Category Miscellaneous

Start with the all-in number you can actually spend. Subtract the lot, servicing, design, permits, HST and contingency to get the construction budget. Hand that number to the designer with the cost levers (shape, size, storeys, foundation, ceilings and glass, mechanical, finish level) and have a bui

A Part 9 house (up to three storeys, 600 square metres) does not need an architect. It needs permit drawings by someone qualified under Division C of the Building Code, which in practice means a designer with a BCIN, an architect, or an engineer, and the owner can draw their own. A BCIN designer is

Make the offer conditional on your own due diligence for 30 to 60 days, and name the specific checks: zoning and permitted use, building permit feasibility, septic and well, conservation authority, title and easements, soil, access and services, and financing. Each condition is a question with a yes

A new driveway onto a municipal, county or provincial road needs an entrance permit from the road authority, with a culvert sized by them, sight lines that meet their standard, and often a deposit. Get it before the building permit; many townships will not issue the building permit without it. Budge

Six stages, sixty-one checks. The ones that save the most money are at the top: a conditional offer on the lot, a budget before the drawings, and complete drawings before the price. Everything after that is discipline.

Thirty-four terms, alphabetical, one or two sentences each. The ones that cost people the most when they misunderstand them are allowance, holdback, change order, substantial completion and occupancy permit. Read those five twice.

Hire a construction lawyer when a lien is registered or threatened, when a termination is on the table from either side, when the builder has stopped communicating or paying trades, when the money in dispute is more than you can afford to lose, before you sign a contract over a few hundred thousand

Cosmetic defects affect how it looks; warranty defects affect how it works; structural defects affect whether it stands up and stays dry. Hairline drywall cracks, nail pops and paint are cosmetic. Doors that do not close, water where it should not be, and anything electrical or mechanical are warran

Three piles. Changes you asked for and site conditions nobody could have known are legitimate if there is a change order with a price before the work. Price increases are legitimate only if you signed an escalation clause or a cost-plus contract. Everything else, including "the price went up" on a f

Check the contract for the completion date and the delay clause, write to the builder asking for a revised schedule in writing, and document everything from today. Weather, permits and material lead times are normal delays; no crew on site for weeks, unpaid trades and unreturned calls are not. Tario

Stop, count, and get to occupancy. Freeze every choice, find out exactly what it costs to reach a legal occupancy permit, cut everything that can be added later, talk to the lender before the builder, and do not touch the structure, the envelope or the mechanical to save money. Finishes can wait; a

Hold 10 to 15 percent of the construction cost on a serviced lot with a complete set of drawings, 15 to 20 percent on a rural lot or an older house, and more if the drawings are thin. Spend it only on things nobody could have known, never on upgrades, and never in the first month.

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