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 Post subject: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 2:25 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:45 am
Posts: 6
Hello all,

I have my design appointment next week and I am looking for some input. Decisions will be based on current enjoyment as well as resale. We plan on staying for 2-5 years, ideally. It is a townhouse for context, stratford corner.

Upgrades:

-Interior Door handles (seems reasonable $400)
-Upgraded trim (I am not sure if this is something potential buyers would notice/pay for, but it definitely makes the house look more premium)
-Flat ceilings
-Add operating pane to windows
-Stair light (this seems almost impossible to do after, so we are sucking up the cost and getting it done)
-Paint
-Stairs and knee wall removal (this one has me stumped. It is soooo expensive, but seems like it would be a pain after the fact, so again, sucking it up)
-Upgrade tiles in foyer, powder and master bath.
-Hardwood in kitchen and living room (I can install hardwood so I wanted laminate in the kitchen but thats a no go. Removing tile is dirty and time consuming so again, sucking it up. That seems to be a theme)
-Cabinet upgrade
-Change island colour and outlet
-Shorten cabinet for otr microwave
-Plasma ready wall
-French door for den
-Glass shower ensuite
-Increase gas line
-Pot lights (wow they're expensive)
-Relocate hose bib to front of garage

I understand that Mattamy is a business and needs to make money, so I get that everything is pricey. My comments are just relaying that upgrades are expense.

Please let me know based on your experience/knowledge is there is anything you would add or take off, or any general comments.

Thanks


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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 2:54 pm 
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Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:45 pm
Posts: 147
Location: Milton
Hello

Just my suggestion:)

Interior Door handles (seems reasonable $400) ……….OK
-Upgraded trim (I am not sure if this is something potential buyers would notice/pay for, but it definitely makes the house look more premium) – ………………..Not mandatory however if you can then should
-Flat ceilings - ……………..MUST
-Add operating pane to windows – …………………..they give 1 operating that is enough
-Stair light (this seems almost impossible to do after, so we are sucking up the cost and getting it done)
-Paint – ………………………..Do it afterwards, don’t spend any amount with them, take the basic what they give
-Stairs and knee wall removal (this one has me stumped. It is soooo expensive, but seems like it would be a pain after the fact, so again, sucking it up)- ……………………This is personal choice if you need to get rid of wall do it with Mattamy it is a hassle after wards. Would suggest you remove wall it opens space
-Upgrade tiles in foyer, powder and master bath.- …………………….More than upgrade see if you can get them installed diagonally
-Hardwood in kitchen and living room (I can install hardwood so I wanted laminate in the kitchen but thats a no go. Removing tile is dirty and time consuming so again, sucking it up. That seems to be a theme) – ………………………………Tile removal is going to be messy and will cost might as well get hardwood now
-Cabinet upgrade - …………………MUST
-Change island colour and outlet – ……………………….If you have a colour scheme then do it this is going to be a challenge afterwards and $$$
-Shorten cabinet for otr microwave
-Plasma ready wall
-French door for den - ………………………….MUST
-Glass shower ensuite – ………………………Later on your own
-Increase gas line – …………………………….Not required really unless you need it I believe its 250-300 no harm in getting it done
-Pot lights (wow they're expensive) ……………………….No No No , get it done afterwards
-Relocate hose bib to front of garage- …………………..Must, big advantage not that expensive $75

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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 3:09 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:45 am
Posts: 6
Milton1 wrote:
Hello

Just my suggestion:)

Interior Door handles (seems reasonable $400) ……….OK
-Upgraded trim (I am not sure if this is something potential buyers would notice/pay for, but it definitely makes the house look more premium) – ………………..Not mandatory however if you can then should
-Flat ceilings - ……………..MUST
-Add operating pane to windows – …………………..they give 1 operating that is enough
-Stair light (this seems almost impossible to do after, so we are sucking up the cost and getting it done)
-Paint – ………………………..Do it afterwards, don’t spend any amount with them, take the basic what they give
-Stairs and knee wall removal (this one has me stumped. It is soooo expensive, but seems like it would be a pain after the fact, so again, sucking it up)- ……………………This is personal choice if you need to get rid of wall do it with Mattamy it is a hassle after wards. Would suggest you remove wall it opens space
-Upgrade tiles in foyer, powder and master bath.- …………………….More than upgrade see if you can get them installed diagonally
-Hardwood in kitchen and living room (I can install hardwood so I wanted laminate in the kitchen but thats a no go. Removing tile is dirty and time consuming so again, sucking it up. That seems to be a theme) – ………………………………Tile removal is going to be messy and will cost might as well get hardwood now
-Cabinet upgrade - …………………MUST
-Change island colour and outlet – ……………………….If you have a colour scheme then do it this is going to be a challenge afterwards and $$$
-Shorten cabinet for otr microwave
-Plasma ready wall
-French door for den - ………………………….MUST
-Glass shower ensuite – ………………………Later on your own
-Increase gas line – …………………………….Not required really unless you need it I believe its 250-300 no harm in getting it done
-Pot lights (wow they're expensive) ……………………….No No No , get it done afterwards
-Relocate hose bib to front of garage- …………………..Must, big advantage not that expensive $75


Thank you for the input. Couple questions:

Paint: Seems reasonable (1500 two coats) and I have a lot of work to do after we close. The stairway seems like it would be tough, and it would be a couple days plus cost of paint to do after, so is it really a no go?

