We’ve all heard praises of ranch houses for their sturdiness and longevity, but they are also very easy to renovate for your exact needs. Easy modifications aside, what’s the cost of renovating a ranch house in Canada?

It’ll cost 300 CAD and above per square foot to renovate a ranch house in Canada. Adding a new room will cost 28,000-52,000 CAD, and a garage can cost up to 159,000 CAD. Smaller renovations, like updating the technology in the house and modifying walls or furnishings, will cost around 10,000 CAD for each.

I’ll be talking at length about the common costs of renovating a ranch house in Canada and how you can reduce it a little below.

Common Renovations In A Ranch House, And How Much They Cost

Ranch houses are resilient and hold up well with time. However, these are typically old-style houses with outdated, simple designs. So, most go for these 3 improvements.

• Open up the space.
• Update Power, Lighting, and Climate Control.
• Update the bathroom.

Open Up The Space

A ranch house has plenty of space around it. But most rooms are closed off, and the house is a maze of rooms. It’s a good idea to remove some outside walls and change the windows for a more open and sprawled-out house. You can try these 3 ideas.

• Remove the outside wall of your kitchen and extend it out into a patio. The space becomes bigger, breezier, and easier to access. Load-bearing outer walls will cost 1,200-5,000 CAD to remove, and a patio installation will cost you an average of 6,456 CAD.
• Replace the smaller double-hung windows with French doors and clear glass sliders or casement windows. It’ll introduce natural lighting and air. It can cost 2,000-5,000 CAD to install a French door and 350-1,000 CAD for a casement window.
• Remove the inner walls of the house, especially between the dining and drawing rooms. This will make the house feel cosier and less restrictive. A non-load-bearing inner wall will cost 1,000-2,500 CAD to remove.

Update Power, Lighting, And Climate Control

Updating the power, lighting, and climate control is the major cost of renovating a ranch house in Canada. I would recommend you go for one-time expensive solutions that save you money and effort for the rest of your life.

• Combination solar panels absorb sunlight to produce energy and use water lines to cool the panels. You can use the heated water for your bathroom or pool. This can cost 6,000-24,000 CAD.
• Use a smart HVAC system for climate control and lighting. It’ll micromanage light and heat, reducing power waste and providing optimal comfort. A central system will cost 7,000-15,000 CAD, depending on sensors and optimizations.

Update The Bathroom

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The bathroom is one of the most popular places to renovate in every house. It’s guaranteed to offer an ROI of 75% to 100%, and it vastly improves your lifestyle. Bathroom renovations can get quite complicated and expensive, with the average cost being 13,000 CAD.

Here are a couple of things you may want to change in your bathroom.

• You can include a shower, change the bathtub size to one and a half person, move the toilet, and change the tiles. This will cost you around 8,000 CAD to 15,000 CAD.
• You can go a layer deeper and change the baseboards, create more water lines, update the water heating system, and introduce smart temperature sensors. This will cost from 10,000 CAD to 16,000 CAD.

If you want to avoid most of the hassle, you can always snag yourself one of these ready-to-go Maple Ridge ranch-style houses. Maple Ridge is a serene location away from city life, and these ranch houses won’t require much renovation to become your dream home.

What About Adding Rooms?

Another major cost of renovating a ranch house in Canada is adding rooms. Here are the most common additions people make to a ranch house.

• Ranch houses have the space for a garage but often don’t have one. You can add a single-car garage to your house for 37,000-68,000 CAD. Double-car garages will cost 87,000-159,000 CAD.
• Adding a new bedroom can cost 25,000-59,000 CAD and more extending smart power, lighting, and heating.
• Extending the living space can cost 15,000-35,000 CAD.

But while adding rooms, respect the theme of the house. Don’t create a weird mashup of Avant Garde and the old, or strip off the old entirely.

How Do I Save On Renovations?

To lower the cost of renovating a ranch house in Canada, you make these 2 decisions. They’ll save you money for years and improve your lifestyle.

• Ovens, stoves, and even some fridges from the early 90s to 2000s are built to last forever. You’ll be saving up to 11,000 CAD immediately and thousands more down the line.
• Patch up the knotty pine and other woodwork. It provides an undeniable charm to your house at nearly no cost.

Ranch houses are expensive if you add up the renovation cost, but that goes for all houses. You’re benefiting because of the big lot that comes with it, and the house lasts forever. If you ever decide to sell it, you’ll profit even in a collapsing market.

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