Don't break the bank - RBC says #1 regret after reno is budget overrun

Twice as long and double the cost? That's the conventional wisdom meted out to homeowners by anyone who hears they're doing a renovation -- and it seems there may be some truth to that for those who don't do their homework.

Homeowners that responded to an RBC report say their number one regret is breaking the budget. Your house is most likely your biggest investment, but most homeowners don't spend nearly enough time thinking about creating value and monitoring renovation expenses as they should.

Before you start any renovation, you should have an itemized budget with expected costs for materials, services and contingency. Renovations, especially large ones, are complex projects. The more organized you can be about expenses and setting firm budgets for items, the better you can plan for your renovation. Over the time of your project, there is a tendency for homeowners to make decisions in isolation with minor cost overruns. Many seemingly innocuous decisions over time can add up to large financial headaches at the end of the project when your resources will be at a minimum.

Contingency should be set a minimum 10-15% above projected expenses, and audits should be conducted weekly or bi-weekly to ensure the project is within budgetary guidelines. Quite often, big expenses occur at the end of the project, where more expensive finishing items come into play.

Always remember when choosing a contractor to get references from previous clients, and ask those references whether they experienced cost overruns. If they did, what proportion do they attribute to their own decision-making versus the contractor. Due diligence can make all the difference to a renovation you'll live with for many years. If you're unsure, enlist a project manager. It's an extra cost for the overall project, but can make a huge difference for a successful outcome.

The Zoning Ritual

Whenever designing a contemporary house, before fashioning any ideas, thoughts, or goals, there is the need to complete the inevitable zoning site checklist. Zoning acts as both a physical and political construct to any project. It strives to create a democratic playing field for the architect to generate designs but within the larger city context.

Often these goals seem arbitrary at best. They represent the need to create a political order to the city landscape at macro scale while creating a framework at the micro scale. The two, in their own realms seem unrelated. However as a whole they can be seen as the fabric of our urban reality.

Rather than decrying the system, it is really up to the architect to question the rules themselves. Zoning guidelines are created to be generic so that they can apply to the majority of situations. The extent of grey area within them is quite large. I have found that if you review the rules carefully, they will often contradict each other despite the legal writing. When you present this to the building official they usually have three responses:

1. No (in which you are out of luck unless you push it to another level)
2. I will take that under consideration (which is then referred to some committee for review)
3. You are correct

I have found this to be the case throughout the jurisdictions I deal with in the Greater Vancouver region. By questioning the system and its nuance, it is possible to let the system capitulate to the specific situation. After all, the general principles of the bylaws are upheld while the idiosyncracy of the bureaucrats come into question. Most building officials realize that this is the case and they recognize that bylaws contain a certain organic quality that breathe and grow over time with the changing swell of public sentiment.