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Anyone have experience renovating 30+year old condo? budgeting questions

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  • Jan 13th, 2023 11:42 pm
Deal Addict
Dec 8, 2008
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GTA

Anyone have experience renovating 30+year old condo? budgeting questions

Hi, my mom lives in a 35 year old fairly old condo, pretty big ~1200sq ft, and needs a full reno most likely. 2 bed 2 bath. I have no knowledge of anything like this and was wondering if anyone has done a full reno on an old condo and how much I should expect (a very rough ball park is fine)..? no need for top of the line stuff, but it is really outdated and needs a whole makeover. Thanks for your tips
Last edited by leoben on Jan 11th, 2023 10:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Dec 29, 2019
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I had a family member who did a pretty nice reno for an older 2 bedroom, 2 full bath condo. Cost them about 100k to fully gut and redo everything, including plumbing.
I would say the ballpark for your mom's reno would be ~50k if you are not fussy about finishes and are not getting custom cabinetry.
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Feb 7, 2017
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leoben wrote: Hi, my mom lives in a 35 year old fairly old condo, pretty big ~12 sq ft, and needs a full reno most likely. I have no knowledge of anything like this and was wondering if anyone has done a full reno on an old condo and how much I should expect (a very rough ball park is fine)..? no need for top of the line stuff, but it is really outdated and needs a whole makeover. Thanks for your tips
Photos are worth a 1000 words

Would go a long way here in knowing what you are up against

Also ya know numbers are going to be all over the map …
Cuz everyone has different tastes & budgets

Also …
I doubt she lives in 12 Square Feet (a 3 x 4 box )
So you’ll want to edit your post to fix that
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Remember everything is more costly in a condo as access for trades is way harder.
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She has a place to live during the reno? You're pretty vague when you say 'full reno' and no contractor is going to be able to quote you based on that, or you'll get ripped off.

Make a detailed list of exactly what you want done and prioritize it. Then get a quote broken down based on that list so you can decide what you can afford to do.

Assuming you meant 1200 sq ft, let's also assume it's 2x bathrooms and a decent size kitchen.

New flooring throughout (not including bathrooms) will be $25,000 or so I'd guess including the removal of existing flooring and trim work - let's say some sort of engineered hardwood floating/glued floor depending on the construction of the condo and what the rules allow for.

Each bathroom will be $20,000 or so - full refresh of tile floor/tub/shower/toilet/vanity/mirror/light fixture etc.

Kitchen could run an easy $35,000 for new cabinets/counters/sink/faucet/appliances.

Another $5,000 for paint/finishing work

If I had to guess - $85,000 to $100,000 to do up the whole place and she'll need somewhere to live for 6 months while the work is done/delayed/supply shortages etc.
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Thank you v much for all your comments, esp the breakdowns. Yes i meant 1200sq ft lol that was a typo, and it’s a 2bed 2 bath plus a den. There has been no updates to the unit for about 20 years, so will need new flooring, new kitchen appliances, total bathroom renos, and new painting for sure. So it seems we should expect around 100k.. I’m guessing I need to connect with different people for each work, sort of work as a “general contractor” myself…?
torontotim wrote: She has a place to live during the reno? You're pretty vague when you say 'full reno' and no contractor is going to be able to quote you based on that, or you'll get ripped off.

Make a detailed list of exactly what you want done and prioritize it. Then get a quote broken down based on that list so you can decide what you can afford to do.

Assuming you meant 1200 sq ft, let's also assume it's 2x bathrooms and a decent size kitchen.

New flooring throughout (not including bathrooms) will be $25,000 or so I'd guess including the removal of existing flooring and trim work - let's say some sort of engineered hardwood floating/glued floor depending on the construction of the condo and what the rules allow for.

Each bathroom will be $20,000 or so - full refresh of tile floor/tub/shower/toilet/vanity/mirror/light fixture etc.

Kitchen could run an easy $35,000 for new cabinets/counters/sink/faucet/appliances.

Another $5,000 for paint/finishing work

If I had to guess - $85,000 to $100,000 to do up the whole place and she'll need somewhere to live for 6 months while the work is done/delayed/supply shortages etc.
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Oct 16, 2008
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Just budget $100,000 and find out the process to reno from condo board. Good luck.
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leoben wrote: Thank you v much for all your comments, esp the breakdowns. Yes i meant 1200sq ft lol that was a typo, and it’s a 2bed 2 bath plus a den. There has been no updates to the unit for about 20 years, so will need new flooring, new kitchen appliances, total bathroom renos, and new painting for sure. So it seems we should expect around 100k.. I’m guessing I need to connect with different people for each work, sort of work as a “general contractor” myself…?
Whole different world when doing it in a condo. Just because it's 20 years old doesn't mean it needs to be completely replaced. I did my main floor kitchen/bath/flooring 11 years ago and I have no plans to do it again in 10 years.

I honestly don't know if I'd bother with a major reno in an older condo. What's the rest of the building like? How long does she plan to keep it? Investing $100,000 might not be worth it if instead you could just sell and move into something a bit newer.
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Just did a partial reno on a similar sized condo in Ottawa. Did a lot of work myself and the price was $15k. Basically, new kitchen floor, new kitchen quartz counter (and sink/faucet), full paint job, repair work, replaced all door and cabinet hardware, light fixtures, one vanity, mirror, broadloom in one room, etc. If we were refacing kitchen cabinets and changing plumbing, it would have been triple that amount. Fortunately, my father had hardwood installed and bathroom fixtures replaced 15 years ago.

