9 Things to do Before You Begin Renovations

You just bought a fixer-upper. Now what?

Before you dive into demolition or start swinging a hammer, it’s essential to take the time to lay the groundwork and set yourself up for success. First steps will look different for everyone based on the type of home you are renovating, but for the beginner DIYer, there are several things you may want to consider.

1. Change the Locks

2. Make a Renovation Plan

3. Check for Grants and Rebates

4. Schedule an Energy Audit 

5. Test for Hazards

6. Locate Power and Water Shutoff

7. Stock up

8. Set up Stations

9. Plan for Construction Waste

Change the Locks

It probably goes without saying that one of the most important first steps when you gain access to a new house is to change the locks. Even if you don’t plan on living there when the renos first begin, you might risk losing any tools and materials you are storing in the house if there are others out there that have a copy of the previous homeowner’s key, or if someone has knowledge of a spare key that still remains hidden outside. One of the most common types of theft is tools from a jobsite because power tools have a good resale value and people are more likely to steal something if they know the location is unoccupied.

It is always good to call a locksmith first to see what they charge for rekeying, as it might be more cost effective than replacing your locks. But if the rates are high in your area, or if you were thinking about changing out the locks anyway, this is an easy first DIY project. You can get good quality lock sets online or from your local hardware store that are intuitive to install, and come with detailed installation instructions. Here are things you can look for in a high-quality door lock:

• Steel deadbolt
• Anti-drill and anti-pick pins
• Bump-resistant
• ANSI/BHMA Grade

The prices of locks vary, but something like this option from Weiser will be both functional and economical enough to purchase for multiple doors in your home. It also comes in a variety of finishes so you can match your existing handle hardware.

A convenient feature of this particular lock is that it has a option for you to rekey it if you need to. So it should be noted that if your existing lock has one of these little holes for a rekey tool next to the main keyhole, you will not need to replace the entire lock, you can rekey it yourself using the existing key, a new key of your choice, a rekey tool and a fifteen second online tutorial.

Another safety tip is to increase the length of the screws on the strike plate. The strike plate is the metal plate on the door jam that houses the bolt from the door knob and lock. In many cases, it is installed using just ½” screws, making it a weak point in a locking systems; even if you have an excellent lock, a forceful kick to the door could dislodge a strike plate with ½” or even 1″ screws. Replacing these with screws that are at least 2″ will ensure they bite all the way through the door jam and into the stronger jack stud behind it.

Make a Renovation Plan

While it may be tempting to just get into the house and ‘go for it’, home improvements always run more smoothly with a plan in place. A renovation plan—even a rudimentary one—helps you clarify your vision for the project, allowing you to define the scope of work and visualize the steps to get to the desired outcome. This clarity helps you create a systematic plan for moving towards your end goals, without having to redo things or missing opportunities for efficiencies. 

Phases of a reno project do not exist in isolated compartments, they intersect with one another. Flooring runs between multiple rooms, kitchens feed into open concept living spaces and framed walls can house the plumbing and electrical and HVAC for multiple rooms at a time. So if you are planning to renovate room by room overtime instead of opening up every wall at once, it becomes especially important to make a plan and ensure you are thinking about how the phase of the project you are working on overlaps with future project goals. Because if you have a wall open to fix the plumbing, you are going to want to ensure you identify all of the other opportunities for improvements you can make while that wall is already open, that way you don’t accidentally add to your workload by having to redo work.

Check for Grants and Rebates

Often when you are completing large-scale renovations, there are opportunities for claiming back government rebates for upgrades that increase your home’s energy efficiency. The upgrades that are usually eligible include things like adding insulation to spaces where insulation was low or non-existent, high efficiency furnace and hot water heater upgrades, air source heat pumps, energy recovery ventilators (ERVs), drain water heat recovery systems, air sealing, and replacing windows and doors with high efficiency units.

