Undergoing A Full Home Remodel In North Vancouver
If you are thinking about undergoing a large scale home renovation then you have come to the right blog. This blog will help you educate yourself on the complexity and magnitude of what is involved in these projects in 2022. It seems like a lot and it is, but Mavish Homes has perfected their process ensuring costs are minimized to remain extremely competitive in the industry. Near the bottom of this blog we explain our process in detail and why you should highly consider either hiring Mavish Homes or recommending Mavish Homes to your friends and family.
Many of our clients come to us with an older home saying that “it has good bones”. I agree. Many times I will have walked through an older home and you can tell how solid the floor is. How little the 1950’s floors squeak. There is something to say about good old school craftsmanship. Unfortunately, back then the house was built extremely well, but that’s the thing. It was built back then. Different materials. Different building practices. Different building code.
The newest evolution of BC’s building code is referred to as Step Code. This is a standard that has been set to achieve a few crucial things in the building space. Meet energy requirements, lower carbon footprint, higher building standards and practices all in conjunction with today’s constantly evolving building code.
Permit Application Process In North Vancouver
Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and overwhelm yourself? Here is a link to North Vancouver Building Permit Information. Grab a bottle of water and don’t worry, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You didn’t expect your project to be estimated at such a high cost. It’s okay. We value engineer your budget during our planning process. There are steps to your project especially when it comes to creating a budget. We first need to start with the fundamentals. Floor plans. Does your home have floor plans on file? If not, we need to get your site measured up and develop a fresh set of blueprints for your home remodel in North Vancouver.
When we first sit down with our clients we develop a scope of work. Everything our clients would like. We take their comfortable budget and offer our advice noting a risk analysis of their project vs budget. The City or District will want to review the project scope in order to decide what requirements will need to be met. A competent renovator or builder will be able to provide all the necessary professionals, consultants and engineers that will most likely be required for the permit application.
This often includes multiple sets of updated floor plans, surveys, engineering reports, drawings and letter’s of assurance amongst other itemized documents. It is important to note we will not involve our interior designer at this point until these floor plans have been approved. The City will assess they comply with zoning and code requirements. An interior design CAN be introduced early on during the initial consultation stages but a design package will not start until there is a permit approved set of plans.
At the first stage of permit review they will also assess if additional professionals or requirements must be involved. This may include an arborist if trees need to be protected or removed or utility upgrades to take place involving the engineering department to name a few. This means additional permits and costs. These permits can add significant time onto your home remodel in North Vancouver. If there is asbestos present in the home a certified remediation company will need to retain a certified quality control person (QP) to assess the air quality after remediation is complete. This report and professional completes the demo permit and closes out this stage of the project. Now clean demo can commence. To find out the cost of a building permit a call to the City can be made or you can find a downloadable pdf on your City or districts website under building permits.
Engineers For Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver Remodels
When do we need an engineer for our project? Some people are well informed of a common time a structural engineer is required and that is when a load bearing wall is being removed. That is not the only time though. There are a bunch of additional triggers that are often not discussed and missing on the internet. If you want to add an exterior window or door and make alterations to the exterior you will need an engineer. They will draw up specifications of how they would like the opening framed. They will charge to submit a report for the permit application. They will charge to inspect this during framing and in order to pass framing inspection the building inspector will want to see the engineers report confirming approval.
Inspection For Your Home Remdoel In North Vancouver
If we are altering the exterior we are altering the existing building envelope. If we were to repair a few pieces of siding we would not require an envelope engineer. However, if we are to replace all siding or a significant portion of the exterior cladding an envelope engineer will get involved. They will create drawings and letters of assurance for the permit application. They may be involved at many stages. Window prep and flashing inspections, vapour barrier inspections, rain-screen inspections, waterproofing and drainage inspections, insulation, roofing and vents etc. Depending on the scope of the work this can add a lot of inspection costs just for this one engineer.
