To build, or to renovate? That is the question.

Renovate or start from scratch? Here are a couple of factors to consider:

Get an estimate - Before you commit to a renovation, get an estimate so you have a sense of costs. Do the same thing for pricing on building a new home.

Find a good contractor - Make sure you find a contractor who knows the demolishing and renovation costs so they can accurately predict to you how much the trades will charge for labour and materials. This applies to a new build and to the renovation.

Incentives - Rebates are offered by the government for home renovations, and can really benefit small scale-upgrades.

Eco-friendliness - Think green, there's nothing greener than working with what you already have. Doing a renovation to upgrade your home using sensible materials is almost always a better environmental option, than demolishing your existing home and sending it to the landfill.

Coordinated Kitchen and Bath Video

Coordinated Kitchen and Bath has a new video!

Why Install Radiant Heat?

Installing Radiant Heat has more benefits than just keeping your feet warm in winter.

Lower thermostat settings – You will quickly notice you can lower your thermostat and remain comfortable. In most cases you can lower your average thermostat set point by up to 4 percent. This can mean a lower energy bill.

Heat distribution – Since heat naturally rises, displacing cool air above, radiant heat evenly distributes warmth through your home with a steady and even temperature. It uses the natural circulation of heat within a room to warm it, as opposed to forced-air heating.

Clean air – Radiant heating does not promote the movement of allergens compared to a forced air system. In fact forced air systems can be sources of allergens and dust particles in a home.

Consider installing infloor radiant heating in your future kitchen, bathroom, or full home renovation. At Coordinated Kitchen and Bath we work primarily with NuHeat.

Home Owners, Designers, and Builders

Coordinated Kitchen and Bath is now working with a number of builders and designers on the North Shore and in Vancouver.

These strategic partnerships enhance our core mission statement; design and manage custom renovations from start to finish, to create the perfect kitchen, bathroom, and home renovation every time. This means that whether you are a home owner, a home builder, or a home designer, our services can be customized to fit the needs of your project.

In our showroom we carry samples of kitchen cabinetry, cabinet door styles, kitchen and bathroom fixtures from our partner www.finestfixtures.com; furthermore, if you need in-house design assistance, we also have Colours by Paula to help you achieve your project objectives.

To learn more about us, call us to book an appointment, or just drop into our studio to see what we can do.

Managing your home renovation and potential sale

What are the essentials when renovating and potentially selling your home? Where does one start? The first thing is to decide how much you of your home you are renovating, and how much you should spend to achieve your objectives. Once these two key aspects are set, the next step is to determine who you need to get the job done.

The Architect:

Hiring an architect is advisable if you want to something completely unique and you have a budget for this. Architects know how to manage large renovations involving the entire home. Many of them are trained to think and draw creatively, and they often work very closely with their own team of builder/project managers. Keep in mind though, like all things, there are good and bad architects, so always ask friends, family, and colleagues for referrals.

The Interior Designer and Materials Specialist

If you are looking for someone to bring your home together and connect all the materials into a theme, then a Interior Designer is the best way to go. Yes, one can do this by themselves; however, in a time where there so many options out there, choosing product can be overwhelming - hence why people use designers. When choosing your designer, expect to pay for the services, including a retainer. Also interview your designer, make sure you have a good personality fit, and that they have experience and a good list of trades and suppliers to get the work done.

Builder/Project Manager

Unless you have a lot of time, it is highly recommended to use the services of a reliable Builder or Project manager. Managing a project is very time consuming, and project managers have the vocabulary and experience to communicate your and your designer's vision to trades. The Project Manager is like a foreman. They will manage your home renovation by scheduling their trades and tear-out and installation of materials. If you are working with a designer, they will work together on implementing the materials and specifications you have chosen. Make sure to interview your project manager thoroughly. Check how long they have been in business. Do they have store front? Have they done work for friends, neighbours, family, colleagues? 

Removals Manager

A well established Project Manager will often have their own garbage removals service, so that means you should not have to worry about this if you are working with a project manager. If you are managing this renovation yourself, make sure to interview several removal services. Waste from home renovations can be filled with surprises - asbestos in older homes, metals, mould, old material that is hard to dispose of.

Home Staging

If you are planning to sell your home after renovating it, consider the services of a home stager. Often Interior Designers offer this service, or they can refer your to a stager. Home staging is a service that also pays for itself - why try to sell your home empty, when you can have it staged for potential buyers?

Realtor

Selling one's home is a stressful experience, it also probably one of the most significant financial transactions one will do in a lifetime. Today the real estate services industry is under major transformation, largely due to the presence of the Internet. If you are planning to hire a real estate agent to sell your home, don't be shy to negotiate the commission you pay them. If you are very comfortable with real estate transactions, you can even go to limited service agents who will list your home and have you do all the showings and legwork.

Glen Phillips - Organzational Manager at www.coordinatedkitchens.com

Social Responsibility

Coordinated Kitchen and Bath is more than just kitchen, bathroom, and home renovations, we are also active members of our community.

In addition to employing dozens of trades and working closely with suppliers and partners, we also donate part of our profits and time to Education without Borders. Education without Borders is a Vancouver based charity that delivers math, english, and arts education to disadvantaged youth in Vancouver and in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa.

As a local family business, whose owners originally hail from Cape Town, Education without Borders is a natural fit with our organization.

http://www.coordinatedkitchens.com/
http://www.educationwithoutborders.ca/

Why use a kitchen and bathroom design build studio?

What are the benefits of directly hiring a full in house kitchen and bathroom design team like the one we have at Coordinated Kitchen and Bath in Vancouver?

