There are a few ways you can go about attaining your design and/or floor plans. We are going to share with you what a complete
set of house plans Nanaimo would look like. Floor plans are a set of drawings created to guide the builder, the owner and the city
through from concept to construction, it is important that these can be easily interpreted by all parties involved. There are many ways
you can go about designing your dream home, please see below for a few example.
Architectural CAD technician and Residential Building Designer
Custom Home Builder- Journeyman Carpenter
Stock plan, online: 1-3 pages of floor plans with or without dimensions and with or without elevation drawings. This would be something you would find online, and would need to be reviewed thoroughly by the designer prior to
commencing to ensure compliance with local government bylaws. Note, plans found online are often designed with differing code and bylaw requirements. Plans online without exterior elevations may not be best suited for the exterior you have in mind. They also do not take the character and shape of your lot in mind, which can change structures drastically. $$ These are economical so long as the designer isn’t required to make vast changes to the stock plans provided.
Stock plan, in house: 5-10 pages of floor plans including site plan, elevation drawings, cross section drawings, bracewall drawings, foundation drawings and truss drawings that have been conceptualized and finalized by your Design/Build team. This option is good if you are looking for resale as the floor plans have been mastered to maximize many end users and is consistently updated with incoming knowledge based on zoning, code and design standards. You are able to make small changes such as basic space planning (non structural) and exterior finish materials. $ This option is the most economical.
Floor plans for a complete basic set of drawings would include your space plan, doors, windows, notes pertaining to British Columbia Building Code, a beam and joist layout and dimensions. A furniture layout will be provided in the conceptual phase.
The site plan is where your home will be placed on the land relative to your property lines. Your site plan will also include data required by the local government.
The elevation drawings will show the exterior of the home. It will show window openings as well as door placement and includes material finishes.
The cross section drawing is a vertical cut through the house like if you were looking at the layers of a beautifully cut piece of cake. It is more of a technical drawing sharing information about some of the assemblies of the structure.
The bracewall drawings are another technical drawing showing where the seismic load falls on your home. This is to ensure safety in the even of an earthquake.
The foundation drawings are to share the details of the foundation where the footings are what thickness of wall and if there is to be any rebar and where that rebar is to be places in the wall. It also includes dimensions and any notes required by the British Columbia Building Code and the bylaw.
The Truss drawings are for your roof and all the structural components required to assemble the roof system.
There are many different types of Engineered drawings that you may need on a home build like. For example, Geo-technical drawings (rock pit), structural drawings (foundation, walls, roof) and mechanical drawings ( HVAC, sprinkler).
Custom plans: 6-20 pages of floor plans which can include site plan, elevation drawings, cross section drawings, landscape drawings, kitchen plans, lighting plans, bracewall drawings, foundation drawings and truss drawings drawn from the ground of your property and up. You will have your designer and builder working with you on these floor plans from concept to finalization, it will be a heavily detailed process in narrowing down exactly what you
want and need in your custom dream home. A Design/Build team is very beneficial when interested in beginning your custom home endeavors. $$$ This option will be the most costly as it will be a much more detailed and intimate process. We will be heavily involved in the process, listening to your hopes, concerns and needs while sharing our expertise with you along the way. You will have a thorough understanding of what it takes to build your dream home, and we will guide you through the choices and risks through-out the process.
This Floor plan is going to take time to understand how it will work for your lifestyle. You are going to want to spend time gathering information to truly understand how you function in your home. This means you will be spending a lot of time working with your Design Build team to work through all avenues of your home design. These drawings would include your space plan, doors, windows, notes pertaining to British Columbia Building Code, a beam and joist layout and dimensions. A furniture layout will be provided in the conceptual phase.
Interior elevations can help direct mill workers for cabinet drawings. They can help you visualize your space vertically. Interior elevations can include a tile layout in a custom, walk in shower. Or even a fireplace layout.
The 3D rendering is something that some people desire for marketing purposes, or to better understand how the space works in your home. These can be done for exterior and interior designs. Should you find you are struggling to visualize one room of your home, you can have only that specific space rendered for your viewing.
Kitchen plans are often not taken into consideration on a basic or stock floor plan. Understanding how you want you function in your kitchen is important to relay in the conceptual phase. You do not want to have to shoe horn your kitchen into your house after the fact. These drawings can be completed by a custom mill-worker or an interior designer. These can be incredibly detailed, including drawer organizers and custom backsplash layouts.
This can be as basic as specifying what type of light is going where. It can include to the location of switches, plugs and any other electrical source. We feel even a basic lighting layout can start to get you thinking about how much light you want and where. It is often a long lead time item as well so it is good to start to think about it early.
The site plan is where your home will be place on the land relative to your property lines. Your site plan will also include data required by the local government and where a septic field would be located.
The elevation drawings will show the exterior of the home. It will show window openings as well as door placement and includes material finishes.
The cross section drawing is a vertical cut through the house like if you were looking at the layers of a beautifully cut piece of cake. It is more of a technical drawing sharing information about some of the assemblies of the structure.
The bracewall drawings are another technical drawing showing where the seismic load falls on your home. This is to ensure safety in the even of an earthquake.
The foundation drawings are to share the details of the foundation where the footings are what thickness of wall and if there is to be any rebar and where that rebar is to be places in the wall. It also includes dimensions and any notes required by the British Columbia Building Code and the bylaw.
Landscape drawings are something that are not for every project. They can be very beneficial in understanding how your yard will take shape over time and services that might need to be put into the ground so not to need to dig up your yard multiple times. Planning on paper is cheaper then finding surprises while digging your lot.
The Truss drawings are for your roof and all the structural components required to assemble the roof system.
There are many different types of Engineered drawings that you may need on a home build like. For example, Geo-technical drawings (rock pit), structural drawings (foundation, walls, roof) and mechanical drawings ( HVAC, sprinkler).
This will layout the estimated times of your scope of work for your project.
A plan to make before your project start to make sure it starts in the right direction.
That depends entirely on the scope of your project, our designer in house can design within the boundaries Part9 of the British Columbia Building Code but you may find yourself needing the expertise of an engineer who is trained in Part 4 of the British Columbia Building Code. Keeping your design within Part 9 of the building code
will drastically reduce the cost, however, many desired design details require an engineer to sign off on. For example; high or vaulted ceilings, large windows and some open concept lay-out.
A building permit is required for any new construction, alteration, addition or demolition of a structure. A few examples would be constructing a new carriage home, altering windows neighbouring other properties, adding a deck or foyer addition and demolishing a deteriorating carport.
City Of Nanaimo Building Permits
Regional District Of Nanaimo Building Permits
Check out some of our most recent
Custom Home Builds on Vancouver Island
Click on any of the images to look at the job.
A “Net Zero Ready Home” is a home which you will feel cozy year around. Custom Home Build Lake Cowichan, BC.
“STEP 4 HOME” is a durable home which takes health and comfort into consideration and in turn is energy efficient. Custom Home Build Nanaimo, BC.
This Ocean view home looking out at Nanoose bay, took in the views of what is to live in paradise. Custom Home Build Lantzville, BC.
Looking out at the Bird sanctuary below and crown land in the rear gave you a sense of serenity. Custom Home build Lantzville, BC.
Have a question for us?
