Giving yourself plenty of time to prepare for building can save thousands of dollars. Rushing through the process in the spring not only exponentially increases your stress, but by that time it may be too late to secure construction crews, or to fulfill building permit requirements. Here are some helpful tips:
1) Use the fall and winter to complete your building plans.
If you are considering building in the spring, it is critical that plans are completed earlier and submitted to your local permit department. Final plans with structural engineering alone can take 2-3 months. Permit approval time can take as long as 2-6 months or more depending on your location.
2) Review your building regulations, bylaws, and visit your municipal building office.
Just getting up to date information can save huge costs and time. If you know that you will need an environmental assessment for example, or special permission for construction, which can involve a “variance”, you can work ahead on this. These items early will reduce the change of delays, when permit plans are submitted.
3) Work on budgeting and getting quotes in the “off-season”.
Budgeting for both materials and labor, even if it is preliminary, will help you reconfirm costs. At the same time, check on your financing allowing for a contingency. Typically, the fall and winter are less busy times for construction, which speeds up communication.
4) Try to schedule your professionals to the site ahead of time (surveys, topography, sanitary, water, and other services).
Check with your building department to see if you can receive approval to prepare your site; such as clearing trees, excavating, or carrying out soil tests (Geotech).
5) If you are planning to build in the spring or summer, then connect with your local subtrades or builder to pre-book and reconfirm schedules.
Have a backup plan for sub-trades. Feel free to contact Tamlin to get professional advice on the availability of labor for your house and options for building.
To learn more about how Tamlin helps with the entire building process, click here!
