Three Ways Home Improvement Reality TV Differs from Real-Life Renos

There are currently more than 10 home improvement reality shows running on HGTV. If you’re like many homeowners in Canada, you’ve probably spent a lot of time inside watching a few of these shows this past winter. You may even be pumped and ready to get busy in your own home!

We all know that what we see on reality TV isn’t always an accurate portrayal of everyday life. However, watching these programs has undoubtedly changed your expectations, leaving you feeling more knowledgeable about the design and renovation process.

If you want to avoid frustration and disappointment while hiring contractors to do your own home improvements, it’s important to understand how TV reality shows differ from real life.

Major home improvements such as kitchen and bathroom remodels can take weeks, not days, to finish properly.
Don’t be fooled by the lightning-fast turnaround on television. Items such as countertops, cabinetry and plumbing fixtures usually need to be ordered months in advance. When you see a large project completed quickly on your favourite program, what you’re not seeing is the scrambling going on behind the scenes. Often, contractors on these shows are working around the clock to meet the show’s tight deadline. From the initial consultation and design, to obtaining the proper permits, ordering materials, and coordinating schedules, quality home renovations take time. The bottom line: The bigger the job, the longer it’s going to take.

The renovation costs on TV reality shows are unrealistic.
Are the contractors on the reality show lowballing their prices to get TV exposure for their company? Is the cost for labour factored into their quote? Did the homeowners have to pay extra for the cost of design? You need to keep these “realities” in mind when planning your own home improvement.
The bottom line: Superior design, quality materials and expert craftsmanship are worth paying for.

Drama is for television – not your home reno.
Unlike the sterile, fast-paced home renos you see on television, real-life renovations by experienced, qualified contractors involve weeks to properly plan, coordinate and execute. Unlike their entertainment-driven reality TV counterparts, successful contractors do everything they can to avoid drama and surprises by correctly anticipating each step of the renovation process. Before work begins on your home, you should be provided with a detailed description of all the work that will be done. If your design and renovation goals don’t match your budget, the contractors you consult will tell you that up front.
The bottom line: Choose a contractor with the qualifications and experience to get the job done right.

At Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre, we understand that our success depends solely on the satisfaction of our clients. To learn more, read 5 Reasons to Trust Monarch With Your Kitchen and Bath Design Needs or call 905-686-2001 to speak with a member of our design team.

What Lies Beneath: Monarch Helps Homeowners Fix Home Builders' “Surprises”

At Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre, we perform renovations of all kinds, shapes and sizes. One of the most common renovation requests we receive from homeowners involves transforming the popcorn ceilings in their home to flat ceilings.

The tear down of this homeowner's ceiling
revealed the absence of joist hangers

Because drywall often becomes aged and tired over time, we prefer to tear down the existing ceiling and reinstall fresh drywall. We find this method provides a better end result and it usually looks crisper than a scrape-and-plaster skim coat on the ceiling.

While undertaking this renovation at a client’s home recently, our contractors were shocked at what they found when they removed the popcorn ceiling drywall. Monarch president Neil Samson was called to the job site to confirm what our experienced contractors had noticed immediately. During the construction of the home, some very important pieces were absent: on an entire section of joists, the joist hangers were missing! There was nothing holding the joists to the structural beams except a few nails.

Here is an example of how the structural beams in a home should look like. Notice the metal brackets holding the joists to the beam.

Joist hangers are metal brackets that secure joists to the beams.

Required by code, these joist hangers are a crucial piece of the house-building puzzle. Due to the lack of joist hangers, the joists had dropped about half an inch. It’s frightening to think about what could have happened to the home over time; however, crisis was averted and our installers jacked the floor joists back up in place then installed the joist hangers. Usually when we undertake a renovation, we expect some small surprises. Missing joist hangers is certainly not a small issue, but unfortunately it was not the only item on this job that gave us some concern.

More surprises were found in the bathroom!

There were more issues again with the joists and the structure of the home being compromised. Upon installation of the bathroom plumbing, our contractors discovered that someone had cut out three-quarters of a floor joist to allow for the bathtub p-trap. Once again, this is against building code, against safe practices, and most importantly could have caused some dangerous, life-threatening scenarios. As you can see from the photo, the plumbing had been leaking for some time and had caused mold to appear on the flooring.

Working with a contractor or renovation company that you trust is very important. At Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre, we respect our customers’ homes, their families and their safety. Monarch president Neil Samson visits all job sites on a regular basis to ensure “surprises” are dealt with in a timely manner, ensuring the safety of your family and your home.

Ready to renovate? Call us today at 905-686-2001 or drop by our showroom and speak with a member of our design team.

There's Nothing Scary About Choosing Monarch for Your Next Kitchen or Bath Renovation

Happy Halloween from Monarch Kitchen & Bath Centre!

While Monarch's kitchen and bath designers are happy to celebrate this spooky holiday, their clients know they don't have to worry about any design or renovation horror stories.

If finding the perfect design firm to meet your needs has become a nightmare, drop by our showroom or call 905-686-2001 to arrange for a no-obligation consultation. Your kitchen or bath renovation doesn't have to be a horror story.

Click here to find out what Monarch's clients are saying.

What's the Best Time of Year to Renovate a Kitchen or Bath?

“Our clients frequently ask us what time of year is best to renovate a kitchen or bathroom,” says Monarch designer Kevin Samson. “There is no standard answer to that question, as every client has a slightly different requirement or reason for choosing a date.”

Before the renovation scheduling begins, your Monarch designer reviews the particulars of your kitchen or bath project so you know exactly what to expect during the entire renovation.

