of the cheapest fees they have, the demolition permit. I’m not sure of the rationale or reasoning why they need to increase the price of the demo fee. It takes virtually no staff time to process as the system allows you to upload all the files and have them screened by someone at City hall who then issues you the permit. It is a lot of work for the builder to chase down all the various suppliers and get the water, gas and electricity disconnected, but no work for the staff. This increase is not at all linked to inflation. If it was a 5$ increase it would not be noticeable. Instead they increase the fee by 99%, less I guess inflation of 2% so we are still at a 97% increase. Each time an eyesore of a house is demolished maybe the city should give the builder a break on the property taxes so the builder would have a little more cash to rebuild with….

Looks like they doubled the fee. The City makes good money from demolition permits, I think they should pay me to tear down old houses as an incentive to tear down more.

Activity at the next Killarney semi d

I’ve christened the next project as ‘Killarney 35’ in honour of its west side street address. Each of these projects is like my baby and this will be #23 upon its completion. And I remember them all…(and the asbestos bills have accumulated enough to fund at least one of your children attending college).

Remediation is complete

The bizarre state of fixer upper sale attempts at non-distressed, non-recession, non-reality based pricing levels

One must assume half of a million dollars for a run down old shack in a b- neighbourhood is peanuts these days based on asking prices for homes. These 60 year old gems aren’t just a coat of paint and new carpet away from being someone’s dream home. They are filled with asbestos and many kinds of gremlins reside within the walls, some minor and others requiring a lot of expense to deal with. Items like windows (old, drafty, too small, wrong place in the wall), plumbing (cast iron, corroded and filled with debris), poor insulation (sometimes non-existing or just some sawdust in the cavity), and awful kitchen layouts with tiny counters confined behind walls that are load bearing. And no master bathroom ensuite or space to build one. Of course, to the realtor, these issues are glossed over as the home is a tremendous opportunity ‘awaiting your creative style to make it your own’. My own personal style involves a track hoe and a trailer to haul this place to the landfill, not a further investment of $200k to make it my dream home.

Here is your opportunity to add your own personal style to this 1958 bungalow!

More exterior details

After concrete work and some landscaping in the front we were finally able to get going on the stairs to the front door.  Soon the inconvenience of mandatory entry via the garage will be in the past. Also the new house numbers arrived in the mail and were installed. Next up is some railings and touchups and we can call it complete. 

House numbers on and protective tape peeled off the garage door.  

First set of stairs goes up and is ready for handrail install