Now lets dig into Roof Design and all things Roofing Nananimo and Vancouver Island. We do live in a Rain Forest so lets plan for that.Which type of "Rain Hat" is right for you? Roof Sturuture and Curb AppealWhich style of "Rain Hat" is right for you? Roofing Material...
Carriage House Nanaimo
Carriage house Nanaimo the “Community Gathering Place.”
The “Community Gathering Place” was the name of this project which was determined soon after discussing the purpose and goals of this Carriage house in Nanaimo. We then started our Pre Construction contract so we were able to start to understand together how we would build out this project to work with the budget. This part of the project is key “Pre Construction” what this does is give the opportunity to formulate a plan and start to understand each other more. It is much cheaper to plan this out on paper than it is in the “field” or when the project is under construction. We worked together to discuss options for material selections and the durability of different materials for the purpose of the building. We are also taking the time to understand the structure of the building and how the building’s mechanical systems will work as well as the building envelope.
Part 1: Excavation and forming

How important is a crawl space to you?
The owner knew she wanted to have some storage available in the basement and wanted to have a 4′ crawl space. So we discussed how this would work with the lay of the land and the costs that would be associated with doing a 4′ crawl space throughout. We explained that yes that can be done but would add cost to the project as we would need to dig a much deeper hole, get rid of more dirt, and if the material was really hard may need to bring in a rock breaker to remove that material. The other thought was if the crawl space was that large underneath would you even go to the back to get the stuff that was stored way back there probably not and that it could be donated in that case. What we want to do at Buck Robertson Contracting is to help understand why you have made decisions and what these decisions will do to affect “your project.” We are building these projects together and our job is to look further down the road to see how decisions will impact the project. Yes there will be things that are missed and yes we are building a prototype so let’s work together to achieve the best outcome for this project.
Part 2: Textured Feature Posts using SHOU SUGI BAN
Shou Sugi Ban is an ancient Japanese way to preserve wood, It is environmentally friendly and allows you the ability to not need to put a finish on it as it. Due to it being burnt bugs don’t like to eat at it as well helps to close the cell walls of the wood so it doesn’t suck up water as well with capillary action. Capillary action is when wood pulls water through its “veils” of the wood fiber. When you have rot in your house often what was a small area of water rot turns into a much larger issue due to capillary action. The post and beam work on this carriage house was a lot of fun we really enjoy working with the larger timbers.
Part 3: Trim, Roof, and Exterior
We share our progress as we near completion of this carriage home and give a little more insight on how we install the window trim and exterior (to provide you with the best results for your investment).
Part 4: Drywall & Shou Sugi Ban Rain Barrel
In this video, we share our progress by giving you a little walkthrough of the carriage house, as drywall is now done and we near completion of this project. Drywall was finished back in December, and we are nearing the end of painting at the time this video was posted. Along with giving you an idea of what the house will look like, we also give you some insight on how and why we installed our Shou Sugi Ban rain barrels. For this house it was a necessity, but for you it could be a wise investment choice and a start to going “green” by saving water.
Part 5: Complete Interior and Exterior Tour
We couldn’t be happier that our customer is so happy with her new carriage house – and we are so grateful for the wonderful review she left for us. Her kind words reminded us why we got into home building in the first place. In this 5th and last installment of BUILDING A CARRIAGE HOUSE w/ BRC, we give you a walkthrough of the interior (we filmed back in March), and then we show you the beautiful detail of the exterior we shot this month (in May). We also share a little recap of our time building this carriage house (from start to finish), and the reason why we think it was such a success.
If you are looking for the benefits of building a carriage house click the image below:
Links for mid-Vancouver Island for permit requirements:
Ladysmith: https://www.ladysmith.ca/business-development/development-resources/secondary-suite-and-coach-house
Parksville: https://www.parksville.ca/cms/wpattachments/wpID46atID7299.pdf
Cowichan Valley: https://www.cvrd.ca/FAQ.aspx?QID=406
Port Alberni: https://portalberni.ca/secondary-suites
Comox Valley: https://www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/planning-building/planning/land-use-zoning/land-use-zoning-faqs
you are interested in taking a look at another carriage house we did from start to finish take a look at Comox Valley- Fanny Bay Project. Or you can visit our Custom Home build page.
If you like what you have seen you could also drop us a line on your Facebook page.
Dedication To Home Building
Health and Comfort, Durability, and Energy Efficiency:
We achieve this by being brought in on your project right from the start to help guide you through decision making and understanding your needs.
Enjoyment : We have a passion for Craftsman homes with Rustic details – and Timber Framing is something we get excited about.
Process To Good Communication:
What we want to do is Contracting with Communication – and we can do this with our Project Management Software, which not only organizes YOUR job but also invites online communication between everyone involved in the project.
We will be able to have that one-on-one interaction – whether it be in person or through the software – so any decisions made throughout the building process will be done together.