#buildinginspiration

Eco Friendly tips to consider in your renovation.

When planning a renovation, it is easy to get caught up on thinking about finishes and fixtures in order to get that look that we want. It can be easy to forget about the elements that you can add that will help to make your home more comfortable, energy and cost efficient.

It is a great opportunity when renovating and extending to be able to add some elements to help reduce the running costs of your home and make it more comfortable giving you that sanctuary feel to match.

So, to make the most of your renovation or extension here are some eco elements that you can consider.

Insulation

Insulation may sound like a boring feature to spend money on in your renovations, but the rewards for doing so make it worthwhile.

Without insulation, your home leaks a lot of energy.

Insulation helps you:

1. reduce your energy bill and save money (approximately by 25%) 2. use less energy

3. reduce greenhouse gas emissions

4. improve your home’s comfort

5. reduce use of cooling and heating systems

6. can make your house more soundproof.

Energy efficient windows

What are the options?

Windows are a necessity in any room, unless you want that jail feeling, and who would want a large wall of windows looking out onto a beautiful garden to sit and look out with your favourite beverage? I know I would!

Without energy efficient windows a loss of up to 40% of the home’s heating can be lost through windows in winter, and in summer up to 87% of the heat in a home can be gained through them.

Low E glass is a single pane of glass with a coating applied to the glass to create a glass that blocks UV rays and infrared light while still allowing visible light through, there can be different coating depending on the climate. Low E glass is therefore more effective when the heat is created by direct sunlight rays.

Double glazed windows are another option and more effective when the temperature change is from external atmosphere (colder or hotter climates). The double glazing is 2 panes of glass with a gap between them to help decrease energy conductivity through the glass.

If the budget does not allow for new windows throughout the house a window tint can be applied to decreased excessive direct sunlight but replacing with low e glass is far more energy efficient.

So which ones should I use? Low E glass and tinting are less expensive than double glazing, but double glazing is far more efficient in areas of extreme heat and cold.

Energy efficient appliances

Appliances that we use everyday add up on the running costs of your home, but with some careful consideration on your purchases they can save you money in the long run.

LED lights are by far becoming the norm in home lighting as they are cheap to buy and cheap to run.

https://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-light-bulb-showdown-leds-vs-cfls-vs-incandescent-bulbs-whats-the-best-deal-now-and-in-the-future/

Gas or Electrical appliances is another choice for consideration with gas showing to be a bit more energy efficient, but this is a bit more complicated to address and we might undertake that in another post, but there are some rebates in NSW for gas appliances, that may tip the boat to gas.

Fans are a smart addition as they are a cheaper way to keep cool in summer.

Water tanks

Water is a very limited resource and costs are going up faster than ever. If possible, include a rain water tank and plumb it into the toilets. Be sure to fix a tap to the tank as well so you can use it for garden watering.

Always include water efficient tapware and beware of mixer taps. If you choose these, have the middle position set to cold so you don’t unknowingly waste hot water. Make sure you use high-flow taps in the laundry area or for a bath – you’ll want washing machines and baths to fill quickly.

Solar panels can also be a way to cut down your running costs, or if the budget doesn’t allow for a full system, consider pre-wiring so it can be easily installed at a later date.

This may also be a requirement in some council electorates with any new addition to the home, so worth looking into.

When you feel like your home is a bit weary from years of good use.

We don't know where to start, then when we do our ideas snowball and it becomes overwhelming and becomes too big and we just it it away for another day.

This is a very common feeling when it comes to renovating your home, and it is something that we hear a lot.

We have come up with a few steps that we have learnt to help you start and focus your renovation plans so they don't become overwhelming.

Have a quick read.

If you have any questions please comment.

Tips for planning a renovation!

Planning a renovation can sometimes be a bit daunting and confusing about how and where to start!

I’m going to give you a few tips about how to get a plan together for your renovation project.

It’s ok if you are feeling a little bit overwhelmed about your renovation project, because that’s not uncommon, it happens all the time. It’s a big deal you are going to spend a lot of time and a lot of money and time invested and you want to get it right.

The first thing you need to think about is its function.

What is the room and space going to be used for, is it going to be a playroom, or an entertaining area?

Is your kitchen going to flow out onto your deck?

Are you going to future proof the room so that you can adapt to it later on?

Is it a duel space?

Is it for both dinning and for the kids to do their homework while you prep dinner?

