What you should think about when you want to build a custom home.

Think about what you want your custom home to look like on the outside before starting your custom home drawings.

If you are in the planning stages of your custom home project, make sure that you take some time to stop and think about what you really want out of it. For example;

• What do you want the house to look like? Colours, style?
• What materials do you want to build the house out of?
• Will your vision fit in the lot or property that you own? Does it make sense at that location?
• Are you maximizing the space provided and the natural topography of the land?
• Are you highlighting the features of the property with the design and position of the home?
• Are you designing a house that will fit into your realistic budget?
• Do you want a large house with lower end finishes or do you want a smaller house with higher end finishes?
• Will the house fit into the neighbourhood that exists already?
• Is there a house already on the property? Are you aloud to have it removed? Is it a heritage building?
• Is being environmentally friendly really important to you?
• Do you like modern conveniences? Or are you a traditionalist?
• Is the property environmentally protected?
• Are their restrictions on removal of trees and soil?

All of these questions need to be looked at and decided on before you start the drawing of the home. With these decisions made you will save yourself a lot of time and money when you meet with your architect or draftsmen. These professionals will be billing you for their time; every time they have to re-draw something it’s going to cost you money. That’s why it’s so important to walk in with as many answers as possible before it starts.

The easiest way to help the professional that is drawing your new home is to give them pictures of other homes that you have seen in the area or have liked in magazines and brochures. You can mix and max anyway you want too. The job of the architect or draftsmen is to interpret all of your ideals and bring them together in a way that look's right in your new home. They are professionals so they will be able to tell you from experience some of the things to stay away from and some of the things that have worked well in projects they have drawn in the past.

So remember do a lot of your research, thinking and planning before you arrive in the office of the professional that is going to draw your custom home, it will help them and you get what you want and what you really need.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.

Pre planning your custom home project can save you time, money and stress

Pre-planning for your custom home will save you time, money and stress during the build

When you start the process of getting a custom home built, you should take the time to make as many decisions about the house as you can before you even start constructing it.

Once you have had the plans drawn, you should work with a designer on what you want the interior and exterior of the house to look like. If you can manage it, you should even have the interior paint colours chosen before your contractor breaks down the price of the project. If you make these decisions then this will free you up to make a lot of the choices that come up when you are building a house.

Choosing everything that you need and want in your home does a couple of things;

·         It allows you to enjoy the building process, instead of being overloaded with decisions during the build.

·         It allows you to make smarter decisions when unexpected things come up that you didn’t foresee.

·         It allows you to set and follow a budget.

·         It allows you to consider upgrades, comparing them to the budget and the existing choices.

·         It allows the general contractor to build your home quicker because they don’t have to wait for you to make decisions that slow the build process done. It also allows the builder to pre-order things that might save you money compared to ordering at the last minute.

·         When you make decisions under pressure, you run the risk of making a snap decision that you will regret later.

·         It allows the builder to source out the proper trades for special installation.

·         It allows the builder to turn the house over to the homeowner completed with all the finishing’s and fixtures hung, instead of homeowners moving in and then shopping around for some light fixtures and paint colours. There is always an added expensive if trades have to come back after the homeowner’s furniture is in the house. Special things have to be done to help protect the homeowner’s things and that takes time and time costs money.

If you find a designer that you can work with, this can make everything run smoother. Think of the designer as management for you. Then the builder calls the designer first with questions, leaving you to focus on what the designer wants you to focus on.

Remember that building a custom home will be the most expensive investment that you ever make in your life, especially if you want it to be your retirement home. With the cost comes stress. Stress muddles the decision making ability of most people. So the more choices that you make before that stressor of the house being constructed happens, the better your decisions will end up being.

So find a builder that you can do a lot of pre planning with and a designer that can help you with the style choices of your future home. Remember the more planning you do now, the less stress you will have during the building process.

