With prices for remodeling not going down we talk about my biggest tips for this next year and taking on that next project. It doesnt matter if you are going to hire it done or taking it on as a DIY project there are a lot of things to consider and here are your best tips for a great finished project.

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[00:00:32] Eric Goranson: And my tips to see. easier. And then we're going to jump into some of the controversy as well. As do you grab a building permit every time? The easy answer is yes, but sometimes there's a couple of times that you go, wow, this is going to be a problem. We're going to talk about that as well. Cause it's not always black and white, even though it is a great idea to do something.

[00:01:10] Eric Goranson: Thanks for joining us today. Boy, we are coming up into the new year's holiday. What happened here to 2023? It blew past. So this is our last show of the year here for this for 2023, but we've got a brand new. Fun year ahead that we're looking forward to. If you want to find out more about us, head over to aroundthehouseonline.

[00:01:56] Eric Goranson: Well, today we're going to be talking about, uh, remodeling tips for 2024 moving [00:02:00] ahead. And this is how we're going to break this show down here. You, of course, we have four, four little, uh, segments in the show here, and that's generally for our radio audience out there and our podcast. So you listen to something similar here as well.

[00:02:32] Eric Goranson: And so we're going to talk about that today. And if you want to have more information about us, just, uh, like I said, head over to around the house, online. com. Well, here's my tips for 2024. And you know, we're seeing, as we look around the country, we're seeing so many different rules and regulations. When it comes to contractors and remodeling, you know, in most states, um, across the country, you're seeing, uh, you know, if you hire people [00:03:00] that they're supposed to be licensed, bonded, insured, and that's, I'd say 90 percent of the country right now.

[00:03:21] Eric Goranson: I'm not here to bash on those guys. But what we're seeing now is we're seeing, um, contractors out there and we're seeing a lot of issues coming up with, with our economy, for instance, right now. So we're seeing. Um, then this happens every seven to 10 years. It seems in the industry, I've been around for 30.

[00:04:05] Eric Goranson: And there's a lot of. Newer home builders will go out there, they'll build, build, build, build. And all of a sudden the market comes crashing down a little bit and they're so far ahead of their skis that they can't pay their bills and they go bankrupt or what they do is they get out of home building and get into remodeling.

[00:04:46] Eric Goranson: Well, not everybody, you can be a great roofer, but you could maybe not be the best. Business owner as a roofer. And so what you see now is more people closing up their business and go, man, I can't afford to do this. I'm going to go work for somebody to get [00:05:00] paid. And so we see these shifts in our industry out there of who a contractor is and who a worker is.

[00:05:30] Eric Goranson: For instance, if you're going to be having a kitchen remodeled because you're going to stay in your house and you're doing a kitchen remodel in 2024, the first thing I would do is find a designer to work with. And yes, you should get one. That will save you money in the long run. Hire that designer to come do the project and have them design out the project that you want.

[00:06:19] Eric Goranson: And unfortunately these days, it's hard to get under 60, 000. If you're gutting the kitchen down to the studs, it just is your. You can spend 60 really quick if you're paying for this to be done. So one, I want to see you design around a budget, whatever it is. And I want to make sure that you've got it in your contract that you're keeping this, this, uh, designer accountable for staying within that budget.

[00:07:01] Eric Goranson: here in Canada, even look for the Certified Kitchen Designers out there or Certified Kitchen and Bath Designers to the National Kitchen and Bath Association. That is going to be, uh, here, especially here in the U. S., that is your, your cream of the crop of designers. And, uh, those are the ones that have specifically Been looking training and designing.

[00:07:43] Eric Goranson: Designer and you probably don't want that your project being the first one because there are a thousand mistakes that can happen and I've said this before and I'll say it a bunch of times when you're hiring a kitchen designer, make sure that they've got years of experience. I want to see 3 [00:08:00] to 4 years full time designing before they get going.

[00:08:24] Eric Goranson: And that's where the rub is. When I see people going, Oh, I've designed a kitchen before. I'm going to do it again. Okay. So now you're doing your second kitchen and this is where this gets a little ugly. Most people, when they design their own projects as homeowners, they are actually going through In designing based on their tweaking around the original design they had, where many times you probably want to rethink the entire space and design it for the current things that are going in your kitchen.

[00:09:15] Eric Goranson: And things were much more simple that went into the kitchen. So are you designing it for today? Or are you just kind of copying the 1970s design that you had or eighties design that you had? And that can be a huge mistake when you're designing. So we come back, we're going to talk more about remodeling, especially when you're hiring those contractors.

