Introduction: Building Dreams, One Beam at a Time
So, you’ve decided to build your dream home or cottage. Congratulations! You’re about to embark on a journey that will test your patience, your marriage, and your ability to interpret architectural drawings that might as well be written in ancient Sumerian. But fear not! Beaver Homes and Cottages is here to make this adventure slightly less terrifying by offering comprehensive material packages through Home Hardware Building Centre dealers across our great nation of Canada.
Think of it as a giant, extremely expensive LEGO set for adults—except instead of stepping on painful plastic bricks in the middle of the night, you’ll be creating a magnificent dwelling that will hopefully stay standing for generations to come. Let’s dive into what exactly you’re getting yourself into when you purchase one of these packages. Spoiler alert: it’s a lot of wood.
Table of Contents (Or “Things You’ll Wish You Understood Before You Started”)
- Structural Components: The Skeleton of Your Future Regrets
- Exterior Finishes: Making Your House Look Good on the Outside (While You Slowly Lose Your Mind on the Inside)
- Interior Finishes: Where Your Design Dreams Meet Drywall Reality
- Additional Features: The Extras That Make You Say “Oh, That’s Included? Nice!”
- What’s Not Included: The List That Will Make You Cry Into Your Blueprint
Structural Components: Foundation for Success (And Occasional Cursing)
Foundation Support: Because Sinking Houses Are So Last Century
- Structural Components: Steel posts with metal bearing plates top and bottom, or Structural Composite Lumber (Engineered) posts as load requires. These are the unsung heroes of your home—like the bass player in a rock band: not flashy, but everything falls apart without them.
- Floor Beams: Structural Composite Lumber (Engineered) as indicated on plan. These beams are so engineered, they probably have higher education than most of us.
Flooring Structure: Where the Magic of Not Falling Through Your Floor Happens
- Floor Sheathing: 3/4″ T & G standard plywood or 3/4″ T & G oriented strand board (OSB), with approved subfloor adhesive supplied. Because nothing says “quality home” like floors that don’t creak like a haunted mansion every time you walk to the bathroom at night.
- Floor Joists: High-performance, engineered wood structural framing members including blocking and bracing as required by design. These joists work harder than you do on Monday mornings.
- Metal Hangers & Mechanical Connectors: For all required applications. These little metal bits hold your house together better than your family during holiday dinners.
Wall Construction: The Art of Vertical Separation
- Interior Walls: 2 x 4 S.P.F. grade stamped, kiln-dried studs spaced 16″ on centre with 2 x 4 double top and single bottom plates. Plumbing walls get the VIP 2 x 6 treatment, because even your pipes deserve some extra space.
- Exterior Wall Framing: 2 x 6 S.P.F. grade stamped, kiln-dried studs spaced 16″ on centre with all the trimmings. These walls are more robust than your excuses for not finishing the project on time.
- Pony (Knee) Wall Framing: Supplied where needed and not, as the name might suggest, a tiny wall for miniature horses.
Roof Structure: The Hat Your House Wears
- Roof Sheathing: 1/2″ standard plywood with ply clips. Because the only thing worse than a leaky roof is no roof at all.
- Ventilation: Roof vents, gable vents, insulation stops, and vented soffit. Your roof needs to breathe almost as much as you will when trying to install all this stuff.
Insulation and Barriers: Keeping Mother Nature Where She Belongs—Outside
- Exterior Weather Barrier System: House wrap air barrier and header wrap complete with all the flashings and sealants your heart desires. It’s like a raincoat for your house, but less fashionable and more permanent.
- Ceiling Insulation: Minimum R-60 insulation in flat attic ceilings, which is approximately the thermal equivalent of wrapping your house in 600 polar bear furs (don’t worry, no bears were harmed in the making of your insulation).
- Exterior Wall Insulation: R5 continuous insulation, R-22 batt insulation for walls, plus fancy expanding foam for those pesky gaps. Because heating the great outdoors is expensive.
- Vapour Barrier/Retarder: 6 mil polyethylene vapour barrier with acoustical sealant. This thin sheet of plastic is all that stands between you and a mold kingdom that would make a post-apocalyptic movie set look cheerful.
Garage Package: Because Your Car Deserves a Home Too
All the necessary materials to build what will eventually become a storage space for everything except your car. Includes walls, roof, doors, and the false promise that you’ll keep this space organized.
Exterior Finishes: Dressing Your House for Success
Roof System: Your First Line of Defense Against Sky Water
- Roof Structure: Engineered, factory-assembled, raised heel trusses with metal connectors. These trusses are engineered so precisely that they make NASA scientists look like kindergartners with popsicle sticks.
- Roof Finish: Limited lifetime architectural fiberglass shingles that will probably outlast your enthusiasm for home maintenance. Comes with all the metal bits, ice shields, and underlayment needed to keep your home dry during everything short of the biblical flood.
Windows and Doors: For When You Want to See Outside Without Actually Going There
- Windows: High-quality, white vinyl casement windows so energy-efficient they practically pay you to install them. All units include jamb extensions, nailing fins, hardware, and screens—because nothing says “amateur hour” like a window without a screen and a house full of mosquitoes.
- Door Locks and Hardware: Premium quality locks and passage sets throughout, because nothing impresses the neighbors like a fancy doorknob they’ll barely notice.
- Entrance Doors: Supplied as per plan, pre-hung and ready for installation. The gateway to your kingdom, or at least to your mudroom full of dirty boots.
