Interview with Tyrone Walford on the latest trends in kitchen and bathroom and basement renovations.
For the transcript, click this down arrow [expand]
[00:00:01] Buying or selling a home requires specialists from multiple related fields. You’re everything you need to know direct from the source as the real estate roundtable presents as the expert.
[00:00:12] And today we welcome Tyrone Waford of worthy construction. Welcome to the show Tyrone. Thanks for having me.
Bo Kauffmann: [00:00:17] What type of home renovations and upgrades do you see most often?
Tyrone Walford: [00:00:20] There’s three that are the most common kitchens bathrooms and basements usually involving installing a bathroom in the basement.
Ryan Ghidoni: [00:00:28] Kitchens and bathrooms are the soft spots in my home right now so I’m really glad you’re here today.
[00:00:33] Let’s start off with kitchens. When people upgrade their kitchen what trends are you starting to see. Is it still all about opening things up opening up the walls opening up is definitely the biggest trend.
Tyrone Walford: [00:00:43] Almost everybody wants to eliminate walls to open their kitchen up to the rest of their home. A couple of the other trends we’re seeing you know as the world is going green the use of recycled materials is becoming a lot more popular even to the point where we’re making new material look old. A few of the other trends.
[00:01:01] Stone top stone countertops is a big one and backslashes. Everybody seems to like to top their backsplash.
[00:01:08] What about island smaller islands still popular in the island sink or the island prep area.
[00:01:13] Oh yeah for sure if there there’s room everybody wants one. OK.
[00:01:17] You were talking to us just before about resin the use of resin material as backsplash.
Tyrone Walford: [00:01:24] Yeah we started working with a company called Art angst and they produce custom tiles or our entire countertops using a product called Eco epoxy which is the most environmentally friendly epoxy on the planet right now. It can be used to create one of a kind. Countertops and tiles. The tiles are generally used as an accent in the backsplash or sometimes even you know in a tiled shower. They’re very very neat. I’m really enjoying working with them.
Bo Kauffmann: [00:01:57] And you were saying that you can actually put the stuff on top of your current counters so you don’t have to rip them off.
[00:02:03] Yeah if you’re looking to just upgrade your your countertops for a little bit. But you like the kitchen the way it is. You don’t even have to buy new countertops. This stuff will go right over top. You can make it look like a piece of stone.
[00:02:13] What about color trends in kitchen. Are people going dark or light.
[00:02:17] Light you know the neutral whites and green seems to be the common theme right now.
[00:02:23] In appliances. What’s the common thing that people go with? Is it still a stainless steel.
Tyrone Walford: [00:02:28] Stainless steel is the big one. Didn’t see a lot less whites. You know sometimes depending on the kitchen you know that might work best with what the customer has chosen but mostly the stainless steel is where everyone is heading.
[00:02:41] If you still have frosted tips you might want to go with the white kitchen because it’s a very 90s thing particularly with the avocado green the harvest gold.
[00:02:50] Now what about trends in bathrooms. What are some of the more popular things people are asking for now?
[00:02:55] Tile is the biggest one that I have noticed. Everyone’s getting me to tile showers floor, in floor heat and glass shower doors instead of shower curtains.
[00:03:08] I’ve also noticed an increase in things like dual showers for couples or steam showers. Things of that nature.
Bo Kauffmann: [00:03:15] Can you put it like a steam shower into a regular size bathroom?
[00:03:19] It depends on your ventilation.
[00:03:21] And it’s a large unit it’s like a steam in a steam engine a steam generator that generated the steam engine.
[00:03:35] I mean the only ones that I’ve done have been in larger bathrooms.
[00:03:39] My folks had one in a small on suite and what they did is they had the unit in the basement because it lined up where it was the furnace room underneath. So they I guess they hid the big unit underneath the floor. I don’t know if that’s a standard thing or a good idea that he didn’t. Just be careful with the moisture.
[00:03:55] That’s that’s the thing it’s got to be able to seal the shower so that the steam doesn’t escape. But we did one the guy had stereo speakers installed in there and a bench there he a big TV maybe on the other side of the world waits to get a cold in the winter just so he can use it.
[00:04:13] Well that gets us into my favorite topic man dens.