[00:10:10] Eric Goranson: What's up? This is sticks it in you and satchel from steel Panther. And you are listening to around the house with Eric G. We love Eric G and you should too.

[00:10:48] Eric Goranson: We'll be doing. For more for the DIY of how you're going to tackle this, but let's talk a little bit about here of what you should be doing if you're hiring that licensed contractor. So [00:11:00] we were talking here in the 1st segment about finding the right designer, getting the right person and then going out and getting bids.

[00:11:27] Eric Goranson: 82, 000 bucks. And we're going to put this, this, and this in it. Cool. I want to see a detailed bid. I want to see down what the budget is for the knobs and handles. I want to know what that estimate is. And you know, I'm okay with you having to pay for that. And the contractor might say, Hey, for me to give you that level of bid, I have to go out and price everything out.

[00:12:01] Eric Goranson: You might have to pay 500, 800, 1000 bucks or more for them, depending on the scope of the project, but I think it's worthwhile as long as this is how I would do it, I would go look and say, okay, here's my three bids for the same kitchen, because here's the problem that I see, and this is where they get you is that you get, if you have three designs and three bids, you're not comparing apples to oranges here, And you, I mean, you've got the whole fruit basket, your, your apples, oranges, and bananas.

[00:12:56] Eric Goranson: First off, I have seen really good [00:13:00] contractors make mistakes that hurt the homeowner years down the road. Great example in my area here, there is a, uh, a design build firm that has a 40 plus years and there are legends that have worked in this building. But I went out to a homeowner's place probably four years ago, and I was going to go out and design this place out, popped in there.

[00:13:47] Eric Goranson: But we had to actually treat it like it was a new remodel. So we were going to have to tear out the insulation. We were going to have to add insulation to get it to what 2020 or 2019 building code. So instead of it being [00:14:00] a 80, 000 kitchen, it was going to be a 110, 000 kitchen because we had to bring the rest of the building since it was never finaled up to code.

[00:14:30] Eric Goranson: These are things that you this is part of that due diligence. In today's economy, especially if you're out buying a home right now, and you're taking a look at it, take a look and see what the building department has for the square footage. So, uh, I have, this is a great test that I've done with people and this comes up a lot.

[00:15:02] Eric Goranson: 4, 000 square feet. We'll take it. That's not what you're worried about. You're worried about what the building department says, because many times in old homes, especially that were built, you know, prior to 1950, they had a covered porch that got enclosed. And what happens is the building department goes, Hey, that home was 1200 square feet, but you're listing it now is 2, 400 square feet.

[00:15:47] Eric Goranson: And now you have to bring that up to current code because it's not grandfathered in. So I've seen six figure additions on projects because. Somebody had not pulled the building permits on that addition, and then you went to [00:16:00] remodel it. And now you've got a much bigger expense. Because that attic space was storage, not living space, and so maybe the floor joists weren't built right.

[00:16:27] Eric Goranson: Because if you're going to start working on this, and just make sure that you've got that dialed in, that you know that you're working in a space that was original to the house, that was done, that you don't have another 30, 40, 50 thousand dollars, because Many times that doesn't happen until the the you know The building department starts showing up and walking through and that's something that is if you've got a complex remodel That's not a bad idea Check to see if your building department will actually show up out at your site and do a pre construction walk That is something that's happening now here in my area.

[00:17:12] Eric Goranson: And we don't, you know, we don't show that this was a part of the original house. Then you can address it before you have things opened up because that's my worst nightmare for people out there is if they. Get into a project and go, wow, I don't have 50, 000 to spend because we just found a huge mistake.

[00:17:54] Eric Goranson: Find out. I mean, you'll see people out there that are great license bonded insured contractors that are [00:18:00] paying for their insurance. They've got everything covered and you as a homeowner are protected. What I don't want to see is somebody out there and I've seen this plenty of times. That are trying to slide in somebody else's license or trying to use a fake one.

[00:18:36] Eric Goranson: And, uh, take a look at a previous episode. We've done plenty of those on how to hire a contractor. We come back. We're going to talk about some of the best practice for you doing your own DIY project. We'll do that just as soon as around the house. Hey, this is[00:19:00]

[00:19:22] Eric Goranson: com or give a call into the show here. 8 9 41 44. That's 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44. We've been talking about remodeling tips for 2024. And, uh, we are going to switch now from talking about people that are going to hire contractors to my tips. For the DIY or for you guys out there, they're going to tackle this project.