If you are looking for a builder or an interior designer feel free to contact me at robabbott@villagebuilders.ca or check out our website at www.villagebuilders.ca

Rob Abbott

Operations Manager

Village Builders Inc.

Planning your new house for your later years

When building a new home or renovating an older home, you should always think about the future. Most of my clients that I work for are from the baby boomer generation, so they are in retirement or getting close to it. The work that we are doing for them now is probably going to be the last big project that they want to do in their life time.

When designing your retirement home, the one that you anticipate living in for the rest of your life you need to think about all the things you might need when you get into your 80’s and 90’s. With modern medicine helping people live longer and longer you have to plan ahead. That means that things that ended the life of people 20 years ago are manageable today. It doesn’t mean that there are cures but it doesn’t mean it’s a death sentence either.

So here are some helpful hints that you should incorporate into a new home or major renovation for the future you:

The first thing that a lot of older people have problems with is there mobility. So one simple thing that you can do is have your master bedroom on the first floor of the house. This allows you not to have to alter the house later with stair lifts; it’s a simple thing to do and is a major growing trend in houses today. It also allows you not to have to climb the stairs to do cleaning because everything is contained on the first floor. It’s a lot easier if you only have to venture up stairs when there is company coming to stay overnight then cleaning both floors every time you think it needs to be done.

If putting the master bedroom on the first floor isn’t an option then, design a room such as a den or study that can be converted into a bedroom later in life. If you are building a new home a simple thing to do is have the builder design a space in the home where a future elevator can be installed. It’s an easy thing to have done when the house is being built. All it requires is a spot in the house where there is about a 5 foot square shaft that can be created from the first floor to the second floor without having to change anything structural in the building. The only cost then would be the elevator equipment itself.

If you plan to have a future master bedroom on the first floor, then install a full bathroom on the first floor not just a powder room.

Ensuite bathrooms should have doors that are 36” wide at the least; you should do this also with the shower door as well. If you believe that because of past illness in the family that someone will end up needing a wheelchair then large doors are really important.

Instead of putting in a curb in your shower, install a hump. This does the same thing as a curb, it keeps the water from spilling across the floor, but it allows a wheelchair to be rolled into the shower.

When talking about wheelchair access the whole master ensuite should be built with a wheelchair in mind. You can install a lower vanity and sink, you should also leave a space in the middle of the room so that the wheelchair can be turned a 180 degrees and in the shower it should be made large enough to except a wheelchair and a helper. Installing a bench seat in the shower with a hand shower comes in handy, it allows you to sit down, without the fear of not getting back up, plus it’s great for women to shave their legs on. Having the builder install solid blocking in the walls for grab bar installation is a smart way to prepare for the future as well.

Design your decks so that there is a future space to install a ramp when stairs become difficult to negotiate.

You should also have your landscaping designed without a lot of steps, making your landscaping more self sufficient will help in the future when you do not have the energy or time to make it outside to tend to it.

 Having an attached garage with an entrance that has very few steps is a smart way to allow yourself to stay in your dream home longer. Even if you have a big set of steps to the front door, you should be able to drive into your garage and walk into your house with little effort and with very few steps. This will give you added years in your home.

Have an alarm system installed in your house when it is being built. You don’t even have to have it activated until years down the road when you think you need it. It will help you and your family feel better when at the touch of button, or even a voice command you can have an ambulance on its way.

There are other small things you can do to help yourself, have an instant hot water tap installed in the kitchen. This allows you to have a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate without having to wait for the kettle to boil. No more standing in the kitchen.

If you install structural wiring throughout the house, you can operate the whole house on a remote. So you can turn on the music or TV. without having to leave the room. You can turn the lights on and off at the push of a button, run the security, you can actually almost run anything electronics in the house from one remote.

So when planning to build or renovate your dream home remember that in the future there will be certain things that you will require. Proper planning will go a long way.

Rob Abbott

Operations Manger

Village Builders Inc.