Condo Information

[exrboy]

Anyone have any info on renovating condos. Ie...the condo I have is charging, in my opinion, too much to do things like put in hardwood floors and shite like that. I need to talk to someone that knows about doing work in condos cause apparently there are rules and shite when you bring contractors in to do work at a condo.

Thanks.

 

[SENSEi]

Every condo makes there own rules generally.
Hire your own contractor.

And if need be, do the work secretly.

 

[labRat]

read your purchase agreement - it should be in there somewhere.

 

[rejenerate]

Like SENSEi said, each condo has its own rules. I'd read in the paper about a place that was quite strict, so I talked to the managers at mine before I did anything...they were quite easygoing...just said work could only be done 9-5, M-F. The big thing with hardwood floors is the soundproofing layer underneath. I brought in my own contractor.

How do you know they're charging too much?

~jen

 

[exrboy]

I think they are charging too much cause...

My condo is only like 650 sq feet. To only put hardwood flooring in the living room costs approximately $3400. To put tiling in my foyer costs like $1700. So I think I"m gonna go back and get a standard foyer and standard carpet in the living room and then maybe in two years or when the carpets start going crappy...get a contractor to put the hardwood flooring in for me.

(I'm gonna keep the stainless steel appliances though)

 

[Astroboy]

Hardwood is pricy in a condo Ben...

you have to put in special undercoating so that the noise doesn't bother the neighbours below you...
those prices don't seem too far out of line.

 

[exrboy]

Astroboy,

But to put hardwood in a 10 by 20 living room costs $3,400? I'm gonna call my roomates cousin who sells flooring and see what he thinks. It's gonna be a pain in the ass to get the flooring in later down the line...but I think it will be cheaper no?

 

[channi]

Originally posted by exrboy


But to put hardwood in a 10 by 20 living room costs $3,400?

you can get it done way cheaper for that size of room!!

 

[pr0nstar]

I think you'd be best to get the carpet and just get it ripped up before you moved in and install flooring yourself.

I would recommend Lament Wood flooring, cheaper and looks just as good and lasts longer.

pr0nstar

 

[Astroboy]

Kenny, it hardly looks just as good! LOL

ben, yeah, I think you're right...my condo is 1200sq ft, and I put hardwood in all rooms but my master bedroom....
I had it done by a friend of mine, and I got materials for cost...I think the total was around 5k for the wood, and about a grand for the carpet and underpad in the bedroom...

if you need a hook up, i am close friends with a flooring and tile guy.

 

[pr0nstar]

I don't know... I'm not a fan of hardwood, concrete would be fine
I know it's not as good, but I dont' think it looks that bad IMO.
Especially considering the cost vs. real hardwood.

pr0nstar

 

[exrboy]

Thanks for your help guys,

I am gonna cancel the hardwood floors and the granite kitchen countertop...which will save me around $7000 on upgrades. Now I just have to decide if I wanna keep the flooring in the foyer and the kitchen (it costs approximately 1 G for a 9 x 8 space)

 

[finary]

anyone know a good place to get a quote on hardwood flooring? materials + installation

i want to do it in the upstairs of my townhouse... the floor space for the hardwood should only amount to probably 600sqft

 

[Astroboy]

I can hook you up with my buddy if you like. they have been in business since 1976 I believe.

he's in the Dominican for 10 more days tho...

 

[pr0nstar]

Originally posted by exrboy
Thanks for your help guys,

I am gonna cancel the hardwood floors and the granite kitchen countertop...which will save me around $7000 on upgrades. Now I just have to decide if I wanna keep the flooring in the foyer and the kitchen (it costs approximately 1 G for a 9 x 8 space)

IMO, Foyer, Kitchen, Bathroom....

Go with Tile for sure.. worth every penny IMO.
Especially in high traffic areas...

pr0nstar

 

[finary]

what about tiling the whole upstairs?
right now only the kitchen and bathroom are tiled (kitchen is open concept to livingroom)

whats the durability like compared to hardwood?

should i go completely tiled since its a high traffic area? or stick to the tiled kitchen/bathroom and do hardwood for the hallway/livingroom?

hum

 

[pr0nstar]

I prefer Tile in Hallways, Kitchen, Bathroom.
Bedroom/Living room, I'd go with Hardwood with Area Rugs in higher traffic areas maybe...

pr0nstar

 

[finary]

they way my house is, it would look strange i think if i did tile in the hallway/kitchen, and hardwood just in the livingroom.

i like carpeted bedrooms. its cozy and they are low-traffic so the carpet stays generally clean.

one of my cats just ruined the area rug i had in the livingroom, so now i need a new one... little bastard stole the straw out of a glass of grape juice and spilled the whole glass on the rug. bah

 

[Klubmasta Will]

i assume you are talking about an established, as opposed to a new, condominium building.

an established condominium building is owned by its condominium corporation. the corporation is controlled by its board of directors. every person that owns a unit owns a *share* of the condominium corporation which provides, among other things, the right to vote on board members.

the operational rules/restrictions with respect to the units and common areas are normally set out in (i) the original condominium declaration or bylaws which are registered on title to the land, (ii) resolutions passed by the board of directors and/or (iii) rules and regulations set by the propety management company.

if the rules are forcing you to use a specific contractor to do structural or floor renovations and you think the prices are too high, you should send an email or written note to your property management company and to at least one member of your board of directors.

some property management companies have kickback deals with contractors and the prices may not always be competitive. any reasonable board of directors should agree to a list of acceptable contractors which would allow unit-holders to do at least a bit of price comparison. the only exception to this would be if the building has warranties that would be invalidated by the use of other structural contractors; if this is the case, you are s.o.l.

 

[exrboy]

Astro,

I might take you up on that offer someday but my place isn't ready until dec 2004 (I just had to pick my upgrades now).

And for once...I agree with Kenny about this part:

I prefer Tile in Hallways, Kitchen, Bathroom.
Bedroom/Living room, I'd go with Hardwood with Area Rugs in higher traffic areas maybe...

 

[pr0nstar]

I can't totally remember the exact layout of your place...

But I know there's lots of stairs...

I'd go with the Kitchen area tiled to the bedrooms and to the stairs going to the living room if I remember correctly.

But I absolutely hate carpets ... I'd rather Concrete floors everywhere personally, I just like the raw look of it I guess.

pr0nstar

 

[exrboy]

Thanks for the info Will. Very helpful!

 

[finary]

carpets are for the most part, disgusting...

 

[pr0nstar]

Originally posted by finary
carpets are for the most part, disgusting...

For someone like me, extremely allergic to dust ... yes, very disgusting.

pr0nstar

 

[finary]

astroboy, i'd be interested in getting a quote from your guy if possible. i might look at getting this done in the spring