“By asking a few questions at the beginning of the planning process, we’re able to work together to determine an ideal project date,” explains Kevin. “Sometimes clients want to upgrade their kitchen or bath prior to hosting an event in their home and this can determine the date the project will start or finish.” The warmer months are a popular time to renovate because clients are able to cook outdoors and spend more time outside, away from the ‘job site.’

“Families with younger children often prefer to have their home renovated during the school year, as it is less stressful on the family if the children are in school during the day. One of my clients has completed three projects with Monarch, and each time they’ve asked for them to be performed during the winter months,” says Kevin. “Their reason for the winter time frame is so they can enjoy their home during the summer without disruption.”

Are you considering a kitchen or bath renovation? Monarch has been making homeowner’s kitchen and bath dreams a reality for over 30 years. Drop by our showroom or call us at 905-686-2001 to book a consultation with one of our design team.

7 Tips for Keeping Your Marriage Together While Tearing Your House Apart

Whether you’re doing it yourself or hiring professionals, renovating can be a major cause of relationship stress.

From the overwhelming number of decisions that have to made, to the high – and sometimes unpredictable—cost of many reno projects, couples undertaking a major renovation together have their work cut out for them.

As we head into the height of renovation season, here are 7 Tips for Keeping Your Marriage Together While Tearing Your House Apart:

1. Be very clear with each other about what you expect.

As is the case with most aspects in life, effective communication is the key to happiness. From the overall scope of the project and the amount of money you’re willing to spend, to specific design details and your living arrangements during the renovation, communication is critical to a successful project you can both relax and enjoy once the work is done.

2. Set a realistic budget.

Make sure your renovation is within your financial means. If you can’t afford your “dream” reno, then be prepared to make compromises in the quality of the materials you choose (ie. laminate instead of hardwood flooring, for example). If you are not willing to compromise, then keep saving and plan to renovate at a later date. If you decide to go ahead with your project, be sure to build in a 20 per cent contingency for “surprises” along the way.

3. Avoid decision fatigue.

Although you’re probably excited by the thought of choosing all the design elements that will make up your new space, there may come a time when making even one more decision is one decision too many. Do yourself and your partner a favour and make the majority of the decisions (tile, flooring, finishes) before the renovation begins.

4. Don’t renovate on a tight deadline.

Perhaps you’re sprucing up your home for a major holiday, a big family function or as you prepare to sell. A tight deadline is a recipe for disaster and just adds stress to an already stressful situation.

5. Hire a full-service company.

Not only is it crucial to keep the lines of communication open between you and your partner, it’s makes sense if the company you hire is a full-service company that provides complete project management. That way, you deal with one person, and the company deals with all of the contractors required for your project. When you coordinate the various contractors yourself, you may receive inconsistent or conflicting messages. If your contractors are receiving conflicting messages, your frustration and stress will multiply as the job gets delayed or executed incorrectly.

6. Keep one room as a sanctuary.

No matter how hard you try to keep your house free of dust and dirt, it’s going to get messy. And the bigger the renovation, the longer you’ll have to live with the inconvenience. Having one clean, organized room in your home to escape to will help maintain your sanity and make a huge difference in your family’s ability to cope with the chaos that surrounds you.

7. Maintain some form of normalcy.

Don’t play down the importance of taking an occasional break. If possible, plan a night away at a hotel or an evening out with friends. The endless cycle of decision-making, cleaning and running around can put an incredible strain on your relationship. Avoid letting your renovation define your whole life.

Should You Have Your Heating Ducts Cleaned After a Kitchen Renovation?

The heating ducts in your home: to clean or not to clean?

It's a controversial topic with air duct cleaning companies boasting huge benefits on one side of the argument and disbelieving home owners questioning the value of the service on the other side.

First, let's turn to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for some information:

A hot air furnace heats and distributes air through its ducting system. The ducts are usually made of sheet metal and are most obvious in your basement, where they hang from the floor joists. The return, or cold air, ducts bring air to the furnace, usually collecting it centrally in the house. The return air trunk duct is the big rectangular duct along the basement ceiling that enters the bottom of the furnace. The supply, or warm air, ducting usually exits from the top of the furnace. It starts with a trunk duct on the basement ceiling. The individual supply ducts, in round or smaller rectangular sheet metal, branch off the trunk duct and go to each room, where they terminate in a floor or wall register. Over time, dust and debris will collect in these ducts, particularly in the return air ducts.

What we found inside a cold
air return duct after a renovation.

While CMHC questions the reasoning behind having your ducts cleaned on a regular basis to improve your  indoor air quality, remove house dust and improve your energy costs, they do agree that duct cleaning after a major renovation--or upon moving into a newly built home--is a good idea.

"If you are moving into a newly constructed house, and have doubts about the diligence of the construction crew, duct cleaning can be useful. Drywall dust, fibreglass pieces, and sawdust have no place in ducts. Duct cleaning will also catch the odd occurrence where lunch bags or soft drink cans have fallen or been swept into ducting. For similar reasons, duct cleaning may be advisable for older houses following major renovations." 

Debris found inside a cold air
return duct after a renovation.

Monarch Kitchen and Bath Centre president Neil Samson couldn't agree more.

"It's always a good idea to have your ducts cleaned after a major renovation," says Neil. "Ripping down cabinets, tearing up flooring, installing new electrical and drywall...it all creates a lot of dust and debris. Even when you cover the vents, bits and pieces of material can make their way into the ducts. These pictures are just one example of the what we find in the ducts during a kitchen or bath renovation."

Are you considering a kitchen or bath renovation? We'd be happy to help. Drop into our Pickering showroom and speak with one of our designers or call us at 905-686-2001.