Cosmetic is bearable. I did countertop changes and cabinet door replacements for some areas, but even then it wasn't a flawless process, for example, counter top cut out for the cooktop wasn't centred with the upper cabinets. It wasn't realized until I pointed it out to the GC and it was all fully installed, so it had to be ripped out. Minor errors like that as an example seems like an on going trend for every single trade. Even with a GC, I need to micro manage to try and prevent delays for deficiencies.

Cosmetic reno, maybe deal with it for a month or 2, but a reno that's uses permits, and it's the same crap for 2 years.

I’ve never seen anyone go to foundation and build back up, at the very most you’d leave the skeleton of the old home and just backframe your new rooms etc.

I’d say outside of retaining the stupid shit with CoV where you can retain the existing square footage by retaining X portion of the existing building, if that requirement wasn’t in place there wouldn’t be a scenario where you’d ever just keep the foundation imo

If we ever build a custom home, which seems like a long shot, but all that shot re:building for future value of sale, personally I wouldn’t even consider. Because the home id build would be a home I’d be staying in for 15-25 years. I’d build it how I wanted not with selling to some schlub in mind who doesn’t want my sauna.

Your project would never finish because you'd end up in court battles with your GC after they give you staircased laminate, repeated patterns in the washroom tiling, etc.

if you were ever in that position i hope you build to your liking, not for the next person/family

Do you like masonry?

Who, me? Definitely not. We're basically just looking for a RAV4 Prime of a house, and trying to see if we could justify getting one custom-built w/ a 6MT, locking diffs, and some of the useless frills deleted. Nothing fancy :p.

This is true in Coquitlam. Low $200s a sqft or less to build (though the cost/sqft is reduced due to the larger home(5500 sqft).

Mansory =/= Masonry (craft of stone/brick etc.) :concentrate:

Are we talking about mansory the gauche ass bodykits ?!? I approve.

Not sure about Toronto, but the 1 year timeline doesn't seem reasonable.

I will say
-once you have your design sorted
-permits approved
-your queue at contractor ended, as in he is gonna show up and start work at your place
-all your sub contractors not missing a beat
-and no hiccups from City Inspectors along the way

~18 months ish from this point till you can move in.

I know it sounds dumb, but my brother in law is in the trade, and even with his "connections", the builder/subcontractors he wants to use all told him they were years out, and just "call them" when the time arrives and they will "find time" to help him if it was his personal house...

Interesting though he told me he figures around $400/sq ft for a decent material/quality house (but I guess thats his cost), so ofc that is not the retail cost.

I was told he can get away with $250/sq ft that will pass all inspections, but he will never personally live in that house lmao

This is first hand information from last night at the Xmas family dinner~ He is budgeting 2 years, all permits are in place, design is finalized, gonna build 6,600 sqft at the west end... and yes... all China money...

If your builder is actually on the balll 8-12 months. But that is pretty rare these days.

If I were building a new house, I would want the following:

- An actual foyer area, not just opening up into the living room like so many new houses are now

- the washroom on the main floor that does not open into a public space like the dining table or family room, I don't want someone taking a shit in the bathroom and then it open up into a public space. nor do I want to hear them, and I also feel it's embarrassing to do your business next to a public area like that.

- I would like an actual covered outdoor space or prep it for an outdoor space. I know this takes away from inside square footage, but it's nice to have a covered outdoor space. Roof top patio's are useless, I wouldn't even bother with that.

- Make sure laundry is on the same floor as the bedrooms

- Double Ethernet cables in every room of the house with a dedicated server room under the stairs or something

- An oversized front and back door, it just makes moving things in and out so much easier. Not a double door because it's not functional on a day to day basis, having a big single door is the way to go.

- For the master washroom, put in a separate closed area for the toilet. When you or your wife drops a poop, there's no need to stink up the entire washroom. For me personally, I would want my own master washroom, my wife is messy AF and her hair goes everywhere. Having two ensuites seems stupid though.

- depends on how huge your house is, but I've always liked the idea of a double island, but most houses in Vancouver are too small for this.

- If space allows, having two dishwashers is amazing for a family and for people who cook regularly. If I had the space, I would have two full sinks in my kitchen. Having a wok kitchen solves this issue also.

We don't even fill one dishwasher on a nightly basis, how do you use two?

I have two dishwashers and wished I had a third. :pokerface:

With 2 you never have to empty a dishwasher. You just take clean dishes from one and put them in the other after you have used them.

Dishwashers are for storage, not for washing dishes. :pokerface:

buys fancy german dishwasher
doesnt want extra electricity bill

Why didn't I think of that.... And I hate putting dishes away too.

I might have a need for a fancy German dishwasher and no electricity bill :whistle:

One of the biggest mistakes I see in houses is low voltage wiring. Run cat 6e everywhere. Cat 6e will allow you to use up to 10 gig Ethernet. Spend time planing your AV set up. Even if you don't plan on a home theatre run the wires any way. It will save you and any future home owners a lot of headaches.

Most low voltage installers don't know much about home theatre or audio so do a lot of planning yourself.

95% of low voltage guys are buddy guy labourers.

I’ve legitimately seen people RE-USE Ethernet runs that were clearly pulled out or another house, or an office building etc. and installed in a new build.

I’d say the biggest mistake I ever saw working at Telus was people don’t run fiber from their nib outside into a smart panel/wire hub. By not having a direct fiber connection to where your distribution is, it’s a huge bottle neck

Other than being cheap, I guess reusing cat cable isn't a big deal is it?

My IT friend always told me to run two cat cables as the labour is the same, you just pay more for the cable, but if one cable dies you always have a back up.

I did this during my reno and I'm so glad I did. I didn't know so many things could run off Ethernet. POE cameras, displays, door bells, etc.

Reusing cables isn't a big deal, but I would want new cables if I'm paying for the work.

While we're on this topic, before running cables it's also good to plan out where outdoor cameras and other PoE devices will go so cables are laid out while the walls are still open. Especially outdoor cameras since you want a wired solution for a stable connection.

Then make sure these cables terminate in a nice closet to house all that networking equipment.

if you want to have a bidet, get a gfci outlet installed next to your toilet so you dont have to run an extension across your vanity

Great list! If you lot isn't that big, then there are so many features you have to weigh against each other cuz you probably can't fit them all in. :(

For my wife and I, the "washroom on the main floor that does not open into a public space" was huge.