Projects that involve mutliple project managers and different contractors have a greater chance of running into delays and problems such as cost overruns, not only because of communications and scheduling problems, but also because kitchens and bathrooms are incredibly complex parts of the home. They are spaces that involve electrical, gas, and water conduits. Do-it-yourself renovations, using multiple contractors, or hiring general building contractors can result in unforseen surprises. That is why it is always best to go to a design build organization like Coordinatedkitchens.com, where we have38 years of experience building, managing, and designing kitchen and bathrooms in Vancouver.

Yes, kitchen and bathrooms are the best way to maintain or increase equity in one's home. They are also a great investment if one is not planning to move, but would like to have a better living space. But always look to using a professional kitchen and bathroom design build firm who will manage the project from start to finish.

Summer Sale

Coordinated Kitchen & Bath and Finestfixtures are having a summer sale on old kitchen and bathroom fixtures, basins, showers, faucets, and vanities. This is your moment if you are looking for some designer kitchen and bathroom product for a steep discount.

To see what we have on sale, visit our sales page here.

And now for the fine print, all items for sale are sold as is, and we don't accept returns on them.

Customer testimonial from Colin

Customer testimonial from Colin:

Coordinated Kitchens renovated both of our main bathrooms more than a decade ago. While everything was professionally completed and looked amazing upon completion (that’s the easy part!), I’m writing all these years later to tell you that the bathrooms still look as good as they did the day they were completed (that’s the hard part!!). This speaks to the quality of the materials and workmanship that had indeed stood the test of daily usage all these years.

Even more important is the quality of after sales support we have had from Mike Williams. Over the years I have contacted him for advice on regular maintenance issues and have been constantly amazed at not only the speed of his responses (e.g.: a response to an email within 30 minutes while he’s on vacation in Hawaii!), but have appreciated his advice as to where to find what I need, where to go for help/parts etc. and the name of one of his trusted suppliers for any needed work.

The point is we know Coordinated Kitchens not only does excellent design and work that lasts, but they stand behind their products and will help throughout the ownership experience. As a consumer….that is the important part for me.  

Our Team!

Coordinated Kitchen and Bath has a new team member! His name is Urban, and he has added tons of energy to our staff. Below is our newest team picture, with Spring, Mike, Allan, Amanda, Caya, Michael, Glen, Urban, and Christopher (okay, he's kind of hiding).

And another picture of Mike and Urban

If you haven't guessed, Urban and Caya are both of the four-legged variety. Come down to our showroom to meet them, and to learn more about how we can make your home an even better place to live!

Going Greener, Together.

Going Greener, Together.



By making the decision to renovate, rather than demolish and build a new home, you have made a significant contribution to reducing landfill waste and also increasing the lifespan of your existing home. At Coordinated Kitchen and Bath we work hard to keep our renovations as green as possible.



This includes offering green products from our leading vedors, companies such as Julian Tile and Cesear Stone, which offer high levels of recycled materials in their tiles and countertops. Some products exceed 90% level recycled material, as is the case with the new Onix Mosaic from Spain, offered by Julian Tile.



Our cabinet selections offer a wide range of green product options. One of our suppliers, Columbia Cabinets, has been awarded the prestigious certification in the Environmental Stewardship Program, which is administered by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturer’s Association. To learn more about these cabinet options, visit Columbia Cabinets.



Coordinated Kitchen and Bath also works to reduce its own impact on the environment by consolidating trades and projects in our service area – West Vancouver, North vancouver, and Vancouver – so as to reduce vehicle emmissions and time on the road. We also plan our trades so they spend as little time driving and as much time as possible on projects.



Our family business also has been moving towards a paperless environment. As of June 1st, 2012 we will be running paper free fax and printing, which will allow us to reduce use of toner and paper. Many of our suppliers have also converted to paperless catalogues.



All of these changes demonstrate our commitment to the environment and to giving you as green a renovation as possible.

News

We are working away at some new displays in our showroom. These include fresh selections of kitchen and bathroom fixtures from our online partner, www.finestfixtures.com, as well as a selection of kitchen and bathroom cabinets.

We expect that in the next couple of weeks our two new kitchen displays will be complete, so keep an eye out on our showroom! Our window displays by www.coloursbypaula.com also change regularly. Displays include samples of latest trends in materials, interior designs, and colours trends.

Keep in mind that our website www.coordinatedkitchens.com has also undergone a major design, and includes a list with links to our primary suppliers.

New Blog

Coordinated Kitchen and Bath, Vancouver’s leading kitchen, bathroom, and home renovation compnyn on the North Shore, has launched its new website. From now on you can learn more about us by also visiting our website at www.coordinatedkitchens.com, and by connecting to our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coordinated-Kitchen-and-Bath/161236567236529.

We will continue to blog here blogger.com; however, gradually more of our blogging focus will shift to the wordpress community and our in-house blog at http://www.coordinatedkitchens.com/testimonials/, where you can visit and learn about the history of our company, and our long-standing presence in North and West Vancouver.

With all of these changes, our objective remains the same: to manage you kitchen, bathroom, or home renovation project from start to finish; just as we have done since 1974!

Changes in Store

Coordinated Kitchen and Bath would like to wish all of its staff, customers, and suppliers a wonderful 2012. Our offices are now open again for 2012, and there lots of changes in store.

We are in the process of changing several displays, which more kitchens and bathrooms for you to look at. Other changes include a brand new sales office, with a light airy design feel and more meeting space. This is part of progessive plan to bring more technology into our business - technology that will help customers better visualize kitchen, bathroom, and home renovations.

Our windown display, a creation of Paula at Colours By Paula is also undergoing a facelift for the start of the year. This will soom be joined by a brand new website, complete with dozens of project pictures, blogs, and points of interest for staff, customers, and suppliers.

Yes, lots in store at Coordinated Kitchen and Bath for 2012!