Perhaps the most common room in the house that people really hate, for esthetic or functional reasons, or both, is their kitchen.  In the city there are loads of condominiums with thirty year old galley kitchens.  In the suburbs there are a multitude of kitchens that just are not set up the way people want to live today.  Of course, it’s in the interest of everyone in the industry to tell you to gut everything and start over to create your dream kitchen.  I’m going to give you the opposite advice.   Here is some advice, in no particular order, based on experience with dozens of renovations.

• Unless money is absolutely no object, start with trying to figure out what is the least you can do to change your kitchen that will give you what you want.  My father and his wife had a truly ugly kitchen.  When their house was built thirty years ago the developer installed light caramel glaze hickory cabinets with grey corian counter tops.  For five years they talked to me about a gut renovation, but I knew that they didn’t really want to spend the money or go through the hassle of a months long project.  And their kitchen layout was good..  I suggested they throw away the corian and replace them with granite that better matched the cabinets.  The work took a day, they spent about a fifth of what a total renovation would have cost, and their kitchen is beautiful.
• Get expert advice first.  If you cannot stand the way your kitchen looks, but especially if you hate the way it’s laid out, find a great kitchen designer.  There are not that many of them, so if you are not thrilled with the design the first person gives you, go see another designer.  This is a specialized field, and the design is going to make or break your renovation, so demand satisfaction.
• You get what you pay for.  Two weeks ago I went to see a brand new condo.  It was owned by the fiancé of the woman who called me.  She hated his kitchen cabinets, which were a medium brown stain, so they paid a friend to paint them ebony. He used a brush so you could see all the strokes on the doors.  For some inexplicable reason, he painted the doors a matte color and on the boxes (the cabinets themselves) he applied a high gloss polyurethane boat sealer, so the sheen was completely different than the doors.
• Do what makes you happy and makes your home better for you.  It always surprises me when I talk to people who tell me they’ve lived in a house with a kitchen they hated for the last twenty years, and now they want to sell the house so they want to improve it.  Your house is not an investment per se.  You should not expect to make a profit on the money you put in.  The best investment you can make is in creating an environment that improves your life.  If you do that, you’ll find someone who appreciates what you’ve done and the house will sell faster.
• Make your decisions in advance.  Whether you act as your own general contractor or hire an architect, think through everything and realize that everything should go together; the cabinets, countertop, hardware, sink, faucet, etc.  Most people are surprised to learn how many decisions have to be made.  It’s much better to make them in advance.  If you don’t, it will cost time, money or both.
• Use the internet.  There are wonderful sites like Houzz that have hundred of thousands of photos.  These are today’s versions of House Beautiful magazine.  People create ideabooks online instead of clippings.  It’s a really easy way to communicate to your designer or builder what looks you like.
• Stick to a classic look.  Right now it’s in vogue to mix light color cabinets with a darker color island.  Glass mosaic tiles are very popular for backsplashes.  If you love that look, install it.  But don’t be persuaded by anyone to do the currently popular look.  Your designer is going to renovate many more kitchens in the next few years, and they’ll be on to the next trend, but you will live with your kitchen for the next ten or twenty years.

Whether you are just buying a new faucet for your bathroom sink or planning a 4,000 square foot home addition, the results will depend on two things; the quality of the planning process before you start and the collaboration between you and your builder.  Few homeowners have the faintest idea of how to even begin planning.  They are stuck in the fear of fixing stage.  Here’s how to overcome your fear of fixing.

The first thing I tell clients when we talk about a possible project is that their space should make them happy.  Forget about trying to figure out what future buyers of your home may value and don’t think of any renovation project as an investment.  Unless you’re a professional and you’re buying homes at less than 50% of the market rate in your neighborhood, you’re not making a financial investment.  You’re making a psychic investment.   Spend the money because you have it and it will make your house a better place to live.  If you make yourself happy, you’ll end up getting the best possible return on your investment because you will have enjoyed the space while you live there and buyers will appreciate the beautiful work you did.  While you may not realize a profit on the work you did, your house will sell faster and closer to your asking price than your neighbor’s unimproved home.