[00:04:18] I love having a hand in helping design man caves. And with that a lot of fun with those with a few customers.
Bo Kauffmann: [00:04:24] What are some of the things that you guys have done?
Tyrone Walford: [00:04:26] Custom bars with countertops live edge wood partitions for large amount of people viewing you know sporting events. We’ve also done some really neat custom barn doors to close off gyms and stuff like that.
[00:04:43] They’re nice so they feel if they want to feel open when they’re working out they open up the barn doors. But you don’t always want to have your elliptical right in the middle of the room kind of like what we’re looking at right now.
Ryan Ghidoni: [00:04:56] As everyone knows with construction and renovations in particular come surprises. Tell me about a project where you are working on that took a turn that you weren’t expecting.
Tyrone Walford: [00:05:04] We renovated a two story home in Hawaii and we replacing the flooring. And as it as it started to come up we started to notice a few soft spots in the floor. So we pulled up the decking to investigate and it turns out that a good 80 percent of the floor joists supporting the second floor were completely eaten by termites. So that turned into having to replace them one by one which was a little tricky but we were able to do it and ensure that his home was going to be standing for years to come.
[00:05:36] Thank God there’s no termites in Winnipeg but we deal with mold that does sometimes does similar things right in the minus 30 days kills them. That’s exactly. Now calling a contractor is a big step for a lot of people. If I was thinking of calling you what would be some of the things that you’d advise me to have already before I make that call.
[00:05:54] There’d be two things that I would see held help the process wish list going from things that you absolutely need to have with this renovation and decreasing in importance to you. And couple that with a budget so that when you present to me your your wish list and your budget I I’m able to formulate a plan to help give the customer as much of their wish list as possible that while staying within their budget.
[00:06:21] You know speaking of budget what am I looking out for if I want to replace my current kitchen or redo a bathroom.
[00:06:27] Ballpark kitchens you’re looking at around 20 five thousand dollars for a standard kitchen. That’s excluding all the bells and whistles for a bathroom about twelve to fifteen thousand dollars.
[00:06:41] Now a question for both you guys. If you have to start with one or the other. Which one is going to make the bigger impact on your home especially if you’re considering selling it. What’s going to impact the price of the home.
[00:06:52] Well I’ll answer that first. The biggest impact in my opinion is the kitchen. It’s always been like a central meeting point. It still is. That’s what meals are cooked and a lot of times two meals are consumed now with the open design. So you walk into a house quite often to see the kitchen right away. It’s a big wow factor. But like Tyrone just said it’s also the biggest budget. So it depends on your budget and it depends on how things currently look. If you’ve got a kitchen at serviceable that still works you know it’s only maybe 15 years old 20 years old but you’ve got a really old bathroom and I would say maybe tackle the bathroom. It really depends on what’s there right now and what your budget is.
[00:07:30] OK. The kitchen is I would say your biggest selling point. It’s where the family spends most of their time it’s very ready gathers the one to focus on when we return we’ll close things out with the final word on building permits. And luckily Tyrone is going to stick around Adsum information.
[00:07:45] Real Stories of selling a home was OK when he does market it.
[00:07:51] I could go to different sites and I would always see my home listed after my contact list. A lot of agents came through the house. Honestly I have a stack. Of. Cards from these people. He knew exactly what I wanted for the home and.
[00:08:08] I got exactly what I was asking.
[00:08:10] What did you look for in a real estate agent professional pleasant reliable trustworthy very patient funded in both Kaufman.
[00:08:20] I just left it in his hands though have Peck Flandre dotcom.
[00:08:26] Beau Kofman of Remax is a proud supporter of D’Arcy’s animal rescue center at Darcys. We save nearly 1000 cats and dogs from neglect abuse or homelessness in Winnipeg each year. Check out our shelter and store at 7:30 century street D’Arcy’s are. We. Rescue.
[00:08:47] For life. Before we close the show here’s the last word.
