Quote:
Originally Posted by ntan
I'm planning to upsize in the next couple of months/a year in Vancouver west side and I would appreciate any tips or pointers. We're planning on doing an extensive renovation in our next home and we'd like to do it right. We're looking to do a higher-end build (wolf/subzero etc.). We have a dog as well.
I have a builder in mind but I haven't settled on an architect/designer. Should I also get an interior designer? I'm curious what upgrades people are considering for their own/prospective homes? triple pane windows? solar? We're open to completely gutting the place, extensions, lifting the house (to raise basement ceiling height) if necessary, etc.
Any feedback or tips appreciated!
|
We are working on our major reno so I'd share my $0.02.
First, your architect and designer should be first. Because there's no such builder who specialize in everything. Thus, you need to first determine what kind of structure and materials that you'd be working with. Especially when going into high-end builds. Yes, all general contractor would sub out some of their work, but you need to know for sure that what you are doing is something the builder you have in mind has the expertise to do the work.
Second, are you supervising the build yourself or having the architect to do it? If it's the former, you could have whatever builder you want. If it's the latter, you'd want to check with both the architect and the builder to see if they are ok with everything involved. Last thing you want is they are not in tune about how to get stuff done. This could mean delay in work hence $$$ on your build.
Last, but not least, assuming you are going high-end, would you plan to sell it some time down the road? Big name architect would provide some value in the long term, but they also mean $$$ when doing the build. It's not unusual for them to charge 10-12% of hard build cost (assuming you go full-service and have them oversee everything). It's something you want to keep in mind.
And if selling some time down the road is in mind, you'd want to discuss with the architect. In our case, we wanted OUR home. Thus, everything from layout to material is to our liking and we could give a rat ass about whether something would also be appreciated by others. This is something that a good architect would be very clear with about... like the trend and everything.