from the Gable Media Podcast Network and presented by Lines.
This is Spaces, the podcast where we make sense of the spaces that shape society.
I'm your host, Demetrius Lynch.
Hello, thanks for coming back.
And if you're new here, welcome.
This is episode 206, where I discuss one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make, not actually understanding.
This is episode 206, where I discuss one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make, not actually understanding what kind of project they're doing.
Not
not actually understanding what kind of project.
not understanding what kind of project they're actually doing.
But before we get into it, a quick reminder that you can find all of this information and more in my digital download called Before You Build.
It's a strategic, pre-designed framework to help you avoid costly mistakes in common projects, kitchens, ADUs, additions, and small commercial tenant improvements.
In it, you'll learn how to define your project scope,
what construction projects actually cost in Southern California, how to assemble the right team, what project timelines to expect, and the most common and costly mistakes to avoid.
You can find it now at lines.studio slash store or follow the link in the show notes to check it out.
Now, as I mentioned, one of the biggest mistakes.
Now, as I mentioned, one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make.
Now, as I mentioned, one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make happens.
Now, as I mentioned, one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make happens before they ever hire a contractor, submit plans or even define a budget.
It's.
It's not actually.
it's not understanding what kind of project they're doing.
Now that might sound outrageous and a simple thing to understand, but there are so many nuances in the process of construction.
This is actually quite common and it has massive impact on your budget, your timeline, the professionals you'll need, permitting requirements, and ultimately whether your project
feels manageable or chaotic.
A renovation is not the same thing as a remodel.
A remodel is not the same thing as an addition.
And an addition is definitely not the same thing as rebuilding.
But homeowners, and honestly, some people in the industry, tend to use these words interchangeably.
And that lack of clarity is where projects start to drift off course.
After more than 20 years working in architecture,
I found that one of the most important things you can do at the beginning of a project is correctly identifying your scope.
Not just what do I want, but what category of project am I actually entering into?
It's important because each level of intervention introduces a different level of complexity, different permitting requirements, different costs, and different risks.
And the problem is that many homeowners begin with a mental image from Pinterest, Instagram, or HGTV without understanding the structural, regulatory, or financial
implications underneath that image.
You may think I'm just updating my kitchen, but if that kitchen update includes removing walls, relocating plumbing, upgrading electrical, or changing the structure,
you may no longer be dealing with a simple renovation.
And once your project crosses certain thresholds, the entire process changes.
That's why understanding your scope early is one of the most important forms of cost control.
So let's break down the major project categories because this is where clarity starts.
Renovation.
A renovation is the least invasive category.
This typically means replacing finishes, repainting, updating fixtures, replacing flooring, or refreshing a space without changing how it fundamentally functions.
Think new countertops, new tile, new lighting fixtures, replacing cabinets in the same location.
Generally speaking, renovations involve fewer unknowns, lower or no permitting requirements, and a smaller team.
In many cases, a good contractor can successfully execute this type of work without a full architectural team.
without a full architectural team or process.
Now that doesn't mean renovations are cheap, especially in Southern California.
But compared to other project types, they tend to involve less coordination, less engineering, and fewer regulatory triggers.
Remodel.
A remodel is where things start becoming more complex.
A remodel changes the layout
function, structure, or systems of your building.
This is where you begin moving walls, changing room configurations, relocating kitchens or bathrooms, or significantly altering how a space operates.
And this is often where homeowners intentionally underestimate complexity because visually the project may sit, because visually,
the project may still feel small, but technically, it may require structural engineering, electrical upgrades, plumbing redesign, permitting, and deeper code compliance.
For example, removing what seems like just a wall may actually involve load-bearing conditions.
and to quickly explain.
If you follow the, and to quickly explain, you can kind of follow the path of the load.
From the top of your building, it goes down what's a post, the vertical member, down and it eventually crosses a beam, which is the horizontal member.