In some areas, there might even be grants available for things like installing solar panels, replacing older appliances with Energy-Star rated appliances, replacing incandescent bulbs with LED lighting and integrating rainwater collection systems into outdoor landscaping. The important thing is to check what rebate programs are available in your area and to ensure you are familiar with all of the eligibility criteria before you begin any work.

Schedule an Energy Audit 

On a related note to grants and rebates is the topic of energy audits. Most times when an energy program offers rebates for completing home improvements, they will require you to book an initial energy audit before any of the work has begun. This is required to ensure that there is a need for upgrades, to determine what will qualify for the rebates, and establish a measurable baseline by which to gauge the improvements of those upgrades. When an energy audit is conducted, a certified energy advisor will visit and check multiple areas of your home (even your basement/crawlspace and attic if there is access) to assess your current level of insulation, your HVAC equipment and windows, feeding all of the information into an energy model that estimates your home’s overall energy efficiency.

They also often perform a blower door test, where they seal off a door with a fan unit to temporarily depressurize the house to gauge the airtightness of your home. The airtightness reading they get from this test informs your energy advisor of the inefficiencies in the home, and your house’s eligibility for certain rebates. 

But even if no grants or rebates are available in your area, completing an energy audit can be a useful tool for older homes, especially ones that feel especially drafty.  An energy auditor can tell you which home upgrades could save you the most amount of money on your energy bills, and what upgrades might not make a significant impact. For instance, maybe you can save yourself the hefty expense of replacing your windows and gain a higher energy savings simply by adding more insulation to your attic and doing some air sealing in problematic places. 

Test for Hazards

Asbestos

Asbestos is a material that was commonly used in homes in the beginning of the 20th century because of its natural fireproofing properties, and its effectiveness as an insulator. It was often used in insulation in attic and walls, around pipes and vents, as well as in building materials such as shingles, tiles siding, and cement products. When left alone and untouched, it can be considered benign, but when disturbed, it is easily airborne, potentially carcinogenic and hazardous to human health.

If your home was built prior to 1980, it is always a good idea to get asbestos testing done before you begin work on your home to avoid disrupting any potential sources. It is also good to remember that as you work, you might be uncovering potential asbestos sources that lay beneath other layers of materials, so always wear a good respirator while you demo and don’t hesitate to call an expert for further analysis at different stages of your renovation.

Lead Paint

Exposure to lead has the potential to produce long-term health effects including neurological damage and developmental delays if enough of it is ingested. But depending on where you live, the perceived threat of lead paint may vary. For instance, while both Canada and the United States prioritize public health and mitigating lead exposure, in the United States, lead paint has been recognized as a much more significant public health hazard and more stringent regulations have been put in place around the practice of removing it. 

The best practices for dealing with lead paint are therefore dictated by where you live, with some areas requiring testing for suspicious sources of paint in houses built before 1978 and have specific guidelines determining its removal process, including what protective wear is needed and how it should be bagged and disposed of, much like hazardous asbestos. 

But we can also adhere to our own common sense and use caution around any pre-80s sources of paint that we think could contain lead. This can be done by always wearing a high-quality mask or respirator when we scrape or sand anything with old paint, keeping children from chipping paint that could be ingested, keeping airborne paint dust and debris away from children and pregnant women, and cleaning regularly to keep it from settling on surfaces. 

Locate Power and Water Shutoff

Here is another one that may seem obvious but is actually something that we failed to do before accidently cracking the hot water pipe to the old dishwasher during the demo of our kitchen.

Don’t do what we did. Take a moment when you first gain access to your home to find your emergency water shutoff valve, and then make sure that anyone helping you with demo also knows where it is in case you need someone else to access the shutoff.

Another important utility control to locate is your electrical breaker box. During demolition, you will come across electrified cable, boxes and switches that you will need to be cautious of. Often, before you can fully demo a space, you will need to sever some of these cable connections. With many old homes, the circuitry is not always the most reliable or well-labeled on your breaker box, so it is best to shut off the main power breaker (usually the largest switch kept separate from the others). This shuts off power to the whole house and allows you to sever wire connections and safely cap them before turning the power back on.