So when thinking about a complete home renovation in North Vancouver, keep in mind you are contending with possible costly upgrades on the interior AND the exterior. In other words, your budget can easily double.
Home Renovation Cost In North Vancouver And Why
When a contractor first sits down with you and tells you a large scale home renovation or remodel will start at $125 per square foot and can exceed over $400 per square feet, there is a lot of experience and logic in that. It isn’t an arbitrary amount. We know that a competitive professional painting company with a good reputation, warranty and up to date with licenses and work safe is between 4-6$ per square foot for a renovation. This isn’t working directly with the client. Going into the home painting in a day and then finished.
This is working along a contractors schedule. Dealing with priming drywall, trade damage, coming back and doing a few different trips at different stages of the project. For a $2000 square foot home this is $8000-$12,000. When we do this for every line item we know we can estimate a project for between the $125-$400+ cost per square foot range. It is easy to break down the cost of one line item but now put them in a schedule in an environment with many trades and moving parts and there is a lot more correspondence and accommodating expectations.
The more requirements for a permit package for a home remodel in North Vancouver, the more the project expected costs can be determined. This reflects cost in materials, labour, inspections and required professionals. Trades that know the requirements. Quality experienced trades that will most likely not be cheapest quote. Respectfully, when clients shake their head at these projected costs they are not thinking of the project as a whole. They are thinking of a project they did 20 years ago (without permits) or a small scope that involved little to no risk or planning. Getting additional quotes to compare apples to apples is never a bad thing. But is it apples to apples or apples to ….? People tend to look at the numbers and nothing else.
You can compare individual scopes side by side. Keep in mind you need to compare the builder and trades they are using side by side. Builder integrity, communication and the service experience they are guaranteeing side by side. The project quality needs to be met yes, but the certainty of the project experience also needs to be a positive one. Do not forget this for YOUR home remodel in North Vancouver. Your investment.
Apple’s To Apples Or Default To The Middle Quote?
You can compare individual scopes side by side in order to ask your contractor why his drywall quote seems to be more expensive than the other two quotes.
There will be an explanation that will assure you or you can ask if your contractor (the one you feel you have developed the best rapport with) to provide a second quote for that line item. You want to choose the contractor you feel great with. From here, you can then pick apart the quote and value engineer it along side your contractor to make the budget better suite your needs. This what we do as your trusted advisor.
Many people have been told to get three quotes and just go with the middle one. This can be highly dangerous. When comparing quotes, compare the experience you will get. Compare the control you have. Compare which materials and trades you have a say in using. Make sure you go with a contractor that is looking out for your best interests from planning to construction and through to the END of warranty.
Value Engineering Your Home Remodel In North Vancouver
We have one word for you. Planning.
Siting down and creating a scope first will allow a contractor to provide a feasibility estimate. Depending which direction the client would like to go a design can be created and then a permit application process can begin. From this point on we start to create a detailed budget. We revise a budget multiple times during this planning phase.
Planning goes through 3 main phases. #1 Design. Floor plans and engineering of the structure. Once the permit is approved we push out bids. #2 Structural Selections. Framing, concrete work, rough plumbing and electrical etc. We then revisit the budget. If we are looking good we continue pushing forward to our final #3 phase, Finish Selections.
P.C.A.C | Plan. Confirm. Approve. Commit.
We use this acronym through each stage of a project. With complex projects with many moving parts a strict system is required. Once we create a plan (design) we then approve this so we can start pricing it out. Once we receive quotes, schedules and contracts we will then decide with our client if this works with our budget and timelines and approve it. It is not until we work through all 3 stages of the project (Design, Structural, Finishes) that each stage has been carefully planned, confirmed, approved and then we can finally commit to construction.
Committing To A Construction Agreement With Mavish Homes Inc
SUMMARY
We SOLVE common problems within our industry.
Finding a contractor that can deliver a high quality, honest and transparent service with fair pricing. This industry is know for:
- Lack of transparency.
