Construction Variables for Renovating vs. New

13 Reasons Your Renovator Has To Think Differently

Richard Shatto May 1, 2013

This post is to help home owners who are considering remodeling think about what your renovations contractor needs to know that even new home builders may not when costing for a remodeling project.  Estimating costs for repair or remodeling is different from new building costs due to these following factors which may be present in any given repair and renovations project.

1. Equipment usage curtailment due to the physical limitations of the project, with only hand-operated equipment being used.

2. Increased requirement for shoring and bracing to hold up the building while structural changes are being made and to allow for temporary storage of construction materials on above-grade floors.

3. Material handling becomes more costly due to having to move within the confines of an enclosed building. For multi-story construction, low capacity elevators and stairwells may be the only access to the upper floors.

4. Large amount of cutting and patching and attempting to match the existing construction is required. It is often more economical to remove entire walls rather than create many new door and window openings. This sort of trade-off has to be carefully analyzed.

5.Cost of protection of completed work is increased since the usual sequence of construction usually cannot be accomplished.

6. Economies of scale usually associated with new construction may not be present. If small quantities of components must be custom fabricated due to job requirements, unit costs will naturally increase. Also, if only small work areas are available at a given time, job scheduling between trades becomes difficult and subcontractor quotations may reflect the excessive start-up and shut-down phases of the job.

7. Work may have to be done on other than normal shifts and may have to be done around an existing production facility which has to stay in production during the course of the repair and remodeling.

8. Dust and noise protection of adjoining non-construction areas can involve substantial special protection and alter usual construction methods.

9. Job may be delayed due to unexpected conditions discovered during demolition or removal. These delays ultimately increase construction costs.

10. Piping and ductwork runs may not be as simple as for new construction. Wiring may have to be snaked through walls and floors.

11. Matching ‘‘existing construction’’ may be impossible because materials may no longer be manufactured. Substitutions may be expensive.

12. Weather protection of existing structure requires additional temporary structures to protect building at openings.

13. On small projects, because of local conditions, it may be necessary to pay a tradesman for a minimum of four hours for a task that is completed in one hour.

All of the above areas can contribute to increased costs for a repair and remodeling project. Each of the above factors should be considered in the planning, bidding and construction stage in order to minimize the increased costs associated with repair and remodeling jobs.

For more information about Point Nexus for Home Building or Renovating go to pointnexus.ca