[00:20:01] Eric Goranson: There are so many bad sources of information out there online, whether it's on YouTube, whether it's on, you know, social media groups. Uh, I tell you what, there are groups out there that, uh, are packed full of great information. And there are groups out there that are packed with absolutely horrible information.

[00:20:37] Eric Goranson: So the first thing I want to do is if you're going to do that kitchen remodel, and since it's a big dollar project. I want you to understand what needs to happen. So I want you to just create your scope of work. What are you going to do? And, you know, grab a word document, whatever, grab a notepad and start planning out what you're going to do.

[00:21:16] Eric Goranson: Now, if you're replacing cabinets, I'm always going to tell you to go ahead and find a kitchen designer that can help you navigate that because as we talked about in the previous segment, that's, that's an important step, especially for the DIY, because it's going to save you money. Cause you want to have.

[00:21:45] Eric Goranson: So you don't want to have to completely stop your project for this. So this is a big one, so I want you to go through and get that kind of figured out. And, and get that hammered out. The next thing I want you to do is figure out what your building codes are [00:22:00] and what rules you're going to have to follow to do this.

[00:22:25] Eric Goranson: And when you get into metropolitan areas, it gets even more complex with some of the rules that they have that are outside and beyond, especially in condos and things like that. Now, you're into semi commercial spaces. Or mixed use spaces, and that gets even more complex, so something to consider there, but I really want you to understand what those building codes are, because, like, for instance, in a kitchen remodel, uh, if this was a house that was built in the 70s or 80s, the lights, um, and the countertop outlets might be on the same, uh, circuit to the dishwasher in the, um, [00:23:00] garbage disposal could be on one circuit.

[00:23:24] Eric Goranson: So your refrigerator can't say be on the same one as the wall outlets for instance. And so these are things you got to be careful for and maybe that vent hood that wasn't there needs to go in And now has to be vented up through the ceiling or through the wall and outside to the exterior of the home.

[00:23:59] Eric Goranson: So these [00:24:00] are things that you're going to have to probably bring in maybe a professional to help you out with as part of the design. And more importantly, you know, to maybe help you with the electrical to get that done correctly, or to bring in that HVAC professional that can help run that duct, do it correctly to code and make sure that it's safe.

[00:24:39] Eric Goranson: There's all these little things. So it's okay to be a DIY and bring in trades for some of those projects. Maybe you bring in the license plumber. That's going to pull the permits for it. Maybe you bring in the license electrician. Okay. Maybe I hate doing drywall and you bring a drywaller and that's okay too, but maybe you're gonna, you're a decent handy person.

[00:25:18] Eric Goranson: You know, if you're doing stone or courts or something like that, you're going to be working with a with somebody on that. So that's a decision that you need to figure out when you get your estimate to find out. Okay. Do you need me to put down sub tops? Do you need me to. To make sure everything's perfectly level.

[00:25:50] Eric Goranson: These are things that can really help you out by doing it correctly. And, um, you know, depending on the project, you know, if you're doing a deck outside, there's going to be areas. [00:26:00] Maybe you don't, maybe the deck is, is a foot off the ground. And so it's something that you don't even need a building permit for because they're like, ah, there's no railings.

[00:26:36] Eric Goranson: That are actually causing more problems because they're planning to get the clicks and the more clicks they get, the more advertisers they get, or the more money people make because people are watching their YouTube videos, but they're giving off bad, bad information and probably purposely bad information.

[00:27:13] Eric Goranson: This is how you do your research on your sources, because a lot of these people that are out there that are paying, that are playing for clicks that are creating content that is bad, they're just trying to make sure that they get out there and be seen. Versus actually give you the right information to do the project correctly.

[00:27:49] Eric Goranson: Back in the day and our practices have come a long way, especially when it comes to to lay in tile when it comes to Building a shower. There are a [00:28:00] lot of things out there that have really come a long ways that have made it easier for you So I don't want to see it where you create yourself some problems by tackling the project yourself And you did it the way that you've always done it, but there's probably a more reliable better And quite frankly, cheaper way of doing it that could turn out better.