Here’s the next step.  Do your homework.  You may not know enough to plan and execute a successful home renovation, but you can look at magazines and websites like Houzz to figure out how you want your house to look.  You can go to websites like faucet.com to choose bathroom faucets.  You can take a couple of hours to go to a tile store to get an idea of the type of tile you like.  If you’re thinking of renovating a kitchen, bring in a kitchen designer.  If you commit to buying cabinets from them, they will do a design free of charge.  (You can reimburse them for their time if you don’t buy from them.)  If you’re doing anything structural, talk to an architect or general contractor before you start planning.  They can tell you if walls can be moved, and what the best use of space is.  I know you don’t want to talk to anyone that’s going to cost money, so you can always wait, but sometimes the earliest money spent is the best money.  You’ll find out what you can actually do to the building and you should get space planning ideas that you would never come up with yourself.  Even though it will take time, you’ll have more confidence and a sense of direction once you’ve started to educate yourself.  

Step two: hire the right people.  I learned the hard way in this business that the cheapest contractor is not the best value.  The one who does the best quality work for a fair price is the best value.  It isn’t cheap if the quality of the work isn’t satisfactory.  Over the years I’ve made up a lot of business sayings.  One of them is- you don’t always get what you paid for, but you almost never get what you didn’t pay for.  When you talk to anyone with whom you might work, ask them for references.  You might never call the people, but they should at least be able to give you people to call.  Ask for photos of their work.  Most important, talk to them.   Do you feel comfortable with their answers to your questions?  Do they sound like they know what they’re doing?  Do you think they have good taste?  This is the most important decision you’re going to make in the whole project. You’re entrusting the outcome of a remodel to the contractor’s competence and taste level.  The work you do is going to be a total collaboration with the contractor.  He’s going to take your place apart and put it back together again.  Listen to your gut and listen to your head.  Do the numbers make sense?  Does the construction approach sound good to you?  Does the timeline sound realistic?  If one guy tells you a job will take two weeks and one guy says it will take four weeks, let them each explain.  You’re not stupid.  If something sounds too good to be true, it is.  

Third step: define the process and make sure that you and the contractor are on the same page.  A verbal agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.  Your expectations should be clearly spelled out and his or her construction goals clearly defined.  There is some surprise every time a wall is opened.  Some unscrupulous contractors rely on change orders generated by surprises to the homeowner to make lots of extra money.   Ask what the possible surprises could be and what they might cost.  Make sure the builder tells you what they’re doing, in what order, and how long it will take.  And make sure what they’re saying makes sense to you.  You may not know anything about building, but you’re smart enough to understand anything that’s explained clearly.  If they can’t explain everything in a way that you can fully grasp it, maybe they don’t know enough about renovation.

Finally: keep an eye on things, it’s your house and you’ll be there far longer than the builder.  If you see something that doesn’t look right, ask about it right away.  The job should not be complete until you’re happy.  A good builder wants to make you happy.

I hope all this advice helps you overcome your fear of fixing.  And go visit my website at www.m5chicago.com and my facebook page at Mfive Chicago.  Always feel free to drop me a note at Robert@m5chicago.com if you have any questions.

At this moment I’m involved with two homes that have expensive problems. They have a number of things in common. Both of them were purchased in the last six months by young couples as a first home after living in a condominium apartment. Both the homes are at least fifty years old. Both the homes were thoroughly inspected by ‘professional’ home inspectors. Both homes have structural issues that will cost more than $25,000 to fix. And the structural issues would definitely have been spotted and flagged by an experienced builder, architect or structural engineer.

What went wrong? In both homes, either the home inspection missed the problems altogether or noted the problems and didn’t raise a red flag so the buyers had no clue it was important. Probably the inspector didn’t realize it either. The majority of home inspectors have some background in building, but don’t understand buildings like engineers or architects. They take a class in inspection, follow a rote approach to each building, and usually issue a lengthy report with lots of pictures to support each comment. As a builder I find their approach to be great at catching lots of minor problems but they are often not equipped in knowledge or method for seeing some serious issues.

So what should you do? I do think you should get a home inspection, flawed as they may be. You want to know if one of the electric outlets doesn’t work or if the furnace is rusting. But I’d urge you, if you’re looking at an older house, a new construction home with no history, or have any reason at all for serious concern, to pay an architect or engineer to come look at the potential purchase. They may charge $500 just to look and give you a verbal report, but it could be the best money you ever spent.

