Education/training
24-hour Home Design and Renovation course offered through Centennial's Continuing Education departmentPart-time home reno coursesThey're as common as Tim Hortons and every bit as popular. They're TV's home renovation shows and they've made stars out of gruff but lovable Mike Holmes and the high camp Scottish duo of Colin and Justin. |
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 [ 2007-06-20 ] |
The Home Staging 101 course shows owners how to present their properties at their best. The course begins Sept. 25, runs for three hours and costs $30.
For some, just watching a television program is enough to satisfy their urge to improve; for others, reflooring the kitchen or tiling a bathroom proves irresistible. And if they're smart, they learn some of the basics before they strap on the tool belt and start droning on about vapour barriers and counter tops.
One of the schools to pick up tips on how to renovate is Centennial College, where Alan Rowshanbin has been teaching for seven years.
"The Home Design and Renovation (course) covers everything from the footings to the roof," says Rowshanbin, a contractor for 23 years.
Home Design and Renovation is offered through Centennial's Continuing Education department and runs for 24 hours. Students can either take the course for eight weeks at three hours a week, or four weekends at six hours each. Those students who want to learn just about bathrooms, say, can just take that three-hour session. A woodworking course Rowshanbin teaches runs for 12 hours. The fee for the 24-hour course is $200, or $30 for the individual workshops. Woodworking costs $75.
Home Design and Renovation begins every September and courses are taught on the college's Progress and Ashtonbee campuses. The class size is limited to 15 and for woodworking it's limited to just eight.
Rowshanbin says most of his students are homeowners, but, "I have had some real estate people. I would recommend it to any real estate agent."
The reason, Rowshanbin says, is because anyone who enrols will learn about the structure of a house and, equally important, learn what they can and cannot do with a property. Plumbing, for example, usually requires the services of a professional.
Other topics Rowshanbin teaches include: how to hire a contractor, door and window replacements, fixing up a home office and kitchen renovations. However, he cautions that the course isn't long enough to train anyone to become a home renovator. "Twenty four hours is not going to make a know-it-all person," Rowshanbin says.
Nevertheless, the course will teach homeowners how to make their properties presentable, although how presentable is an open question. That's where Bonnie Dell and Marty MacPhail come in. They teach Home Staging 101 at Centennial, a course that shows owners how to present their properties at their best. The course begins Sept. 25, runs for three hours and costs $30.
Dell says she and her partner teach a seven-stage process. Students are taught how to draw up a plan, how to de-clutter their homes, how to fix things, how to de-personalize their property, how to clean it, stage it and, finally, are given tips on how to sell it. Those last two items are significant. MacPhail says figures from the U.S. show that a staged home sells for 7% more than one that's unstaged.
Dell expects most of her students will be homeowners, but, "I suspect we will get real estate agents interested," as well as some people who invest in residential property, she says.
A TV producer might even show up. Home renovation programming shows no sign of slowing down and you can bet the networks are looking at every angle.
QUICK FACTS
- Home Design and Renovation is taught on Centennial's Progress and Ashtonbee campuses.
- The course is offered through the college's Continuing Education department and class size is capped at 15.
- Students can take the course either for eight weeks at three hours a week or four weekends at six hours each.
- Home Staging 101 is taught in one three-hour session.
- Home Staging's first class is Sept. 25
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