Make way for readers | We answer your renovation questions

Based on the many questions you have sent us, our collaborator gives you advice and possible solutions once a month to carry out your projects.

Stephanie Levesque
General contractor, guest collaborator

Where to start ?

We are retiring and we would like to transform our Swiss chalet type duplex in the Laurentians into a single family home. Before embarking on these renovations, however, we would like to know the viability of our project. We have a budget of approximately $200,000 to redo the entire interior and exterior, including most of the windows. We first want to obtain an evaluation of the price of the work as well as a plan. Who should be contacted first: a contractor, an architect, a plan technician? Is our project too ambitious? We need to be guided!

Chantale Lefebvre

It’s a beautiful and big project! Time will be your best ally in order to prepare you well and to keep you informed throughout this process. Because this kind of transformation inevitably brings its share of unforeseen events. The design of the plan remains the key phase in the success of this type of project. The more specific plans you have, the better the project will go. It’s up to you to see who you want to entrust with this crucial step: an architect or an architectural technologist. Make sure that the chosen professional understands your project and your needs. He must succeed in asking you all the right questions and make you think about all the elements.

Thereafter, you can choose a general contractor, unless you want to pilot the project yourself – but, I do not recommend it if you do not know the field. With a detailed plan, the contractor will be able to better understand the scope of the project and prepare a quote with a fairer price. According to the plan, he will probably have to call in a structural engineer. Ask for different quotes, but make sure you always explain the project in the same way to all contractors, otherwise it will be too difficult, if not impossible, to make the right choice.

For a more economical bathroom

I want to renovate my basement bathroom myself. My budget is $5000. But after getting a quote for the plumbing portion, which amounted to $8,000, I no longer know which avenue to choose to do this project.

Stephanie

I don’t have much information about your project, but since you say this bathroom is in the basement, I assume that the plumbing runs in the concrete and you want to move the elements ( equipment) sanitary facilities (bath, shower, toilet). You must therefore move all the pipes to redo the configuration of this room, which will require breaking the concrete, doing the plumbing work and redoing the slab. It is also possible that the plumber added a non-return valve (depending on the year of construction of your house).

There are several ways to renovate a bathroom more economically, especially if its components are still in good condition. The first is precisely to avoid moving the plumbing pipes, especially when they run in the concrete.

Before giving up, I encourage you to evaluate different options, such as changing the equipment without moving it in the room, as well as asking for a few quotes in order to have a fairer idea of ​​the price of the work and the possibilities that are available to you.

A joint in bad shape

The vertical masonry point at the junction of the facade of two townhouse duplexes is beginning to crumble. Should we redo this masonry joint or is it possible to use silicone or another type of sealant? Also, is this work urgent?

Alain Jalbert

You have the right reflex: by proceeding quickly to a repair, you will protect your investment. It is important to ensure the tightness of the wall and the air space behind this wall. You will save yourself a lot of trouble, such as plumbing pipes freezing or structural degradation due to water infiltration.

I invite you to call on a certified and experienced mason. He will be able to carry out the work according to the rules of the art. Generally, the current joint must be emptied to a depth of more or less three-quarters of an inch. Then insert a bead of foam, then fill the joint with a silicone-based sealant.

The website of the Association of Masonry Contractors of Quebec will certainly be able to answer your questions in addition to guiding you to good masonry contractors.