Before you decide to hire a professional, look at the house with a dispassionate eye. Start in the basement and go to the roof. It’s beyond the scope of a blog post to tell you everything to look for, but use common sense. In the basement, is the floor completely level and are there cracks in the floors or walls? Look at the support beams and posts in the basement. If they are wood, are there cracks? Do you smell dampness? Do you see any water stains? Look at the furnace and water heater. Do they look like they’re in good condition? Look at all the floors and walls throughout the house. Are they level? If there are wood floors, are there gaps? Does the drywall on the ceilings look perfect or can you see the tape coming through? Caution- problems in the walls and ceilings can easily be covered by a decent paint job. Look at the windows and doors. Do they all open easily and smoothly? Walk around the outside of the house. Look where the dirt touches the foundation walls. Do you see any cracks in the wall? Look at the brick around the house; make sure the mortar isn’t cracked. Look at the chimney and make sure it’s straight and has no cracks. Look at the shingles on the roof. They should look flat, with no ripples. If you’re buying a house in the city with a flat roof, just assume it needs to be reroofed and will cost at least $15,000.

Since you are already emotionally invested in this home, maybe you should invite a friend to walk through with you. Neither of you is trying to take the place of a professional inspection. Follow your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, call me or call an architect or engineer. The biggest things to look for are water damage and structural issues. The place to really concentrate is the basement. It’s the place most home buyers ignore because they fall in love with the rest of the home, but it’s also the place where you’ll find clues to the most serious problems. Both water issues and structural defects show up here.

People have written books on this subject, so this can only be a brief guide, but I wish I had a dollar for every time a client or friend told me that they hired a home inspector with twenty years experience and can’t understand how they missed this problem. You’re not going to take the place of an engineer, but you can definitely use your eyes and your nose to spot problems that might be major issues. Don’t be intimidated; after all, you’ve lived someplace your whole life, and you know the problems in the places you’ve lived. Now go look at this home and pretend it’s one you’ve lived in. You may find you know just where to look.

Green building usually refers to several related things:

• Site planning and building layout mainly in new construction to make the absolute most efficient use of location and materials so a building can use as little energy as possible. This is called passive energy design.
• Aggressive use of insulation, capture of rainwater, solar panels and other active systems to utilize energy so efficiently that a building actually generates more energy than it uses. These approaches use active systems and designs. When you hear about the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum designation for extremely energy efficient buildings, these almost all use active design in addition to passive.
• Some companies and consumers are devoted to using products that produce little or no VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). Everything that is used for construction is composed of organic compounds and many of these are considered volatile. Volatility in and of itself is not bad, but it does mean that the material has a low boiling point and molecules will evaporate into the air after installation. And some VOC’s are definitely not healthy for us. Paint is the largest source in buildings, and manufacturers have reformulated their product so almost every paint sold today is low VOC. Synthetic carpets also emit VOC’s.

In broad terms, these are the three approaches that comprise green building. I subscribe to about 6 trade magazines and every issue features articles on green building. They usually show a home that produces energy. They have low flow shower heads, toilets that only flush half the water of a normal toilet, there are solar panels on the roof, and the building envelope is so tight that they need to use air exchangers to pump fresh air in from outside. How come you’ve never seen a house like this? They cost a lot more to build and the payback for your initial investment is many years. I read a very interesting article last year. Unfortunately, I can’t remember where. It basically said that consumers are willing to pay 3% more for a house with green features. Now go to Custom Home magazine’s website and do a search for articles on green building. You’ll find 1901 articles. Why the disconnect? Everyone wants to be green, but very few of us are willing to sacrifice anything just to be altruistic. I’ve been involved in a number of new construction and renovation projects that sold for over $1,000,000. And it shocks me to say that I’ve never had one person ask me anything about the green features that were part of the project. But don’t despair. This is a trend whose time is coming. Most people in the building business do want to improve construction quality and lower energy use. As the technologies and materials are more widely adapted by those of us who make construction decisions, the cost is coming down. And the good news is that we can achieve 80% of the benefits of LEED Platinum building without a major expense in construction.