- Lack of accountability.
- Lack of client control.
WE DELIVER YOU A CLEAR VISION
- Can you imagine being in the position of having this entire project planned on paper? Making sure it’s successful on paper before we start any construction work.
- You’ve solidified your plans and design
- Your scopes of work are defined with great specialty and detail
- You’ve made every selection and know the cost of every product going into your home
- You’ll know which trades are going to handle each installation
- You’ll know exactly how much each service will cost down to every line item
- You’ll have a definitive schedule and you’ll know exactly what the whole project will cost without ever committing to an actual construction agreement.
- Does that sound like an amazing experience?
- Is that the position you would like to be in?
- Could you imagine doing it any other way?
WE OFFER MANY GREAT BENEFITS
Open book financials. You get to see what we see!
- Transparent quoting for all of our suppliers and trade partners!
- 24/7 access to your project online where you can see budget, invoices, schedules, progress photos and much more!
- Fantastic communication throughout the entire planning, construction and warranty phase!
- High quality trades that are courteous and respectful of your home!
- Iron clad 2 year warranty!
OUR PLANNING DELIVERABLES
- Manage design team (architect, engineers, designers) to ensure project meets and exceeds client requirements as well as local zoning, building codes, and the highest industry standards.
- Build scopes of work based on design and client requests for all aspects of project.
- Obtain fixed pricing where ever possible and accurate cost estimates for labour and materials from our preferred suppliers and subtrades who we feel are the best fit for your project. Two prices per category will be the norm, although in some cases only one will be provided as we feel they are the best fit for your project and budget.
- Provide risk management review to all aspects of construction to minimize cost and time over runs
- Prepare an accurate and defensible project schedule
- Project management time is an estimate and final cost is based on actual time used. Project Manager will provide regular updates to keep you apprised of the time being used.
OUR CONSTRUCTION DELIVERABLES
- Issue Subcontracts and verify trade documentation (WCB, Insurance, etc)
- Manage Project Safety Program
- Trade startups, manage trades day to day
- Quality control – verify work to specification and quality standards
- Client Meetings – Weekly updates on progress, schedule, budget
- Liaison Consultants – Meet with engineers, architects, designers and consultants to verify quality of work and approve requisite professional approvals.
- Material supply sourcing and purchasing.
- Liaison City and other 3rd party entities – Work with Municipality and Crown Services during construction for inspections and service connections
- Documentation such as Logs, Reports and Photos
- Safety program implementation tasks such as site specific plan implementation, contractor orientations, toolbox meetings, hazard assessments, site survey, etc.
- Site Management Labour is a budgetary cost only based on past projects and may change due to project specific situations. All time required is billed. Clients can help out when appropriate
PROJECT SUCESS CRITERIA
- 9 Pillars Of Risk Control Checklist!
- Project Planning Binder Checklist!
- Project Construction Binder Checklist!
OUR PLAN AND APPROACH (Project Road Map)
Project Feasibility
Completed- Client has Property of Land Secured/Provided Title Search
Completed- Client has Financing Secured
Completed- Builder has Preliminary Plans Reviewed
Completed- Builder Risk Analysis Complete
Completed- Builder Project Permit Viability
COMPLETED
Project Planning
Sign off on Ready for Pricing Drawings (RFPD)
Confirm Permit Viability
Structural Scope Verified Against RFPD
Structural Hard Fixed Costs Verified Against RFPD
Finish Scopes Verified Against RFPD
Finish Hard Fixed Costs Verified Against RFPD
Trades Contracts Created
Schedules Confirmed
Total Cost Investment Verified: Client Approved
NEXT STEPS
Construction Agreement | Ready for Construction
Project Construction Site Prep
Daily Activity Reporting
Daily Trade Activity Reporting
Daily Financial Reporting
Weekly Client Project Reviews
Project Completion
5 Star Experience
Warranty Management