[00:08:53] With Bo Kauffmann. So today we heard from Tyrone Walford of were the construction about home improvements and I want to add some information that’s come to light recently. The city when it Peggs actively seeking out homeowners who’ve improved their homes especially things like sun rooms decs sheds the cities looking at satellite imagery Google photos and seeing new additions that have been put on and then they’re going to check to see if a permit has been pulled. For that reason alone it’s very important that you get the proper permits because I can tell you getting a permit after the job is done is a lot tougher than getting it beforehand. The eye in the sky is watching you. Yeah. It was amazing to me that the city does that but apparently in the summertime to hire a bunch of students to go to this and there’s obviously there’s other reasons other important factors about getting permits. Tyrone would you enlighten us on that.
[00:09:46] It’s definitely important to get the proper permits for any job that you’re doing number one because for safety reasons you know we have to make sure that things are being built properly and up to code so that nobody gets hurt down the road. Second reason would be insurance the proper permits can help lower your insurance costs on your home. And I believe it also helps quite a bit with the resale of your home.
[00:10:09] Well that’s right. A few years ago they came up with a form that’s called a property disclosure statement that the home seller is asked to fill out. And one of the important questions on there is during your ownership have you made any alterations or additions to the home that require a permit but did not get the required permit. So if the owner says yeah I did my basement without getting a permit. That’s kind of a negative check mark against the house.
[00:10:35] What’s the risk there. Will they have to actually remove what has been built without a permit.
[00:10:39] Well I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve gone to satellite imagery. I’m sure they’re looking at MLS listings and things like that and seeing that this house now has a fully finished basement but it didn’t years ago. I wouldn’t put it past them to come knocking and saying hey you know you’ve got to get a permit. And here’s the thing too. If you had your basement done in let’s say 2010 and let’s say everything was done according to specs and according to the code if they come knocking in 2017 and you need you get a new permit you have to get that done according to 2017 code. And I know people that’s been caught where they did a sunroom. And since since that sunroom was done the code had changed and they had to put new plugs and they had to put a different circuit breaker so they called our fault circuit interrupters. So you have to get it done according to today’s code which again makes it more difficult to turn up everything.
[00:11:35] Now just a point of clarification. Do you need a permit if you’re replacing an existing deck shed fence etc..
[00:11:42] If it’s exactly the same dimensions you need a permit for almost anything these days replacing windows and doors or something like that. If it’s the exact same size as the existing You don’t need the permits for things like that. But if you’re going to knock down your existing deck even if you’re going to put back on the exact same dimensions you will need a permit.
[00:12:00] Yeah and you mentioned roof and fence. No if you’re replacing the shingles you don’t need a permit for that.
[00:12:05] I don’t think zoning or a you have to make sure that you’re in the proper area.
[00:12:09] OK. And dig before you call or call before you make. A Freudian slip. But if you’re if you’re doing something like replacing a light fixture or replacing a toilet then generally speaking I don’t believe you need one as long as you’re not as concerned until like long as no one in the plumbing is changing.
[00:12:29] Right. You don’t need a permit. But as soon as you start altering any of the lines then you have to get Herman Cain Tyrone Woolford is from where the construction.
[00:12:39] You know what. Before you go today I got to make sure you take a look at a wall in my kitchen to see if you could blow it. Tyrone How can people reach you if they want to get more information.
[00:12:48] We can be reached at 2 0 4 4 7 9 3 2 1 5 or 2 0 4 5 0 9 3 5 4 8. Our Web site is w w dot were the construction dots. And our email is. Were the construction w P. G at gmail dot com.
[00:13:07] Because if it’s worth doing it’s worth doing right. Thanks Tyronne Thanks for joining us today.
[00:13:12] Thanks for having asked the expert is a monthly thing to do on the real estate roundtable to hear the latest full episodes of the show go to iTunes or stitcher dot com and search for one page real estate podcast.
[/expand]
About the Publisher
Bo Kauffmann is a residential real estate agent with over 18 yrs experience in helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals. Inducted into the REMAX Hall of Fame in 2010 and receiving the REMAX Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Bo has sold over 500 houses and condos in the Greater Winnipeg market. He is an accredited buyer representative (A.B.R.) and a Luxury Home Marketing Specialist.
Bo provides exceptional service to First-Time Home-Buyers, Seniors looking to downsize and Home Sellers of all ages.
He can be reached easily By E-Mail or call/text him Call/Text Here
Never miss an episode of our real estate podcast. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube
