Lofts are wonderful because they add space and height to a condo, usually creating a two story wall of glass – and hopefully view. But what do you do to remodel it? That 2 story space can be intimidating to decorate or renovate. Here are a couple ideas from a beautiful loft condo renovation we did in Vancouver.

Suites are most often in the basements of houses, and so many of them over the years have been put together by do-it-yourselfers, handymen, and less than talented contractors. (Did I say that delicately?=P) If you are reading this Blog, you probably know what I mean. Every month we are “doing it right” by bringing suites up to code and making them safe and attractive. Renovations where you convert a basement in an old hous to a legal suite or office has some challenges, but we are here to help you with some tips!

In March we talked about repairing a structural wall in a multifamily building. Here are a couple pictures showing the progress of installing the custom engineered solution. The problem was the original wall (built by others) was missing the rebar required on the inside face of the wall. This is a retaining wall with 9’ high of compact soil behind it.

Ikea cabinets are a popular consideration for new home renovations so we thought we would share a couple of our experiences with these types of products. Clearly they seem to provide good value upfront, but they may end up costing you quite a bit more in the long-run.

Structural repairs to a foundation wall of a multifamily building in Vancouver have begun the test phase. In conjunction with our structural engineers, we developed a unique low cost solution to repair deficiencies in this building using galvanized steel plates anchored to the interior foundation wall. The custom plates run from on top of footing up to concrete slab ceiling, spaced every three feet. Today we completed a test slab cut to confirm depth of footings and the length of custom galvanized plates required. I will blog about this job again in a couple weeks as we install the custom lateral load reinforcing plates.

Thank you to all our customers for posting positive reviews of all the renovation projects from Alair Homes Vancouver on the HomeStars.com web site. Your positive reviews helped us be chosen as a “Best of 2012” category winner. There were some outstanding renovations and transformations this year. We completed a lot of basement conversions from moldy and wet basements to outstanding in-law or rental suites.

Imagine starting your suite renovation, or bathroom renovation, then finding dirty boot prints all over your floor as workers track debris in and out. Or worse, drywall dust recirculated by your furnace all over the house, covering every piece of furniture, on every picture, and in your bed linens. This could happen to you if the renovation contractors you choose do not spend the time and money to properly seal the area being worked on. Keeping your home clean will reduce your stress and make the renovation experience a much better one.

Small leaks in a bathroom shower can cause serious rot and mold problems. This bathroom renovation in Coquitlam started because the homeowner noticed some tiles in the shower had lost the grout integrity, and came off easily. They attempted to take some off and repair the damage they saw on the surface, but found mold underneath. Then, they had a handyman cut away more tiles and remove the backing until they realized it was a bigger problem and that they needed an expert general contractor or bathroom renovator to help solve their problem.

Want to change the popcorn ceiling in your home? It can be scraped and prepared smooth for paint except when the rough texture has already been painted several times. In that case, it’s less expensive to attach another layer of drywall on top of it.