Renovations in Airdrie
We are pleased to offer our clients a complete service from restoration right through to renovation. Whether you find us after a restoration in your home or business, or your needs are more cosmetic, our team of professionals will partner with you to execute your vision.
There are many things to think about when planning a renovation, and they may vary from commercial building to personal residence. Understanding your goal is the first step in determining how to move forward.
Commercial Considerations
What do you want your space to convey that it isn’t currently, and why are you changing the space to begin with? For example, corporate business may be interested in updating a reception area in order to set the tone for visitors and make a great first impression. A corporate office may decide to renovate their employee kitchen to improve employee morale and offer a cleaner appearance. Understanding your goal can help guide your decisions as you go forward in the process.
Corporate clients should be mindful of including any future building plans into their renovations when appropriate. For example, if a building extension is planned that will ultimately result in the need to repurpose the room in the near future, those future needs should be considered to prevent rework later. One example is the placement of windows and number of outlets required.
Residential Considerations
There are many reasons to renovate a residence from expanding its square footage to improving general comfort. Elective renovations in key areas of a home like a bathroom or kitchen can significantly impact the value of the home, but sometimes the reason for renovating is to complete the process of restoring the room to its former appearance prior to a flood or other unfortunate event. In either case, completing a renovation is an opportunity to refresh a space to your benefit. One way to do this is by updating the windows of your older home to reduce heat loss and drafts and make heating your home more cost effective. In some cases, renovations can unveil the need for updates to be made in order to meet building code standards which we can facilitate during the renovation.
Will you be working or living in your home during renovations? This is an important consideration to discuss with your contractor. Your contractor will be able to provide an estimated timeline for completion, how much disruption the renovations would cause (noise, dust etc.) once the full scope of work is determined and will also provide information around what is possible for the renovation in question. A quick kitchen renovation of less than five days may be very doable for some to live through, but small children or long timelines for large projects may impact your decision.
Choosing a Contractor
If you are outside of our service area and looking for a local contractor to renovate your home or business, here are some key items to help you choose the right one for you.
Promptness
Was your contractor on time for your first meeting? If they weren’t, did they notify you that they’d be late? Contractors should demonstrate their reliability by being on time to meet you and responsive when you reach out to them.
Communication Style
We always aim to provide clear and timely communication to our clients at every stage in the process. If there are difficulties in communication between you and your contractor, it could result in a negative project outcome due to misunderstandings. For large projects, your contractor should be able to speak to their team’s experience in executing projects like yours and be able to talk you through who will be the point of contact. How much experience does the point of contact have in project management? How often will your contractor update you?
Rules and Regulations
Your contractors must be fully insured to take on your project, and they should demonstrate a solid understanding of provincial building code in your discussions. Errors can cause the need for rework if permits are withheld due to code violations. Your contractor should also be experienced in working with insurance companies when necessary to provide documentation and information.
Customer Ratings and References
Experienced contractors should have to problem pointing you to reviews and references from previous clients. Online ratings can be helpful to review to gauge the general impression of the company’s work and identify red flags.
Book Now
If you are planning a renovation, be sure to confirm that your contractor is available on your desired timeline before proceeding. Renovation professionals who excel in their work can be booked out for many months, so start looking for your renovation team early in the process. You won’t need to have the wall and floor colours yet, just a high-level idea of what you’d like to do with the space.