We’re so fortunate to be able to own a house, I guess that was goal number one! But now that we do, there are so many different things that I want to do with it. The house is obviously in need of an upgrade in terms of looks, but our renovation goals go far beyond this!

Here’s a list of all of the things we want to achieve.

1. Look good!
   Isn’t this the main reason anyone does a renovation?! We want our house to be modern and beautiful, reflecting our style and tastes. Getting exactly what you want is probably the biggest benefit of doing a reno versus buying something that’s already renovated. I love modern aesthetics combined with natural materials/finishes that feel like I’m in an outdoorsy mountain home.
   
2. More functional space
   Another big benefit of a major renovation is that you get to chose your space layout to suit your specific needs and lifestyle (well, within a few limitations of the existing house, of course!) We can move walls, change closets, add rooms or create open floor plans that fit exactly what we want. We love our outdoor sports and have too many bikes and snowboards, so creating a nice big gear room where we can store all of our gear with access directly to outside will be amazing (no more tracking muddy mountain bikes through the house!) We also want to add on a garage, a balcony off of the kitchen, a laundry room, and upgrade the master bedroom to have a full ensuite and walk in closet.
   
3. Insanely comfortable
   I want my house to be so comfortable that it feels warm and cosy in the winter, and naturally cool in the summer. No cold window surfaces and drafts that make you want to stay away from the outside walls all winter. No blasting cold, stuffy air conditioning all summer.
   
4. Low energy and low carbon
   I care a lot about the environment and doing everything we can to reduce the impacts of climate change. Lowering our energy consumption is an opportunity to reduce our energy bills, but more importantly I want our house and everything in it to be as low carbon as possible. This means all electric (no gas!), well insulated, airtight, and choosing low embodied carbon building materials. I’m aiming to meet the Passive House retrofit standard, EnerPHit, which is a very stringent low energy and carbon standard.
   
5. Healthy
   We’re exposed to so many toxins in our day to day lives, and the increasing rates of cancer, infertility, and so many other health issues truly scares me. I want to do whatever I can to reduce my family’s exposure to environmental toxins, so choosing healthy materials, minimizing red list materials, and keeping our air clean is super important to me.
   
6. Seismic upgrade
   We live in an earthquake zone, and seismic design standards have come a long way since the 1960’s! A major reno is the perfect opportunity to upgrade our structure to protect our house (and family!) in the event of a major earthquake.
   
7. Wildfire resistant
   We live in an official Wildfire Risk Area, and while it’s hard to imaging a wildfire tearing through our usually very wet rainforest of North Vancouver, with the changing climate it is entirely possible that this could happen here. Drier summers, longer droughts, and warmer temperatures are a recipe for more forest fires, and with forest only a street away on either side of our house, our neighbourhood is no exception. There are so many design strategies that can significantly reduce the risk of loosing your house in the event of a wildfire. (Passive House has been in the news lately because of this house that survived the fire!) I’m honestly shocked that I see so many renovations that don’t follow best practices for wildfire resistance, this needs much more attention.
   
   And finally but maybe most importantly,
8. Low Cost
   I know that these are big goals, and we need to be able to pay for it all! We’re planning to do as much of the work as we can ourselves, which saves a lot of money. We’re very lucky to have a lot of the knowledge (and access to so many experts!) through our work as engineers, and my husband can build things 🙂 And doing it ourselves means it will take a VERY long time, which, on the plus side, spreads out the cost! My (maybe overly ambitious) early super optimistic budget goal is to do everything for $100/sf.