Then you can start thinking about what you need in the space to meet that function.

Is there enough storage?

Do you need a desk?

Is there enough space to fit your furniture?

Quote price confusion!

So, you have decided to do a renovation project? You have got 3 builders out to look at the work and they come back with 3 different prices for the same work, what’s going on there?

Hi, I’m Andrew from Quadrio Building services and I’m here to talk to you about why when you get 3 different quotes, they are 3 different prices for the same amount of work. The same materials. You say the same thing to each guy, but you get 3 different prices.

In my experience there are 4 main reasons why builders prices vary!

The first one is if they use cheap materials and cheap labour. The downside to that is as you can probably tell I that they are getting inferior product, and tradespeople that unreliable and messy and they are going to do a bad job, and you are really going to regret it.

The problems might not show up straight away, but in 6-12months time you could have big issues

and by then your builder might be uncontactable.

The second thing is that they have to cut corners. They leave things out or they don’t think things through quite right so it may look good at the time but again in 6-12months time you have cracks appearing or waterproofing issues, and you have got to try and get them back to fix it. That’s a nightmare!

Number 3 is if the builder misses something or leaves something out. This is the worst time, because what they will do is come to you ½ way through the job and say I forgot about this, can you pay me an extra $5000-$10000, and you have to try and find it somewhere.

Number 4 is if they reduce their profit margin. If they are reducing their profit margin, yes it may be beneficial for you straight away but if they are going to be getting less from your job, they will prioritise other jobs over yours, so you are going to get bad services, and a bad experience and that is what is going to leave that bitter taste in your mouth at the end of the day. When to job drags on forever and you can’t get back into you home.

So, my top tip for this situation is that you have to choose quality over dollar figure. You have got to choose someone that is going to prioritise your job and give you a great experience and get you back into your home as quick as possible. If you don’t you are going to pay for it down the line.

When do I engage a builder?

So many people around these days think that renovating or extending their home is just way to hard, there is too much involved.

I’m Andrew from Quadrio Building Services and I am here to tell you that tat is defiantly not the case.

If You involve you builder really really early like as soon as you start thinking. Hmmm I think I might put a deck on out the back, or I think I might extend the house because I am running out off room.

If you involve him from that moment on, then you experience will be so much better.

Your builder should come in and talk to you, and it starts with that very first meeting. If they can talk to you and make you feel happy, make you feel at ease with you concerns. Make you feel understood, that he knows that what you want and what you need and addresses any concerns that you might have, or any questions that you have got. If you can get that from the very beginning your experience is going to be so much better.

Your builder can take all those ideas, all those concerns and alleviate them, and get you exactly what you need and maybe some of the wants too, depending on the budget.

Another thing is you need to pick value over price. It is so important.

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!

Its the same every single time.

In life if you go for the cheaper options you are going to get bad workmanship, you are going to get bad service.

It is exactly the same with building. You need to not look at the price tag.

You Look at the quality of builder.

The quality of experience they have provided for their former clients

The level of understanding they have of your project, because if they don’t understand you, they are not going to deliver, they are just not, it just doesn’t work like that.

Another thing is how much they ask you, if they ask you if they are on the right track, about “ok so you want this and this and this, is that about right”. If that is what they are asking, then they understand what you want.

It’s really important that you do those things and your experience can be great and it’s not hard.

If you like you have seen here, I’m trying to change the industry, give us a share, tag you mates if you know someone that this might be helpful to.

We have all heard the horror stories about the renovation projects went horribly wrong because the builder and the client did not communicate with each other, or they end up in a fight or in court.

How Bad is that?

I’m Andrew from Quadrio Building services and I’m here to breakdown the stigma that builders don’t communicate with their clients.

It is the most important thing.

If you don’t get on with your builder, then it is going to be a disaster from the beginning.

You need to be able to trust your builder and to do that he needs to understand what want and what you need.

If he doesn’t understand that how is he going to deliver on it and how can you trust him.

You need to be able to get on with him too.

You are going to spend a lot of time with him.

You are going to be talking to him nearly every day, especially if you are living in the house while you do the renovation.

You are going to see them nearly every single day, so you have got to like them.

You have got to like them as a person, you have got to ask about their interests, what they do outside of work, and see if you are going to fit. It’s very important that you fit together and not apart, and not butting heads.

Another important thing is how they make you feel, if they make you feel important, if they make you feel good and understood that’s the main thing.