And at the end or various points of that beam are more posts, those vertical members again, all the way down to your foundation, which is the concrete.
and into the ground.
If you're moving walls around, you're breaking that transfer of the load from the top of your building all the way down to the ground.
So anytime something changes, all of that has to be re-figured out of how to make the load from the top of your building transfer all the way down to the ground.
The second one, beam sizing.
Anytime a beam has to span a certain length, the farther that beam has to go, the deeper it's going to be, the bigger that beam is going to be.
And when that happens, you're starting to fight inches, half an inch, quarter of an inch, 16 of an inch, 16 of an inch to make that beam fit in certain places.
And it adds complexity because then you're blocking the way that you're
Your air conditioning moves through the building, you're blocking.
uh
you're blocking lighting paths and all sorts of other things.
So you have to be conscious of that as well.
Three, foundation implications.
Anytime you're changing that load bearing condition, where those, that load transfers, if you have to add a new post, another vertical member, there has to be, depending on what
your foundation is, if it's a raised floor, for example, where all of the weight
is mostly transferred to the outside, or there's individual concrete pads that a post sits on.
When you change your design and there's a new post location, you then have to add a new concrete base for that post to go into.
And that's going to require you to tear up the floor in order to add that new post.
And number four, lateral seismic considerations.
To understand this, think of yourself wearing rollerblades or roller skates.
When you're standing there, your natural weight can hold you in place.
But if someone tugs you lightly, you'll start to feel a little bit of a movement.
And if they tug you hard, your upper body kind of lunges backwards.
That's kind of what happens during an earthquake.
The ground is literally moving.
So the building has to try to compensate and very old buildings are not designed to compensate that movement the way that newer buildings are.
So if you're changing the building, whether it's an old building, whether it's an older building with no seismic design,
or a slightly older building that has less seismic design, you're gonna have to redesign your building, especially in the area where you're working on, to...
to compensate for that movement.
So you're essentially adding brakes to the wheels of your roller skates to prevent that movement as much.
Now, once all that engineering enters the conversation, your project moves into a very different category of coordination.
This is also where architecture becomes more valuable, not simply for aesthetics like most people may believe, but for planning, coordination, code analysis, and risk mitigation.
Additions.
An addition expands the footprint or square footage of your building.
This could mean adding a bedroom, expanding a kitchen, adding a second story, or building new livable space.
And additions are often where homeowners experience their first real exposure to the complexity of building regulations.
Now going back to sort of the analogy, now going back to the structural analogies.
Now, going back to the structural analogies, I like to explain additions as a dog with no tail.
You have this contained unit, your building, that's all designed as it is to withstand that structural movement.
Then you add a tail to that building or dog, you think, imagine that tail starting to wiggle and a dog
when their tail starts to wiggle, their butt wiggles too and their whole body starts to twist because that tail is adding all of this extra movement that their body isn't quite
aligned for.
So when you have an addition, especially depending on how it's designed, it's essentially this tail that's being added onto your building that's not designed for it to be there.
So a structural engineer has to come in to design it.
to tie into your building to withstand any separate movement to basically make it one continuous building so it doesn't seem like two different things moving at two different
paces, at two different directions uh to.
to make it all one sound structure.
Now beyond the structural component, additions can also trigger school fees, soil report requirements, fire sprinkler requirements, parking requirements, utility upgrades, and
energy compliance requirements.
And these thresholds matter.
For example, in some jurisdictions, exceeding a certain square footage may trigger school impact fees.
Adding too many bathrooms
may require sewer upgrades.
Adding too many bedrooms may affect parking requirements.
So what starts is we just want to add some space, can quickly evolve into a much larger system, can quickly evolve into a much larger systems conversation.
And this is where having the right team early becomes critical.
ADUs, accessory dwelling units or ADUs.
deserve their own category because California legislation has dramatically expanded their popularity.
