Tag Archives: stucco quote

Ontario HST in Effect on July 1st 2010

Posted by Admin on March 25, 2010 None comments

There has been (a bit more than) a little upset in Ontario with regards to the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) implementation that is coming into effect on July 1st, 2010. While there is strong evidence that it will actually reduce business costs over the long run, very few people are actually believing the consumer will see any of these increased efficiencies. Actually, the general consensus is that as consumers, we will be paying more for everything from basic services, to our homes. As a result, there is expected to be a surge of home sales before July 1st by those looking to purchase within the next year – to avoid the additional 8% home owners will need to pay. Factor in the lowest-interest-rates-we-will-see-in-years, and you can expect it to be a very busy spring for anyone involved in the real estate market.

EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finish Systems, or “synthetic stucco”) renovations are one such service that will be affected by the HST implementation. Currently, because the renovation is a service, it is only subject to the GST (Government Sales Tax). As of July 1st of this year, this service will fall under the all-encompassing HST, effectively adding 8% to the cost of making your home more energy efficient.

Don’t risk delaying your project any further – typically it takes anywhere from 4-5 weeks to solicit quotes, qualify them and award the contract, then another 2-3 for the project to begin because of the contractor’s other projects. Seeing as there are only 13 weeks left until the HST is implemented and your costs rise 8% – we would recommend that anyone considering renovating their home this year register right now to get the process underway.

Go on over to the home owner stucco estimate request page.

Stucco Prices – Estimate Your Stucco Cost

Posted by Admin on November 22, 2008 2 comments

Many home owners want to get a preliminary stucco cost without having to call pushy contractors to get stucco prices. You CAN do this yourself, to get a rough estimate/budget for a standard job. There are many factors which will affect the final cost of a synthetic stucco siding: number of windows/doors, number of stories, moulding selection, location, how large the wall space to be done is, landscaping surrounding your house… the list goes on. When all is said and done though, the average home owner will find their final square foot price to be somewhere in the $9.00-$11.00 range. Now you’re wondering, how do I estimate the square footage to get a final cost? Here’s how to get a rough idea.

  1. Measure the width of the walls you want done by the heights, so as to square it off, write it down
  2. Measure the area of triangles and irregular shapes (triangles = base * height / 2), add this to step 1
  3. Measure the area of doors and windows, add these all up and substract it from the total from step 2

There you are! Multiply the result from step 3 by $10.00 and you have what should be the budget of your stucco including moldings, flashing, caulking, depending on geographic location and other factors.

Some things to keep in mind:

  • Dormers, bay windows and other small sections will cost you more per square foot
  • 2 and 3 story houses will cost more due to time spent setting up, dismantling and climbing scaffolding
  • A low price from a contractor may result in items being left off, or poor workmanship. Generally, you get what you pay for
  • Thicker insulation may cost more, but will further reduce heat loss/gain
  • The more prices you get and contractors you see, the better your chances of not missing something
  • If your area is under 500 square feet, prices can be as high as $12 per square foot
  • If your area is under 200 square feet, prices can be as high as $20 per square foot

The reason for the higher square foot prices on small projects is because it turns into a more time-intensive job than materials. The contractor will spend 4hours doing your house before having to wait for the material to dry for 24hours – then come back the next day for 4 hours and waiting for the material to dry for another 24hours. The majority of the time, they charge a full days wage because that’s what they would make on another, larger project. The average $9.00 per square foot is a works for large areas, but can not be applied to small areas.

For those located in Toronto who have decided they want to go ahead with their project, head over to the Home Stucco Estimate Request page to have a professional provide you with a quote.