Exterior Cladding and Trim: The Fashion Statement Your House Makes
- Vinyl Siding: Premium gauge thickness in selected colors, complete with all the trims and accessories. It’s like dressing your house in a durable, weather-resistant outfit that never goes out of style (mostly because it was never really in style to begin with).
- Soffit and Fascia: Pre-finished aluminum complete with all accessories. These are the parts of your house you’ll never look at again after installation, but everyone else will judge you on.
Interior Finishes: Where You’ll Spend Most of Your Time Complaining About Small Imperfections
Basement and Insulation: Making Your Underground Bunker Livable
- Basement Furring Walls & Insulation: Everything you need to turn your cold concrete cave into a slightly less cold space that might eventually become that home theater you keep talking about.
Wall and Ceiling Finishes: The Canvas for Your Future Decorating Disasters
- Wallboard: 1/2″ drywall for walls and 1/2″ sag-resistant drywall for ceilings, complete with enough screws, tape, and joint filler to fix most relationship problems that arise during installation.
- Primer Paint: Just enough to cover the drywall but not enough to hide your tears when you realize how much actual paint costs.
Interior Doors and Trim: The Details That Make a House Almost Finished
- Interior Doors: Embossed, primed swing doors that will never quite close perfectly, and bi-fold closet doors that will derail more often than a political discussion at Thanksgiving dinner.
- Interior Trim: Primed MDF baseboards and casings that will collect more dust than your university degree.
Additional Features: The Cherries on Top of Your Construction Sundae
Design and Support: Because Even Bob Vila Needed Help Sometimes
- Blueprints and Design: Professional plans that you’ll reference approximately 4,382 times during construction, and still somehow install something backward.
- Technical Support: Access to design consultants who will politely explain why your “creative improvement” to the structural design might cause your roof to collapse.
Insurance and Warranty: Protection Against Murphy’s Law
- Builder’s Risk Insurance: Coverage for your materials during construction, because nothing attracts rain, theft, and freak accidents quite like a half-built house.
- Warranties: Various components come with manufacturers’ warranties that you’ll file away and never be able to find when you actually need them.
Delivery: Like Christmas, But With More Lumber
- Material delivery to your building site, scheduled according to construction phases. Watch in awe as your peaceful property transforms into a lumberyard overnight.
What’s Not Included: The Reality Check Section
Despite the impressive list above, there are some minor details (read: major components) that aren’t included in your package. Think of these as “opportunities for additional spending”:
Site Work and Foundation: The Dirty Work
- Building Permit (because government fees are the gift that keeps on giving)
- Excavation & Backfilling (hope you like operating heavy machinery!)
- Footings and Foundation (concrete isn’t included, surprise!)
- Septic system or sewer connection (everyone’s favorite topic at dinner parties)
- Well or water connection (water is apparently not essential to a house package)
Labor and Construction Services: The Sweat Equity
- Actual construction labor (those materials won’t assemble themselves, unfortunately)
- Contractor fees (unless you plan to be your own contractor, in which case, we salute your optimism)
- Project management (someone has to coordinate all those deliveries and subcontractors)
- Advanced architectural services (blueprints can only take you so far)
Mechanical Systems: The Invisible Magic
- Plumbing fixtures and materials (water appears to be a luxury item)
- Electrical wiring and materials (electricity: also a luxury)
- HVAC systems (breathing comfortably indoors: the ultimate luxury)
Interior Finishing: Where Your Budget Goes to Die
- Flooring materials (you didn’t want to walk on actual floors, did you?)
- Kitchen cabinets and countertops (food preparation spaces are overrated)
- Bathroom vanities and fixtures (as are personal hygiene stations)
- Appliances (cooking is optional, right?)
- Light fixtures (darkness builds character)
- Paint beyond primer (gray is the new everything)
- Finished staircases and railings (safety features are for the cautious)
Exterior Elements: The Curb Appeal Package
- Decks, porches, and patios (standing outside: also optional)
- Landscaping (let nature reclaim what’s rightfully hers)
- Driveways and walkways (cars and feet can handle rough terrain)
- Masonry work (stones are heavy and expensive)
- Decorative chimneys and fireplaces (warmth and ambiance: more luxury items)
Note on Renderings: Artists’ Impressions vs. Your Impression When You See the Bill
Those beautiful renderings on the website are artists’ impressions, which is a fancy way of saying “what your house could look like if you spend twice as much as the package costs.” They may show exterior finishes, decorative treatments, and features that make you say, “Wait, that’s not included?!” Always consult with your Design Consultant before falling in love with something in a picture.
Conclusion: The Beginning of Your Building Adventure
Beaver Homes and Cottages packages provide an impressive array of quality materials to construct your dream home or cottage. They include all the essential structural elements, exterior finishes, interior basics, and support you need to create a dwelling that won’t fall down during a light breeze.
However, as we’ve seen in the “What’s Not Included” section (which you’ve probably read three times while clutching your chest), there are significant components you’ll need to source elsewhere. Your foundation, mechanical systems, and pretty much everything that makes a house comfortable and functional are additional investments.
For the most accurate information about what’s included in your specific package, consult with an in-store Beaver Homes & Cottages Design Consultant. They’re like construction therapists who will help you navigate this exciting yet terrifying journey.
Remember, building a home is like having a child—it takes longer than expected, costs more than budgeted, and in the end, you’ll love it despite all the trouble it caused you. Happy building!
Disclaimer: Specifications are subject to change, much like your sanity during this project.