A lot of homeowners think ADUs are simple, fast, or inexpensive, especially because there are a ton of companies now promoting ADUs as a simple solution, prefab units, pre-designed
plan sets, and plans pre-approved by MUNAS and plans pre-approved by MUNAS.
and plans pre-approved by municipalities.
But the reality is ADUs are essentially small homes.
They require structure, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, energy compliance, and often fire department review.
And each project site has its own unique challenges because they're small, many people.
So there's no real easy solution or easy reuse.
So there's no real easy solution.
So there's no real quick solution, easy reuse or pre-made.
or pre-approved way to quickly get to this, or pre-approved way to quickly deliver an ADU.
Because they're small, many people assume they should be cheap, but construction doesn't scale proportionately.
In fact, smaller projects often cost more per square foot because kitchens, bathrooms, permitting, and utility infrastructure still exists regardless of size.
So while ADUs can be incredible opportunities for rental income,
multi-generational living, or flexibility, they are still complex.
They are still complex construction projects.
Rebuilds.
A rebuild is the most extensive category.
This typically involves demolishing most or all of an
This typically involves demolishing most or all of it.
uh
This typically involves demolishing most or all of an existing structure or after a natural disaster, then constructing a new building.
At this point, you are essentially entering new construction territory, even if you're rebuilding like for like.
And I want to take a quick pause here because there's some misconception about.
And I want to take a quick pause here to emphasize a point that.
uh And I want to take a quick pause here to emphasize a recent project that I had.
And I want to take a quick pause to emphasize about a recent project that I had where a homeowner had recently purchased a home and a portion of the building was unpermitted.
They intended to add uh solar panels to their house, but were flagged for that illegal construction, even though it was done by the previous owner or some other previous owner.
they were still on the hook to correct that unpermitted work.
When I came out to visit, that construction was also poorly done and not to code.
So it had to be the most efficient way to do it was to demo the entire thing and rebuild it exactly as it was intended to be, but up to code.
And there was a lot of misunderstanding about
The project costs, because it seemed so simple, it was probably about 40 to 60 square feet, pretty small, but you're rebuilding, you're essentially rebuilding a new structure,
even though it's...
uh
just because you're essentially rebuilding a new structure the correct way up to code structural requirements and all the permits that are involved.
So even though it was a very small portion, this was a rebuild.
So you're kind of building a new area no matter how small it is up to all the current codes and all the fees that come with it.
So both in this small case and in a much more dramatic complete rebuild, that means full permitting, complete design coordination, engineering, zoning analysis, energy compliance,
and extensive review.
And emotionally, this is often where homeowners realize this is much bigger than what we originally thought.
So here's the key takeaway.
So here's the key takeaway from today's episode.
These categories are not just interchangeable.
So here's the key takeaway from today's episode.
These categories are not just interchangeable labels.
They are predictors, complexity, timeline, risk.
Complexity, timeline, risk, and costs.
And the earlier you correctly identify your project type, the better your decisions become.
because once you understand what kind of project I'm actually doing, you can begin aligning the right expectations, the right budget, and the right team.
And honestly, a lot of homeowner frustration comes from treating a remodel like a renovation or treating an addition like a simple small upgrade.
Clarity changes everything.
That's exactly why I included this breakdown in Before You Build.
Because before you think about finishes, before you think about contractors, before you even think about demolition, you need to understand the scope of what you're actually
doing.
you need to understand the scope of what you're actually building.
Inside the guide, I break down project types, cost expectations, team structure, and the most common mistakes homeowners make early on.
So if you're planning a kitchen remodel, an addition, an ADU, or a commercial tenant improvement, I highly recommend starting there.
You can find it at lines.studio slash podcast.
That's L-Y-N-E-S dot studio slash podcast.
Or there's a link in the show notes.
The clearer you are about your project at the beginning, the more confidence you'll have throughout the rest of the process.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for listening today.
We'll talk again on the next one.
Thanks.