Most often, the breaker box and water shutoff are located in basements or utility closets, with the breaker box usually more visible. The emergency water shutoff should be easily accessible, but until you locate it, you never know if a previous homeowner has built a closet or cabinet around it, encased it in drywall, or kept it half-buried, as was the case with ours.

Stock up

In order to get set up for a reno, you will likely have a bit of a shopping list. In addition to tools, you will want to be prepared with the proper personal protective equipment (PPE). This is something that often gets overlooked until it comes time to do the work, so be sure to factor safety gear into your tool budget from the beginning so that you are not left unprotected.

But there are also some less obvious supplies that are needed on a worksite to keep it running smoothly. Things like:

• Paper towel and rags for cleaning up spills
• Large buckets (preferably with handle) for catching plumbing or roof leaks or transporting demolition debris
• Pencils and permanent marker for notes/ labelling products and marking measurements
• Tarps or 6mil poly for protecting areas from dust or damage
• Duct tape
• a broom with a dustpan
• a wet/dry vacuum (Shop-Vac)

You may also want to bring some things to set up a makeshift kitchenette for taking breaks:

• A tupperware with a good seal for dry goods and snacks
• a mini-fridge for cold beverages and food
• a microwave
• a kettle and/or coffee maker
• Some mugs, plates, bowls and cutlery
• a table and chairs because no one wants to spend their lunch break sitting on the floor
• a toaster (which I would recommend storing it in a sealed tupperware or bag to keep debris from settling inside)

Also, if you are lucky enough to have a functioning restroom on site:

• toilet paper
• towels
• soap or handwipes/ hand sanitizer

Set up Stations

To maintain a degree of sanity in the chaos that comes with DIY renovating, I would recommend giving a bit of thought to how to organize your home during construction. If some areas will not be immediately included in the renovations, especially if they can be closed off from dust and debris, these areas are great for making designated spaces for taking breaks away from the mess. A designated kitchenette or makeshift dining space is especially important to keep separate from the reno mess to allow you a place to eat that is at least somewhat sanitary.

It is also beneficial to have a tool station, preferably with some form of tool organization. This will make life a lot easier if tools have a place to go at the end of the workday where you know you will be able to find them again. Raised work benches or old tables are extremely handy for laying out carpentry projects, and saw horses make cutting lumber and plywood much easier.

Plan for Construction Waste

Before you begin anything that requires demolition, you will probably want to consider where that construction waste or salvage will go. If you are planning to try to salvage materials for future use or donation, you will need a dry place to store the materials that pile up. If you are planning to donate items to re-use facilities like that Habitat for Humanity Restore, it is always good to call or check their website ahead of time to see what kinds of items they are accepting.

Even if you are planning to salvage as much as you can, you will likely still need to order a construction waste bin to collect the remaining materials. Construction bins are usually rented for short durations (a few days to a week), so it will be beneficial to have it delivered on site for the day your demo is to begin, as you only have a limited amount of time to fill them unless you want to pay extra. The trick to getting your money’s worth from a construction bin involves estimating the right size bin for the amount of demolition waste you will be generating and filling the bin as much as you can without going over the weight limit. It can be a bit of a challenging game when you first get started, and this is ultimately what lead us to prematurely demo our upstairs bathroom (we had extra room in the bin).

I would also recommend setting aside any scrap metal and either bringing it to a recycling facility where you can exchange it for a small return, or giving it away for free. In the neighborhood where I live, people will sometimes knock on your door if you have a construction bin outside your house, asking if they can look though the bin for scrap metal. It is much safer for everyone if you set any metal aside from the beginning so that it can be given away or recycled, and this also helps reduced the final weight of your waste bin.

Final Thoughts 

It might seem like there is a lot to do before you get into the real demos and renos, and of course it is up to you to decide what are the most important courses of action to carry out before you begin. But it is always good to keep in mind that a bit of preparation will likely save you time, money, stress and even risks to your health. So plan ahead if you can and it might just save you some headaches down the road.