[00:28:33] Eric Goranson: We'll be right back. Welcome back to the round the house show.[00:29:00]

[00:29:30] Eric Goranson: Give us a call 24 seven. If I'm not in the studio, I'll call you back and put you on a future episode of the show. If it's something that I think that other people could be helped by, we've been talking about remodeling tips here for 2024 and uh, the last segment in this one, we're talking really for the DIY and here are my really big.

[00:30:17] Eric Goranson: So here's my trick is I will jump on if I'm going to install product X. I will try going to that manufacturer, go onto their YouTube page and see if they have any information on it. Many times they're going to have very detailed videos. Great example, wood fire pizza oven company. Out of Australia. Um, before I did my TV segment on that, I had never built my own wood fire pizza oven, never done it before, but I wanted to get it done here for this last week for my television show.

[00:31:19] Eric Goranson: And generally these are the tried and true methods of getting it done, right. And making sure that you end up, you know, and it's not a hundred percent foolproof sometimes directions. Um, can be very, very difficult to understand and that's something that, uh, a lot of companies are still working on today, but, uh, you know, using YouTube and some of those things, if it's a manufacturer or somebody that is a spokesperson for them, that is a good way to do it.

[00:32:08] Eric Goranson: Okay. What is my game plan from start to finish? You need to map this out like it's a plan for battle. You need to go. Okay. What is my starting point? What is my finish point? And then I want you to go through and actually visualize the project because If you start going, okay, I need to do this, but I need to paint this.

[00:32:43] Eric Goranson: Now that thing when I film it like that, for instance, a little inside baseball for the TV show, it was 90 percent built. But I still had two weeks of either drying or curing for that thing to be able to be used. And so you have to wait it out. And go through and and use [00:33:00] it and follow those directions and be patient and the similar stuff is where it gets really difficult.

[00:33:24] Eric Goranson: Because when it comes to building science, there is not one size fits all for the country. A lot of it has to do with climate zones. What's in your area? Because what I would do here where I'm at in Portland, Oregon is going to be way different than maybe what you're doing in Arizona or Minneapolis. Or up in Maine or friends up there that listen to the show.

[00:34:07] Eric Goranson: And the problem that we see too, and here's another rule for a DIYer, just because they sell it at the big box stores, doesn't mean it's the right product or project it should be used on. Because there are many things inside those stores that don't meet building code in your area, but they still sell them.

[00:34:49] Eric Goranson: And I can generally answer those, but even I have to refer to the expert sometimes and talk to that engineer to make sure that things are correct because You know, [00:35:00] that's the thing. This is science. So it's constantly evolving. And so what worked 10 years ago, maybe the last time you did that project could be completely different now, you know, and that's the thing nowadays you're seeing instead of just people wrapping building wrap around the house and calling it good.

[00:35:40] Eric Goranson: So when it comes to building science and really wrapping around, do your research. And then the other really good tip that I have here is don't mix brands. This is a really good thing to follow up. If you're tackling that project in your tip for me, if you're going to do [00:36:00] weatherproofing before you put sighting on, and you're going to use.

[00:36:25] Eric Goranson: It should do fine. Maybe that tape's gonna react with another paper. And you're going to have something that's going to fail prematurely, and then you're going to have water damage underneath it. And then you have to do the project over. So be really careful with that. And again, planning is key and making sure that you've got that dialed in.

[00:37:04] Eric Goranson: You know, um, I'll be honest. I, it just, maybe if you are very good at what you do, you don't need to, you know, I would think maybe twice about. You know, if you've got a water heater that quit on Sunday and you can't get a building permit that day to do it, maybe you want to sit there and get that thing changed out and not wait for the building permit office to open up on Monday.

[00:37:51] Eric Goranson: And, um, there's no sense getting into trouble later when you go to sell the house or do another remodel by not doing that, you [00:38:00] know, and, uh, the building permit, uh, process in many areas is, is either easy or cumbersome. You know, the smaller the town, sometimes a longer it takes to get things through, but, uh, these people are also there to help guide you.

[00:38:33] Eric Goranson: I would not build out an outbuilding. It's outside of code because. These days, you're seeing building departments using satellites and satellite imagery to follow up and see, and they can go back and see year by year, month by month of what you have hiding around there. So, if you're building a building out there, and you've got a building permits that's needed for that.

[00:39:09] Eric Goranson: Thanks for tuning into around the house. If you're new to the show, thanks for tuning in and always catch the podcast as well on Wednesdays. Happy new year's and I'll see you next weekend. Thanks for tuning in to around the house.