Introducing Lisa and Danielle form the Sister’s Home Connection

Lisa Gill

Danielle Howcroft

Lisa and Danielle

November 5, 2011 – Danielle on Foreclosures

November 19, 2011 – Lisa on New Homes

November 26, 2011 – Lisa on New Homes

You will also need to apply to a Home Warranty company for the home. It doesn’t matter if you are building for yourself or someone else, you will need the warranty. Warranty requirements are different for home owner/builder than they are for builders. This is a requirement as you cannot get a permit from any city in the country without warranty coverage.

Once you have your drawings, the subdivision’s developer will have a design consultant who will go over your drawings and compare them to the  design guidelines and the overall look that the developer and city have decided for that subdivision. This part of the process will take any where from 1 to 3 weeks, depending on how busy the consultant company is.

After you have received your design approval, you will need to take your drawings to an engineer to have loads calculated. At the same time, you will need to get your roof trusses engineered as well. All truss companies have their own engineers who will take care of that for you, then the engineer will take a final look at the drawings for truss point loads before signing off on the drawings.

Once these things are completed, you can finally take your engineered drawings, truss layouts, and if needed, floor truss layouts, to city hall to apply for your building permit. Building permits can take from 2 to 8 weeks to be issued, depending on how busy the city’s building department is.

If you are building yourself, it is now time to get your quotes for the project. You will need a surveyor to stake out the location of your hole and then an excavator to dig your hole for you. Most excavation companies will also install your services (water/water meter, drain tiles, and hydro and telephone conduits). Some cities will want secondary rain water leaders (Langley), while others won’t (Surrey). You will also want to select a framer at this point. Let the framer know when you dropped your drawings off for permit, as this will give him a good idea as to your schedule. Your framer may wish to do the foundations himself, in which case his price will include forming the foundations. You will also need to get a price from a form supplier for your foundations, as well as a lumber quote from a lumber yard who will supply you with the material needed for the footings and later framing. The major lumber yards (Northcoast Building Products, Dick’s Lumber, as well as others) also have engineers who will check your flooring system to ensure that you have the correct sized beams. However, the software they use tends to be very conservative and will generate more or heavier beams and such than are actually needed. Let your engineer handle the floor system and tell the lumber yard to follow your engineer’s specs…it will save you money. Framers supply labour only so you will need to supply everything else.

Other than that, you will also need to get quotes from several concrete suppliers, plumbers, electricians, heating, security/vac, roofers, siding, brick layers, insulators and drywallers. My recommendation is to get three quotes for every trade and take the middle quote. If the quote is too low, it is likely that the trade is either forgetting something or may try to charge for extras, or is cutting corners somewhere. The high quote on the other hand, is charging a premium for his work, likely because he is too busy and doesn’t really want the job, or his is a large company which usually quotes larger projects. If you take a high quote, it is possible that you may end up waiting for the trade as he will do his bigger jobs first and put you on the backburner.

Always check trade references, you won’t regret it.

One thing, if you make exterior changes to the home during framing, you will need to re-quote, you will also need to get re-approvals from the design consultant and the city. If bearing walls are adjusted, the engineer will need to be involved as well. Only interior, non-loadbearing walls can be moved, or removed without prior permission from an authority.

The surveyor will place stakes at a minimum of four corners, you can always ask for more if your home has a lot of corners or the lot is tight. These stakes will be laid out four feet away from the location of your foundation walls. When digging a hole, there are safety considerations. WorkSafe BC requires that there be 4 feet of sideways excavation for every 4 feet of vertical. This keeps workers safe if there is ever a collapse of the side of the dig. During times of poor weather, you will also need to lay 6 mil poly over the side of the hole to keep water from washing the sides down in to the hole.

Most excavators have their own measuring instruments, so all they need to know is the MBE of your home, they will then dig to the proper height. The surveyor will come back after the hole is dug and will pin the corners of the foundation walls. These points are exact and the framer will use them to place the house correctly.

You will also need to let the framer know that you are digging your hole, he will want to come in as soon as the hole is complete to begin building the footing forms. Some framers like to do what is called a mono-pour, and others like to do two pours. In a mono-pour, the footings and foundation walls are all poured at the same time. In two pours, the footings are done first, then the foundation wall forms are put in place and the walls are poured. If doing two pours, you must insert 3/4″ reinforcing bar dowels into the footings as soon as the pour is complete. These bars will tie the walls to the footings. If you do a mono-pour, the dowels are not needed.

While houses do not require more than two bars horizontally in the footings, and two bars at the top of the walls, I do not recommend doing this. Concrete needs 28 days to reach 80% or more of it’s maximum strength. If you use the minimum re-bar, you cannot safely back fill your foundations for that period of time. If the foundations are back filled to early, the walls can bend, and possibly crack, and in extreme cases, actually break, requiring removal of the damaged wall, and a re-pour. The only way to avoid this problem is to install the first floor framing before back filling. The floor system adds sideways support to the foundation walls.

In every home that we build, even though the cost is higher, we will place an 18″ x 18″ grid of 3/4″ rebar in the walls, as well as 3, or occasionally 4, rows in the footings. With this extra rebar, the concrete is stiffened and can be safely back filled after two weeks, which is about how much time it takes to install services, confirm location of the top of the foundation walls, get your inspections, and seal the exterior of the foundation walls.

Inspections during this time are Home Warranty after the all services and seals are installed. City inspection is the same as Home Warranty.

One final note, apply for your power from BC Hydro when you start digging the hole. It will take them about 3-4 weeks to come out and install it. When the foundations are back-filled, have your framer build a section of wall where your permanent breaker box is going to be and build a wooden box with a small roof and a door in front. Your electrician can then install your electrical meter and Hydro can hook it up. This gives your trades all the power they need to do their work and saves you the time & money of renting a generator or paying for power from a neighbour. While the neighbour thing can work, if your guys blow a breaker and the neighbour isn’t there, you could be out of luck for the day. It’s always easier to have your own power than to borrow someone else’s.

A combination industrial with loading dock and office space in front.  Near Steveston Hwy and No 5 Rd in Richmond, minutes away from Hwy 99.

For leasing information on the following property, contact Porte Realty.

Studio, 1 and 2 bedroom apartment units in the heart of White Rock. 2 km from Semiahmoo Place Mall, close to schools, restaurants, shops and services.

For rental information on the following property, contact the Rentals Manager at 604.

67 Residential rental suites sitting atop of 6 office units in the heart of Maple Ridge. Two blocks from Haney Place Mall. 1.2 km to WestCoast Express station.

One bedroom suites range from 600 – 650 sq. ft., full bath. Hot water included. Underground secured parking.

For rental information on the following property, contact Arnold at 778-995-4256.

A selection of industrial warehouse units nestled just outside the Steveston core.

For leasing information on the following property, contact Porte Realty.

Level access warehousing with office space in front facing the street in the centre of Richmond. Unit space ranges from 1500 sq. ft. to 5000 sq. ft., with parking available.

For leasing information on the following property, contact Arnold at 778-995-4256.