Custom Home Building Process

Buying land and building a custom home in Calgary can be a daunting process, but the right advice can make it both enjoyable and exciting! Throughout the process Innova can help you make critical decisions on all aspects of buying and building your new home.

Buying A Lot

For many clients this is the stage which we begin to work you to ensure the land you choose is a viable choice for building your custom home. Before actively beginning to look at lots we will discuss some desired areas and complete a free design estimate to help establish your lot budget.  When looking at lot options it is crucial to ensure that the home you want can be built on any given lot. Many factors can affect this such as development regulations, access issues, and utility servicing cost. We’ll explore these and other critical factors more in future posts but the essential focus will be to ensure you get the home you want in the best location available.

Free Design Estimate

The design estimate is the tool we use to establish the total cost of your project. At this stage one of our designers will help you layout the basics of your ideal home. From there we can make adjustments to the cost by modifying options such as size, finish level, and extra features. In some cases clients already have a design, we are more than happy to price these out as well! Now with a base design and lot to build on we can move on to the detail design and permitting process!

Detail Design, Permitting, and Planning

This is the phase in which your project really gets moving! With the design estimate complete you can engage either one of our designers or one of your own choosing to help complete the many sets of detail drawings required to get full approval for your project. Depending on the scope these will generally include drawings for development permits, building permits, and engineered features. This is also the time for you to iron out all the fine details on your home. Careful planning is crucial in avoiding changes during the build, which will always cost more when made in later stages. Once drawings are finalized Innova’s team will begin preparing project schedules, setting milestones, and requesting sub trade quotes. Before any project begins we will always have these details finalized to ensure a smooth and efficient build. Once your approvals come in from the City of Calgary it’s time to move on to the best part, building your home!

Building Your Custom Home

While this is the most exciting part for many new homeowners, it can also be the most stressful. We will aim to eliminate the latter through three key strategies: adaptability, communication, and transparency.

We have discussed the planning that goes into your home as a crucial factor for the success of the build, but as the adage goes; best laid plans often go awry. During the build process unforeseen issues are bound to arise, fortunately our experienced project managers are trained to analyze problems and make quick decisions to manage any potential hiccups. Keeping you informed of these issues will also be a top priority as per our next strategy, communication.

Ultimately it is up to you to determine the level of communication you would like to receive during the build process but we believe the more the better. We strongly encourage our clients to contact us with any issues, questions, or comments at any time during the build.

Transparency is our third strategy so when we say any questions, we mean any questions! We disclose all our material and sub-trade costs to our clients so that we can work together to make adjustments when necessary. If you would like to see other items like safety documentation or quality control checks, we will happily provide these as well!

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