$100k would be a gut and replace with high end materials/fixtures in Ottawa.
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leoben wrote: Hi, my mom lives in a 35 year old fairly old condo, pretty big ~1200sq ft, and needs a full reno most likely. 2 bed 2 bath. I have no knowledge of anything like this and was wondering if anyone has done a full reno on an old condo and how much I should expect (a very rough ball park is fine)..? no need for top of the line stuff, but it is really outdated and needs a whole makeover. Thanks for your tips
I am fully redoing our basement suite (my hubby and I live in his parents' basement suite). We are trying to be as frugal as possible with the renos (for example, I bought the kitchen cabinets on Facebook Marketplace from someone redoing their place - got the full kitchen solid wood cabinets and big fireclay farm sink for $1100. Bought all new butcher block countertops from Home Depot (sanded, stained, treated them ourselves). Doing luxury vinyl planks for both bedrooms and the living area. Luxury vinyl tile for the kitchen and bath. Replacing the tub, surround, vanity, mirror, fan, light fixture in bathroom. Repainting the entire unit. Installing baseboards for the entire unit. Replacing all the window frames. Replacing all door hardware, drapes, etc. We have one of my co-workers doing all the work for us that we can't do (he's a good builder/handyman) on his free time for a steal of a deal ($35/hr). I painted everything myself including the cabinets. I do everything I am comfortable doing and not f'ing up. Even with all the savings and trying to be as frugal as possible, I am already into it at least $25K - and we still have to do the bathroom (I have bought all the stuff for it) and the spare bedroom. Without my sweat equity and my very reasonably priced co-worker, plus all the bargain hunting I've done - it would easily be $50K. And this is for a 1 bathroom suite, not 2. It is also smaller than 1200sf (probably more like 800sf if I had to guess). Just the plumber so far has been close to $1000.
Last edited by Chickinvic on Jan 11th, 2023 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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My 800 Sq.Ft. condo was just completely renovated a few months ago and costed approx. $50K. Took two months for the kitchen and two weeks for all the other rooms. Condo management expect renovations to be completed in two weeks. I purchased everything from the suppliers my contractor deals with because it kept costs down and the quality of the materials were A+.

I replaced everything with upgrades. Custom cabinets and quartz countertop and backsplash, porcelain floors in kitchen. All new appliances, paint. Etc. Bathroom floor to ceiling porcelain tiles on all walls, new vanity, tub, fixtures, paint. Spent over 2K on plumbing in the bathroom. Laminates floors in all other rooms, paint, and removal of a door then wall needed to be refinished, etc. New lights, etc. I'm waiting until spring to replace all the blinds.

Let me know if you want the info of the contractor I used.
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leoben wrote: Hi, my mom lives in a 35 year old fairly old condo, pretty big ~1200sq ft, and needs a full reno most likely. 2 bed 2 bath. I have no knowledge of anything like this and was wondering if anyone has done a full reno on an old condo and how much I should expect (a very rough ball park is fine)..? no need for top of the line stuff, but it is really outdated and needs a whole makeover. Thanks for your tips
Ask Condo Management FIRST! You need to FIRST know what can be done and what cannot be done and what permit(s) are required (if needed).

And once you have all that info ... then you can PLAN.

After the plan ... you need to propose to Condo Management and they will review and approve (or get you to amend).

So on and so forth.
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Not only should you ask condo management for the procedures, etc, but you should also ask them, the board and/or the superintendent about any recommendations they have for contractors.

When we did both bathrooms and the kitchen and the floors in our last condo, we talked to our superintendent and he recommended someone he knew had done a lot of other units and that people had been really happy with. We still did our due diligence of checking with other owners, etc, but our long-time super would not have recommended anyone he didn't have full faith in because he knew he'd never hear the end of it. Contractor ended up being amazing and we were so pleased with our renos.
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Meibatsu wrote: I had a family member who did a pretty nice reno for an older 2 bedroom, 2 full bath condo. Cost them about 100k to fully gut and redo everything, including plumbing.
I would say the ballpark for your mom's reno would be ~50k if you are not fussy about finishes and are not getting custom cabinetry.
I agree with this quote - at least in the general ballpark. It might be slightly low, so I'd revise it to 60k. This is of course as you said for run of the mill, normal materials.
Like someone else said you're going to get figures all over the map.
For example, for one bathroom I've been quoted from 13K to 25k
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Nov 23, 2008
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Meibatsu wrote: I had a family member who did a pretty nice reno for an older 2 bedroom, 2 full bath condo. Cost them about 100k to fully gut and redo everything, including plumbing.
I would say the ballpark for your mom's reno would be ~50k if you are not fussy about finishes and are not getting custom cabinetry.
I agree with this quote - at least in the general ballpark. It might be slightly low, so I'd revise it to 60k. This is of course as you said for run of the mill, normal materials.
Like someone else said you're going to get figures all over the map.
For example, for one bathroom I've been quoted from 13K to 25k
Deal Fanatic
Nov 23, 2008
7140 posts
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Meibatsu wrote: I had a family member who did a pretty nice reno for an older 2 bedroom, 2 full bath condo. Cost them about 100k to fully gut and redo everything, including plumbing.
I would say the ballpark for your mom's reno would be ~50k if you are not fussy about finishes and are not getting custom cabinetry.
I agree with this quote - at least in the general ballpark. It might be slightly low, so I'd revise it to 60k. This is of course as you said for run of the mill, normal materials.
Like someone else said you're going to get figures all over the map.
For example, for one bathroom I've been quoted from 13K to 25k

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