Make Your Renovation Easier

BEFORE YOUR RENOVATIONS START

 

Remove Your Furniture & Personal Items – Removing your furniture and personal items from areas being renovated we help the trades work more safely and efficiently. It will also help protect your property from damage, or dust. Remember to put away your small stuff too as well. You’ll be thankful that you won’t have to clean them off later. Also make sure pathways to your home are free from obstructions and safe. During the winter months please remember to shovel and salt the exterior of your house.

 

Consider Temporarily Living Away From Home – If you are doing extensive renovations to your home, you may want to consider staying somewhere else. Although inconvenient, living elsewhere has its advantages. However, should you decide to stay, expect some noise and dust, lack of plumbing in areas, reduced heating, or AC, perhaps lack of privacy, and missing appliances if you’re doing your kitchen.

 

Please Provide A Key – Having access to your house is vital to completing your renovation efficiently. Doing renovations without regular access will cause delays, and scheduling difficulties.

 

Provide Contact Information– Have all your contact information available, including your mobile, business number, and email. Try to have one key decision maker for most of the renovation, and speak with Ashton Renovations Toronto location directly about the scope of work and scheduling, rather than with other trades on site.

 

DURING YOUR RENOVATIONS

 

Help Us Keep Your House Clean – Most kitchen and bathroom renovations to your home will create debris and dust. Efforts will be made to avoid infiltration to the rest of your house by using plastic barriers. Cleaning to the construction area will also be done on a daily basis by removing garbage, sweeping and/or vacuuming. You may still experience small amounts of debris and dust in other parts of your home despite our best efforts. Help us by avoiding to remove barriers, or entering construction areas on a repeated basis; refrain from using forced area furnaces (except in winter months); keep windows closed in the house to avoid drafts that circulate dust; and leave protective floor runners down till the job is done.

 

Be Available – Be available on a daily basis to discuss matters relating to your renovation. Decision making is always best with your input. However, should you not be available at the time an immediate decision is required, Ashton Renovations will make a decision in your best interest.

 

Review Your Scope Of Work – Keep in mind that work not specified in your contract is extra and subject to additional charges if required, or requested. Changes to the scope of work can occur due to unforeseen circumstances, design changes, and additional work. Changes usually require additional time and costs to complete in addition to the original contract.

 

Appreciate That Renovations Take Time – Doing a renovation is never easy and waiting for it to be done can be just as difficult. We ask for your patience in advance; allow the renovation to be done at a normal pace that is safe and ensures the attention to details you will appreciate in the end. Keep in mind that when trades feel the pressure to complete a task quickly, workmanship is sometimes sacrificed.

 

Realize That Renovations Are A Work In Progress – As work gets done on your project, there are constant refinements and adjustments that will take place. Tasks will often be started and resumed at a later date for a variety of reasons. So keep in mind that when things look like they haven’t been completed and forgotten, it’s usually because we’re still working on it.

 

Be Aware That Contractors Usually Have More Than One Project – Depending on the time of year, most general contractors are working on several projects; the summer and fall are the busiest. They do this to make sure that everyone is busy and not adversely affected by unexpected delays on projects, and overhead costs are spread out to keep costs down and be competitive.

 

Consider Construction Schedules – Your project may be completed from start to finish, but most projects involving kitchens, bathrooms, or whole house renovations, encounter breaks in timelines.

 

a)     Renovations involve a series of tasks that follow one another i.e. framing must be completed before electrical and plumbing, electrical and plumbing must be done before drywall, and so on. Often there is a gap between when one trade completes a task and the next one starts. A small gap allows for extra time of one task to be completed should it take longer. When scheduling is too tight, future trades become delayed from starting and they move on to other work while they wait, causing even longer delays.

b)    Specialty trades have busy schedules. They do their best to keep to timelines, but in reality they get bumped around a lot from job to job. Especially during heavy construction seasons, trade contractors get overloaded with work and this can slow them down.

c)     When additional work is added to a project, or an unexpected problem arises, a delay in the timeline can occur. Materials may need to be purchased, a sub-trade may need to be called in, or the additional work may need to be investigated, or clarified before its commencement.

d)    Waiting for materials is the most common form of delay in a construction project. If materials are on order, or the contractor is waiting for the customer to make a decision on design, a delay occurs.

 

Be Aware That Contractors Have Their Own Trades – To address timeline issues on projects, General Contractors always perform a variety of work “in-house” to ensure things get done when they are needed, and quality is maintained.

 

Understand Most Trades Work Well Independently – It’s a General Contractors job to supervise and direct trades, but most contractors know their trades well and allow them to work independently with accountability. Homeowners can jump in once in a while to provide feedback, but too much involvement be either the General Contractor, or a customer, can cause problems. Trades can get nervous and stressed, and sometimes offended. This will impact their quality of work and safety on the job.

 

Make Trades Feel Welcome In Your Home – It’s sometimes quite easy to go about your regular routine at home and forget that people are actually working there. Going out of your way to make them feel more comfortable and appreciated will go a long way. When trades are treated well they will always do more that what is required.

 

Be Careful About Bringing In Other Trades On Your Own– For extreme specialty type of work, like hanging blinds, or duct cleaning, it’s O.K. to bring in other workers while your renovation is being done. However, hiring other trades germane to your project is not recommended. Contractors do not like to supervise trades they do not know, and become frustrated if those trades start to cause problems. It also creates liability issues, including those of WSIB, if the trades are not registered.

 

 

MATERIAL SELECTIONS

 

Order Stock vs. Special Order Materials Where Possible – When selecting products, give consideration to items that are available immediately, or obtainable within a few days. “Stock items”, vs. “special order” products – available in a week or longer- have definite advantages. They are readily available; usually cost less; are more reliable because they are produced in larger volumes; and make renovations more efficient.

 

Avoid Delaying Material Selections – You may have trouble choosing materials. If you do, let us know so we can get you back on track. Avoiding delays with material selections is key to an efficient renovation and getting the work done on time.

Ashton Renovations is available to assist you with your material selections and can recommend reputable manufacturers and suppliers. As well, we recommend you provide product specifications prior to purchases to avoid style, function, and compatibility issues.

 

Chose Products In The Same Style & Finish – Choose materials with similar design and finishes unless you are going with an eclectic look. This will help create better harmony with the design and balance of your house. If you are not sure about the design of a product you have selected, ask and we’ll let you know.

 

Be Careful About Ordering Online – You may be tempted to order materials online for your renovation, but going this route can cause delays and problems to your renovation. Products can be damaged during transportation; they can also be delayed, which prolongs the renovation; the product may not be exactly what you think it is when it arrives; and if there is a problem with the product it’s not easy to return, or exchange it. Getting parts later can also pose problems.

 

Don’t Open Boxes On Site – With some exceptions, boxes are left closed until they are ready to be installed. When opened they can become damaged, or parts can go missing.