Don't leave it to chance

By HERB LAGOIS

Imagine this: Your family and pets are loaded into the car. You’re heading out for a trip across Canada.

However, you haven’t checked your car or tires. You haven’t planned your route: you’re just going to wing it.

You don’t know how long it will take, where you will stop, where you will eat or sleep, or where you’ll stay when you get there. You’re just going to go. Let the adventure begin!

It might be the adventure you’re looking for, but most likely you’d be headed for disaster.

It’s no different than deciding on a renovation without a plan, yet people do it. A plan is, after all, much more than a blueprint.

Recipe for divorce

Over the years I have watched couples, who thought they could handle the process themselves, end up in sad situations that didn’t need to happen. I have seen so many renovations and even relationships go bad when problems could have been avoided by thoughtful planning. (And, you know, divorces can be expensive.)

It’s definitely exciting to start thinking about new spaces and colours and finishes; yet it’s important to think about the logistics of such undertakings. For example:

• Do you need to move out?

• Do you need a temporary kitchen? A dedicated entrance away from the work?

• Will you have a functioning bathroom or shower?

• Will this be happening in winter, and how will that affect everyday living?

• Will it be during the school year, or will you wait until summer holidays?

• If it’s in the summer, do you have a cottage or a family vacation in mind so you can get away?

• Will you need to let your neighbours know that there will be some activity, disruption and noise for awhile?

• Should you prepare and freeze meals ahead for ease and simplicity?

• Do you need an external place for storage?

If you want to stay in your home throughout, you will need to think about safety for your family and pets, and about dust and noise control. If you normally work from home, how will the disruption affect you? Do you have parents or grandparents living with you?

The value of time

Over the years I have completed many renovations for my own family. The most complex one was adding a substantial addition. Overall, it was smooth, but it took almost three years. I knew this going in, and I was able to construct in such a way that it had minimal impact on our daily lives. Because I’m a professional, I could plan it in a way that included dust and noise control as well as indoor-outdoor integration, because the addition impacted access to the rear yard.

Fortunately, I enjoy the work. However, in hindsight, would I have been better off hiring the Lagois team to do the project? It sure would have allowed me to spend all my efforts at the time being the Lagois CEO.

At one point during this long project, my wife wanted to meet our close friends in Rochester, N.Y. for the Lilac Festival. I chose not to go because I thought it would be a good opportunity to work on the addition. To this day I think that was a mistake. Family and friends should have been more important. I might have had the expertise, but did I really have the time, or rather, time to lose?

Packing and planning

Renovation planning might also include what to do with some of your belongings. Will you take some of your furniture to storage? What about valuable items such as paintings, art work – items that can vibrate off walls or shelves?

If it’s a kitchen renovation, and you need to pack up everything, remember to keep the most important items handy for your temporary kitchen setup. If you hire someone to pack up for you, make sure everything is labelled in detail, and keep a master list of precisely what’s in each box. This will come in handy when it’s time to unpack again, but it will be a godsend if those boxes are put into storage and you suddenly realize you need something.

I can’t overstate the importance of planning in renovation. It should include a holistic overview of what you want in the long term so, if needed, your project can be broken up into multiple phases.

Let’s say you have a beautiful kitchen renovation completed and want to enter phase 2. But the ceiling needs to be ripped apart, or the costly new mechanical system is undersized for the next stage, or while walls are open, roughing in for solar power. Holistic planning, done correctly, avoids those expensive duplications (and the stress that goes with them).

And finally, be sure you are realistic about time and money. Your Lagois team guides you through this and commits to being on time and budget, in writing.

Holistic peace of mind

The Lagois process involves three worry-free stages: Conceptual Design, Design development (securing all permits, committing to a timeline, finalizing design and all product selections among other well-planned steps), and then Construction, with a no-fee, peace-of-mind 5-year warranty. It is a process that is chronologically designed not to be overwhelming.

It all begins with thorough holistic planning. Your adventure should only begin after everything is ready, disasters averted, and peace of mind assured for smooth sailing ahead.

Take it from the voice of long (more than four decades) of experience. If you have a dream, don’t leave it to chance…unless you are truly adventurous.

Herb Lagois is the founder of Lagois Design·Build·Renovate

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