Common Problems You Might Encounter When Remodeling
Hidden Remodeling Problems Can Affect Your Project Timeline and Costs
Remodeling is an exciting undertaking for homeowners. You've probably been saving for years and putting together ideas, researching finishes, fixtures, appliances, materials, and design as you educated yourself about your options. You've done your research, gotten bids, and chosen a design-build firm to do the work.
Demo day arrives! While your contractor is taking down the walls, he finds something unexpected – asbestos insulation on the pipes. Work must stop as the problem is addressed. Your contractor finds a specialist to remove the asbestos safely before work can continue. It's not a dealbreaker; however, it is an unexpected expense that may require a re-examination of your budget and adds several days to your project timeline.
Most contractors will build a contingency into your budget for just such an emergency. Depending on the severity of the problem, it can sometimes be more expensive to fix than anticipated. This can be especially true if you are remodeling an older home.
Problems that arise during a home remodel could be one of a few things; mitigation like removing galvanized pipes or asbestos, or the need to bring something up to current codes, like electrical or insulation.
In this post, we're going to look at some of the most common remodeling problems we've encountered on our projects.
Remodeling A Home With Asbestos
If we're working on a home built before the 1970s, we can often uncover asbestos. Before the 70s, asbestos was one of the most popular building materials used in homes in several applications. Many items were manufactured using this amazing natural material, from popcorn ceilings to floor tiles, ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, and wall insulation. It was fireproof, had an excellent R-factor when used as insulation, and was durable as flooring.
Unfortunately, upon further study, it became apparent that asbestos causes serious health problems, including cancer and mesothelioma. When the link was confirmed, asbestos was immediately outlawed. Still, it had already been used in most homes built before 1980. The presence of asbestos in many older homes built before 1980 can present serious danger when remodeling your home.
Asbestos can be found in many places throughout a home, including:
• insulation
• drywall, sheetrock, and wallboards
• old cement siding
• shingles
• 9" x 9" floor tiles and glues used on flooring
• pipe insulation
• acoustic ceiling tiles
Some forms of asbestos are much more dangerous than others. For example, Vermiculite is loose insulation that can easily aerosolize or become airborne, exposing workers or homeowners to serious health risks.
If your home was built before 1980 and has not had major renovations, it's safe to assume that it may have at least some asbestos. Your design-build professional knows this and will take it into account when determining the scope of work.
Plumbing or Electrical Issues
We often find unexpected remodeling problems with a home's plumbing and electrical systems when we get into a kitchen or bathroom project. The scope of the problem is, again, usually related to the age of the home.
Common Plumbing Problems
Plumbing is another area where you may encounter unexpected remodeling problems. If you live in an older home, you may find that you have galvanized pipes. These are steel pipes that have been dipped in a protective zinc coating to prevent rust and corrosion. Galvanized pipes were standard in homes built before 1960 and were originally installed as an alternative to lead pipes for water supply lines.
Galvanized pipes typically last 40 to 50 years but can begin to corrode, posing a hazard for drinking water. The zinc coating contains lead and cadmium, both heavy metals that are unhealthy and dangerous, especially to young children living in the home.
Galvanized pipe was the state of the plumbing art in 1941. Today, most municipalities require galvanized pipes to be replaced to meet current building codes.
Electrical Issues
It's common to find electrical issues when you begin opening up walls during a remodeling project. Building codes change, as do needs. Today, new appliances can require additional power, and in many older homes, the gauge of the wire used is not sufficient. For example, you can't replace a two-wire receptacle with a three-wire receptacle. If you do, you run the risk of overheating the unit.
Poorly secured wire, the wrong gauge of wire, and improperly covered wire are all issues that can create problems, including short circuits and potential fire. Dangling wires must be secured and properly spaced to meet local building codes.
Properly installed wiring is critical for maintaining the safety and integrity of your home's electrical system.
Flooring Problems
Flooring issues are common remodeling problems that are often entirely hidden until work on a project begins. Your flooring may often look fine, but once you strip away the top layer, you find subfloor problems that require repair. Water damage is a problem that can compound over time and is the cause of a lot of renovation headaches. It can start with a leak in the roof, faulty plumbing, or a broken seal on the dishwasher and remain hidden until you take up the flooring.
Water damage can be dramatic and range from rotten wood or plaster, which can mean replacing the subfloor, or if severe, replacement of floor joists, to mold, mildew, or insect damage. Termites and carpenter ants are attracted by water and can create serious structural problems if undetected.
Upgrades to Meet New Building Codes
Often, it makes sense to consider upgrading some aspects of your home when you're already having work done. It may come to your attention that you're required to make certain upgrades due to building code changes.
Two examples of systems that fall into these categories are upgrading smoke detectors and upgrading your home's electrical panel.
Your home should have working smoke and CO2 detectors. Today, many municipalities have updated this code to require smoke and CO2 detectors to be hardwired into your home's electrical system. They also must have a battery backup in the event of a power outage.
A great example of an upgrade that makes sense to complete when you schedule a remodeling project is upgrading your electrical panel. While it's rare today, some older homes still have a fuse box. This will not meet modern building codes and will require replacement. However, it often makes sense to upgrade if you're already having work done. Today, many appliances need more power, and upgrading your panel can help maximize the use of your new appliances. If you do, it makes sense to update to a panel with space to grow in the future.
The Bottom Line...
While this list of common problems might seem a bit daunting when you read it, don't let it scare you away from your project. A good design-build professional will anticipate some of these issues based on your home's age and its remodeling history and will plan accordingly.
However, in the hands of a qualified professional, these potential renovation problems (and many others) are all in a day's work! They will have resources and specialists available to handle any situation, from mold mitigation to asbestos removal. Once your contractor has a good sense of the project's scope, they can work with you to solve any problems that come up. A good contractor will work hard to ensure that your home will move forward into the future as the beautiful, comfortable, and structurally sound home of your dreams!
If you're planning a remodeling project and live in the West Central Alabama area, give the design experts at Toulmin Kitchen & Bath a call at (205) 366-0807. We're always happy to answer any questions you may have. Let us help you avoid the problems and design the perfect project to meet your aesthetic and functional needs.
