Selecting a contractor and designer / architect

When we mention our house project to people, they always ask how did we get started? How did we find the contractor? How did we get to the plan / layout that worked for us? How did we pick the designer / architect? This is how it went down for us.

We like the character of our neighbourhood a lot and many new builds were cropping up among the older houses. Some fit in quite nicely but others stick out like sore thumbs. We knew that if we were going to build a new house we would like it to fit in the neighbourhood. We asked the owners of the new houses that we liked about the contractors and architects they worked with and how they felt about them. We also asked friends for similar information.

Also as we went to open houses we were keeping an eye out for properties that were similar in dimension to ours so we can compare the best layout internally that maximize the limited floor space. What really helped us out was that at one of these open houses, we found our desired layout on a lot size that was exactly the same as us. This was our starting point and we were able to approach some of the contractors we found from talking to our friends and people in our neighbourhood. We showed them our lot and current dwelling before asking them about the work we were planning to do. The contractors we contacted were very professional and very insightful. They have worked in our neighbourhood and were familiar with the bylaws, dealing with the city and also how to work with the neighbours. This is very crucial because an upset neighbour can very easily stall your project for months with complaints to the city. They were also very helpful in providing us names of designers / architects who they have worked with in our neighbourhood. They recommended we get the plans finalized and then contact them for quotes.

We interviewed 4 architects / designers. What is the difference between a designer and an architect? A designer or architectural technologist as we found out is also know as a building technologist. This is how Wikipedia describes them: "The Architectural Technologist , also known as a Building Technologist, provides building design services and solutions and is trained in architectural technology, building design and construction. They apply the science of architecture and typically concentrate on the technology of building design and construction. They can or may negotiate the construction project, and manage the process from conception through to completion.

Most architectural technologists are employed in architectural and engineering firms, or with municipal authorities; but many provide independent professional services directly to clients, although restricted by law in some countries. Others work in product development or sales with manufacturers.

In Britain (Chartered Architectural Technologist), Canada (Architectural Technologist or Applied Science Technologist), and other nations, they have many similar abilities as Architects and can work alongside them. There, they are sometimes directors or shareholders of an architectural firm (where permitted by the jurisdiction and legal structure). To become an architectural technologist, a three year diploma (or equivalent) in Architectural Technology is required, followed by structured professional and occupational experience." Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_technologist

We narrowed our list to 3 finalists after we interviewed them about their past/current projects and also asked for referrals. We asked for a quote for our project and were surprised by the big difference in cost between the architect and the designer. We were also surprised by the type of proposal we received. Some were very professional and detailed all their involvements and steps along with their costs. Some simply provided a $$$ amount. We decided to work with the designer that one of the contractor we spoke to earlier, referred to us. He was very professional, flexible and also very attentive to our needs before he put together our preliminary plans. He researched other similar projects in our neighbourhood for comparison and also to understand where the city will allow us to bend some of the existing by laws. His referrals were excellent and we also saw the work he did on a street just north of us. For a fee (also charged by an architect), he also represented us at the COA hearings we had for our project. We are so far very pleased with his work and will recommend him to others.

Once the drawings were finalized, we were able to provide these to the contractors for quotes. We found out that some of the contractors we talked to earlier, had other projects lined up already and would not be able to work on our project in our desired time frame. We were a bit disappointed by this but needed to forge ahead. Here as well we received some very professional quotes and big gaps in pricing. We understood that it is hard to compare these as they may include different finishes in their quotes but the instructions we provided everyone were to quote on mid-level finishes for pricing. We were able to negotiate a little bit as 2 contractors were very close to each other in their pricing. We finally awarded our project to the contractor who worked with our designer on other projects as his was the one closest to our specifications and also because he stayed in touch with us throughout the entire process.

We have not started digging yet so we cannot comment on our relationship with our contractor. We will update this as we go through the process. Now it is time to start packing, throwing unnecessary things in the garbage, calling the utilities and moving out as quickly as possible so we can start building our dream house . . .

Back on TRack

March 2011

Close to a year after the first post and many headaches dealing with the bureaucracy of the building permit department at city hall, we finally have our permits in hand. Since the last post, we went to the Committee of Adjustment twice for the same design and issues. This is because after we were approved in the summer of 2010, the city passed new zoning bylaws at the end of the summer - completely taking everyone by surprise including their own staff. Their new zoning bylaw was simply a harmonization of the various bylaws in multiple municipalities into one. This did not make sense and still does not make sense to their own internal staff in the building permit department. We fought to have our approved project not be subjected to the new laws as a few critical bylaws that did not exist before in our area were now putting our design at risk. Without help from our councillor (who got booted in the municipal election late last year), we had to go to the Committee of Adjustment one more time at the end of 2010. We were again approved and then the dance with the zoning inspector started. This process delayed us by 4 additional months. I am going to get this off my chest once and for all: Why did we pay for a PAL review prior to COA? I believed the PAL review was sufficient to address all the zoning and building codes of the project. This new person forced us to make several revisions to our drawing and sometimes forgot to check his files for items we had already submitted. Anyway, all is done now and we have the permits in hand.

We selected a contractor after the first COA decision last summer and after reviewing 4 offers. We will be sitting down with our contractor to review his costs again prior to signing the contract and providing the big deposit for this project. During the time we were going to the COA for a second time, our contractor built a new house on a street just north of us and I had a chance to go look at his work again before the owner moved in. He did a fantastic job. Next update will be about how we selected our contractor and designer as many of our friends who are thinking of doing a reno have asked us this question.

To summarize, be patient with the CITY and fully understand the bylaws, the process and stay on top of this process yourself in order to drive it to fruition. Also make sure your architect is working for you.

We are starting this blog to share with you our journey of tearing down our older house and building a new one for our family to share for many years to come hopefully. It took us many years to come to the realization that this was the best solution for our family. We bought our house before the real estate market exploded in this very busy metropolitan city in Canada. We love our neighbourhood, our neighbours and all the facilities that are readily available within walking distances. We need more space because our family has expanded since we bought the house but could not find anything within our budget that we were all completely satisfied with. After many years of struggling with moving or renovating, we have decided to stay put. Our current house is over 75 years old with poor insulation and mechanics, no basement and with 2 bedrooms + 1 bathroom. There are 4 of us living in the house now and we are running out of room as the girls get older. To renovate would mean redoing the basement, add another bathroom and bedroom and upgrade insulation and mechanics. This will be almost equivalent to rebuilding the house and getting an energy efficient home. Hence the decision to tear down and re-build.

As I am writing this, we have completed the house plan and are going to the city to start the permit process. We are aware we will have to go to the committee of adjustment and have shared our plans with our neighbours to prepare them in advance for the communication from the city re: committee of adjustment. We have received positive feedback so far from them but are aware that there will still be a handful who will make their way down to the committee of adjustment hearing.

Next step will be to request quotes from the contractors that we have spoken to and get something as close to our planned budget as possible.