Glass shower: Definitely overpriced. My worry is that they run the plumbing towards the tub (bath oasis) if we don't do the glass shower, and it would cost more to re route the plumber and install the glass shower.

Pot lights: I know, a good friend is an electrician too. But the cost to rip out drywall, install, then replace is almost as much as having them done.

Thanks for the response


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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 5:42 pm 
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Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:15 am
Posts: 885
Location: HVE
You don't need to rip out drywall to install pot lights. You use retrofit pots that anchor to drywall. You don't need to use the new construction pot light brackets for a retrofit job. The hardest part is running the wiring and if your friend has a fish tape and a long (48"+) drill bit, you're good to go.

If you're talking about pot lights upstairs, you can run that through the attic (in which case you'd have to use insulation-protective pot light boxes). Either way, there is no reason to pay Mattamy for this.


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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 8:07 pm 
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Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2016 8:19 am
Posts: 14
Location: Milton, Ontario
I agree with Milton1 on most of the things he suggested. Something to look into is that Hardwood/Laminate in Kitchen is very hard to maintain.

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Amer Sheikh
Sales Representative
Right At Home Realty Inc., Brokerage
Cell: 647-787-0000


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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Thu Nov 24, 2016 11:08 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:48 pm
Posts: 217
Location: Milton
I agree with Milton1 on almost everything! Here are a few other points:

Interior Door handles - not sure I would spend $400 on this, I guess it depends on the look you’re going for, but the standard handles Mattamy gives you are quite modern - I think upgrading the interior door style would have a bigger impact (and only about $250)

-Upgraded trim - not sure of the price with your model but i think we found it overpriced. We plan to do this after close as it’s not too hard to do it yourself, and I don't believe Mattamy had much selection

-Gas line - is this for a stove, or just increasing the line? We got the gas rough in for the stove, but i believe it was close to $900 for everything so not sure it’s worth it! (depends on the price after close - which we didn’t look into before hand) you have to pay a fee just to increase the line ($300 ish) and then another $500 or so for the stove rough in

-Stair light - would this make a big difference? and might it go unnoticed when selling?

-Upgraded tile - I would do this only if you hate the standard tile options and really love the upgrade tile, some of the upgraded tiles don’t look expensive IMO so I don’t think it would make a difference when selling

-Relocate hose bib to front of garage - we were going to do this as it would be convenient, but our DC pointed out, since we have a single car garage, it wouldn’t leave us a lot of space to get out of the car with a hose reel at the side of the garage (vs the back) so we opted not to get it in the end.

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Lauren and Eric
Hawthorne South Village | Phase 6

Firm Closing Date: September 14, 2017


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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 10:30 am 
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Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 9:58 pm
Posts: 4286
I'm sorry, if your friend who an electrician says you have to rip out the dry wall to do pot lights, you've got to talk to someone else.

There are many companies that will do potlights after the fact and quite well and reliably without ripping out drywall. If he doesn't have the experience, then he will obviously say you have to rip it out. Do a search on the site, there are TONS of people who get it done after the fact and don't have to rip out dry wall and get it for a fraction of builder cost.

Here's one such company who did my neighbours place - They came in with 4 guys and got 20 pot lights done in a few hours.

http://mrpotlight.com/

There are many others who can do it as well.


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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2016 11:51 am 
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Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:45 am
Posts: 6
Thanks for the responses and opinions, they will all be taken into consideration and have been very helpful.

As far as the pot lights go, I guess my thinking was "how would they run the wire and anchor the pot lights without ripping a hole in the ceiling" but it sounds like there is a solution to that. Thank you for the Mr Pot Light suggestion, I will inquire with them before making any final decisions.


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 Post subject: Re: Town house upgrades
PostPosted: Sat Nov 26, 2016 12:24 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 9:58 pm
Posts: 4286
What ever decision you make - do not pay the exorbitant prices of the builder to do pot lights.

The way I looked at upgrades was (1) if it was impossible for me do to after (ie 8ft ceiling to 9ft) or (2) the rip and replace was the same or more to do after (ie I did the cabinet wood upgrade was it was $1000 - it would cost me a hell of a lot more to rip out the cabinets and replace them).

Everything else was done myself, over time at was better prices.


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