For the last 6 to 8 months we have been planning a renovation. We live in an older home in Toronto and are only the 3rd owners. Not much work has been done to update or fix the house in the last 90ish years. It is time, folks.
However, the more we talk about it and plan the more “stuff” gets added to the list.
- Knob and tube electrical? Gotta go. Throughout the whole house.
- Creaky old floors? Gone, upstairs and down.
- 90 year old Kitchen cabinets falling off the hinges? Goodbye.
- Teeny-tiny one bathroom upstairs? See yah!
Then we need to add another bathroom, open up the kitchen and family room, and add a main-floor powder room. This takes more space and we don’t have more space. So, we add a larger addition to the plans. But the city has other ideas. They don’t like big additions. Or, they don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to make a little extra cash so they limit how big. And what we want is bigger. Therefore, we have to spend months to get their approval when we were supposed to break ground, like, next week.
And don’t even get me started on the budget. What started off as a simple upgrade has suddenly morphed into a huge, time consuming and expensive renovation project. But we keep thinking to ourselves, “It has to be done.” “What is the point if we don’t do it right?” and “It is an investment.”
What are your thoughts? Have you ever done a large renovation on an older home? Any advice? Are we nuts?
I have to keep my eye on the finish line. So please, order me up a little of this:
I have a feeling I’m going to need it.