[GTALUG] (OT) home renovation courses for home owner?

[Russell Reiter]

On Wed, Jun 27, 2018 at 6:28 PM, o1bigtenor via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
wrote:

> On Wed, Jun 27, 2018 at 3:16 PM, Peter Hiscocks via talk
> <talk at gtalug.org> wrote:
> > I did a major reno on my house a few years ago. The deal with my wife was
> > that I could buy any power tools that I needed, and I now have a nice
> > collection.
> >
> > This was the front of the house including a large livingroom, hall,
> > stairway and front door area. Complete demolition, rewiring, new windows,
> > new fireplace, two sets of new stairs.
> >
> > I did everything except the drywall (hard work and tricky) and the
> painting.
> > We purchased the stair unit. I didn't know how to do trimwork but studied
> > the youtube videos and bought some books on it. The result was very
> > attractive, but it does require the proper tools and knowledge.
>
> I have found that the public library often has a huge selection of diy
> books.
> Some are useful - - - - some are NOT. It doesn't hurt of have someone
> that you know
> that has some knowledge function as at least somewhat of an advisor!
> >
> > I quite enjoyed it. It took 13 months, including time off for a stupidly
> > self-inflicted injury. But I'm retired, it would take a lot longer if you
> > were working and could only do evenings and weekends. They call the
> > drywall dust 'divorce dust' for a reason.
> >
> Pity - - - I could have given you some tips on how to severely reduce
> said stuff.
> Learnt helping a few buds doing their renos and partially from a
> 'plasterer' ticketed
> father. There are some tricks to reducing the amount of dust generated!
>
> Oh yes - - - tools are wonderful things!!
>
> Regards
>
> Dee
>

I thought I'd post again with some important information often overlooked by
people who renovate on their own without hiring a licensed and insured
contractor.

Firstly if you do your own work which requires a municipal permit, you may
void your home owners insurance if you do not get that permit at the time.
It's as
easy as saying to your broker, I'm thinking of doing some renovations and
I want a bit of extra protection during that time.

The downside is if you do work outside of the guidelines even that
insurance may
be voided if you don't use proper trades for electrical work. It's even
more
problematic if you have non family members in residence. ie. visitors or
tenants
paying rent. re; Occupiers Liability Act.

If you do get a permit for electrical any work and even if the city
inspects and
passes the work you did, the ESA will not stamp the permit on closure. This
will also
void your homeowners insurance if a fire can be traced to that electrical
work.

There is a real forensic reason that all building materials for sale have
registration stamps
on them. If for some reason the work fails and the Occupiers Liability Act
kicks in, it is possible to
trace the materials to a lot of material sold at a store and ultimately
even find the
purchaser, from records.

For work like painting, carpeting, tiling and installing cabinets and other
works which don't
require plumbing or electrical work, your insurance probably covers you for
at-fault harms
to others if say someone slips or trips as a result of improper tiling or
carpeting or if a
poorly installed cabinet pinches a finger or falls over and someone is hurt
etc.

Tools are great and great fun if you like building stuff, but don't forget
the necessary
instrumentation involved; most important, renovation insurance. You need
that instrument
to protect yourself and others.

Believe it or not you need a permit to replace a wired and attached ceiling
light fixture with a
chandelier. Most people get away with this kind of stuff "under the rose,"
because it's not
a problem until there is a problem.

Once someone who is not part of the family household becomes injured by
faulty work, if
you don't have proper insurance, all those cost savings vanish. Lawyers,
Judges and safety
inspections cost a lot more than tradesmen.

The law oddly presumes that no right thinking person would be foolish
enough to put immediate
family in harms way.

Before starting any work which may affect any building system; heating,
ventilation, electrical,
plumbing or the building envelope itself, check you homeowners policy for
essential liabilities.

Having said all of this, I do not believe there is a general requirement
for a homeowner to
have any insurance. It's not like insuring a car, a building is
stationary.  However mortgage
requirements are pretty strict and since this is a matter of private law,
the stories of the
woe's of uninsured renovations gone wrong are buried deep within the legal
system.
Although instruments may be attached to your title as a warning that
something has been
noted ie: Plan Boundaries Act or Planning Act Statements.

Plan boundaries act may mean your lot easement is not properly described in
a Common or Attached
Transfer under part lot control for development. As an example, Planning
Act Statements as a notation
on Title means that a Crowns Reservation of Interest regarding,
descriptions of works on record, which
change the legal description of the titled property, are subject to
investigations by the Director of Titles.

As the old saying goes, "its all fun and games until someone gets hurt."

So you can go ahead and install you own casement window, just be aware that
if it just falls out
and hurts someone, you are not covered by any insurance, unless you have a
rider for renovation
work. Even though you don't need a permit, you do have to have insurance on
the specific work.

Or deep enough pockets to cover all the liabilities involved.

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