Who's Who Renovations

PUBLISHER Bob Cox MANAGER OF NICHE PRODUCTS Barb Borden Barb.Borden@freepress.mb.ca EDITOR Jason Halstead jjhphoto@gmail.com PHOTOGRAPHY Darcy Finley Customer supplied WRITERS Geoff Kirbyson Todd Lewys DESIGN Jane Chartrand View online at winnipegfreepress.com/publications who's who special edition RENOVATIONS I f you're looking to boost the value of your home, forget about renovating your kitchen or bathroom. Wait, what? It's a long-held misperception that ripping out and replacing either or both of those rooms will send your home's value to the moon, according to Bryan Baeumler, the featured speaker at the Winnipeg Renovation Show at the RBC Convention Centre. Taking steps to improve your home's long- term value instead will have the biggest payoff, he said. "Kitchens and bathrooms are the bling. Health and safety, efficiency and environmental responsibility are more important. Anything you can do to reduce the long-term maintenance costs of your home will turn into real value," he said. "Upgrading your insulation to reduce your (operational) costs by $250 per month will pay you back forever. If you redo your kitchen, somebody will say in 10 or 15 years that it's not in style anymore and they'll want to rip it out." Baeumler is widely considered to be Canada's top handyman and is well-known from hosting a number of shows on HGTV Canada, including Disaster DIY, Leave It To Bryan, House of Bryan, Bryan Inc. and Island of Bryan. Thousands of people are expected to attend the three-day event, which runs Jan. 10-12 at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg, in search of home improvement ideas, project inspiration and expert advice. There will be more than 200 booths covering every aspect of home renovation, including interior design, architecture, accessibility, heating and air conditioning, windows, lighting, kitchens and bathrooms, construction and home entertainment. Before you start ripping things out of walls and dusting off your sledgehammer, do yourself a huge favour and set a finite budget and make plans that fit within it. "We all have plans we can't afford. You've got to be willing to (sacrifice) the cosmetic things in order to do the important things, the stuff behind the walls, such as mechanical, electrical and safety. Those should be the priorities. The cosmetics should come last," he said. That budget should include 25 to 30 per cent to cover for unexpected surprises. "People have to be willing to change, be malleable and enjoy the process. A lot of people look at it like 'this is going to be hell and we're going to spend a bunch of extra money,'" he said. The vast majority of projects go over budget but people tend to blame the process rather than the decisions they make. "If you have a finite budget and you open up a wall and find a water leak or some mould, there's no reason to go over budget if you're willing to make concessions. Maybe your granite countertops are veneer instead, maybe your solid hardwood flooring turns into vinyl or your new appliances are your old appliances," he said. "Going over budget is a decision." You should also be realistic with your timeline. You might think you can finish up your project by a certain date but if — sorry, that should be "when" — you don't, don't be upset. "Only on television do the trades show up on time, the material gets there when it's supposed to and you don't make a mistake. There's a team of editors to remove all of that," he said. It's also important to keep things in perspective. Renovations are stressful but they shouldn't throw a wrench into your relationship. Spell out what's important to you before you start, don't make important decisions too quickly and do your best to enjoy the process. "The last thing you want to talk about before your head hits the pillow is, 'what colour should we paint that wall?'" he said. "Decide not to discuss the renovation at certain times." ❙ The realistic renovator Focus on your home's long game By Geoff Kirbyson for the Free Press HGTV Canada's Bryan Baeumler. SUPPLIED PHOTOS

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