You have hired a Vancouver Island home builder to build you a custom luxury home on a large wooded lot just north of Victoria BC. When you were going over your wish list of features it included a moderately sized in ground pool. You were shown a number different options for where it might sit on the property and the layout of the resulting landscaping. The one solution that you were not expecting turned out to be the one that intrigued you the most. An indoor pool, built as a wing off the north side of the house itself. A natatorium, the designer called it.

The benefits of an indoor pool are obvious. An indoor pool allows you access to your pool 365 days a year, rain or shine; for people who intend to use their pool not simply recreationally but also therapeutically this is a crucial consideration. There are also safety and privacy issues to be taken into account. An outdoor pool means that access to the entirety of your back yard must be more carefully monitored if there are children involved. An indoor pool also offers those using it more privacy than an outdoor pool. Finally, the maintenance of an indoor pool is markedly easier –and less expensive– as it is not exposed to the elements and debris dropped by trees on the property.

The main drawback is cost. The construction of an indoor pool is more expensive as it requires a structure to house it. That structure must be constructed with specialized building materials that can withstand the moisture and feature extra engineering in terms of ventilation which obviously would not be required with an outdoor pool.

If you’ve ever dreamt of leisurely swimming laps in your own pool, consider incorporating an indoor pool into the layout of your custom built Vancouver Island home.

Not building a new home?  Why not renovate your Victoria home, call Alair Renovations

You have a few options to consider.

Fireplace or Fire Pit — A fireplace, much as you would find inside a home, with a firebox, chimney, and flue, is a bit more involved and a bit more formal. A fire pit, a large stone enclosure in which to build fires, is less formal and more akin to a domesticated campfire. If you like the idea of sitting outdoors by a fire and reading a book and enjoying a glass of wine then perhaps a fireplace is what you are looking for. If the idea of sitting around a raging fire with some friends then you should probably consider a fire pit instead.

Building materials — There are many options from which to choose: limestone, sandstone, field stone, and brick just to name a few. The difference is mostly aesthetic you should do a little research to find which most suits your tastes.

Fuel for the fire — You have three options here, the first of which is wood. If you enjoy the smell of woodsmoke and like the idea of building a proper fire this is the obvious choice. For those who don`t want the hassle of stocking wood and getting their hands dirty there is propane and natural gas. Propane will require propane tanks much like a barbecue. Needless to say, these tanks will require replacing on a regular basis. The most expensive option is natural gas, the main benefit of which is that, once hooked up, you never need worry about fuel. Both propane and natural gas will require periodic maintenance to their burners.

You should note that if you are considering a fir pit within the limits of the city of Victoria BC –or any city for that matter– some fire code regulations apply. Talk to your custom home builder about the possibility of an outdoor fireplace or fire pit behind your custom luxury home.

There is something very elegant and refined about a well thought out loft bedroom. For those who do not like to feel shut in, the space afforded by the missing wall is a breath of fresh air. The height and depth of the space can afford total privacy while at the same time allowing the occupants to feel connected to their home. A closed door, both physically and psychologically, amputates a room from the environment of the rest of the house.

If you have invested in a beautiful open-concept living area, especially one with a dramatic view, it is a well-deserved luxury be able to wake to it every morning.

Vancouver Island boasts many luxurious custom homes that feature loft bedrooms; ask your custom home builder for further insight and inspiration.

A secondary suite allows an elderly loved one to maintain a level of independence while still benefiting from the love and support of their family.

Perhaps you do not, at present, have an ageing parent or elderly loved one in need of such considerations, but you recognize that it could be a possibility five or ten years down the road. Building a secondary suite ahead of time for such an eventuality is, of course, possible though not entirely necessary.

Rather than set aside a substantial portion of your custom home and configuring it for a secondary suite which may never be needed, there is a more sensible, middle-ground approach, and that is to have your home designed in such a way as to easily accommodate a future secondary suite should the need arise. It will mean a little extra work in terms of wiring and plumbing which might never be used and designing the layout in such a way that a secondary suite can be easily closed off in a workable, accessible way.

Planning the infrastructure of future secondary suite can end up saving a great deal of time and money down the road.

There are a number of good reasons why responsible new home builders on Vancouver Island are increasingly using I-Joists in the construction of their homes.

First though, what is a joist?

Joists are the long horizontal members that support floors, ceilings and roofs. Their strength (which is to say their load bearing capacity) is determined by their depth, and traditionally, in residential construction, dimensional lumber such as 2” x 10” is used.

I-Joists are engineered wooden joists which consist of a central wooden slab, knows as the web, sandwiched between two wooden rails, known as flanges. The resulting cross section is in the shape if a capital I (thus the name).

What are the benefits of an engineered I-Joist to traditional dimensional lumber?

• An I-Joist is stronger than a traditional lumber joist of the same depth, meaning that they can be spaced further apart.
• A floor supported on I-Joists requires up to 40% less wood to deliver the same load bearing capacity, which makes it a sustainable, eco-friendly option.
• I-Joists are not prone, in the way dimensional lumber is, to warping, twisting and shrinking, meaning that flooring is more likely to lie flat.
• I-Joists are stiffer, meaning that floors are less likely to creak, and your home is less prone to vibrations in general.

If you are having a new home built in Victoria BC, ensure that your builder is using I-Joists rather than traditional dimensional lumber joists. The chances are very good that he is, but it is certainly worth double checking.

Contact Alair Homes

Many contractors building custom homes in Victoria BC have started installing these new tankless systems and recommending them to their clients for the following reasons, above and beyond the obvious benefit of endless hot water:

• These systems draw less, and in some cases significantly less, energy than traditional hot water tank systems.
• The life expectancy of these systems is far greater than traditional water heaters.
• They take up far less space than traditional hot water tanks, which is also often a consideration in an older house considering a basement remodel.
• They greatly reduce the risk flooding and costly water damage that can often be associated with a failed hot water tank.

If you are having a custom home built, and the idea of instant endless hot water appeals to you, ask your contractor about the possibility of a tankless hot water heater.

If you are having a new home built, there are many good reasons why you should invest in a custom home design rather than relying on a set of plans from a home design catalog, and only one potential reason not to; furthermore, we would argue that that one reason isn’t always sound. The one reason why most of the people who do so choose to have a home built from a catalog is price. The assumption being that you save money when you do not have to pay someone to design custom plans. This is not always the case.

A stock home is, by its very nature, not designed for a specific site. It is also not built for a specific climate or necessarily even to regional building codes. What this means is that often stock plans will need to be modified by a builder, to one extent or another, regardless. A stock home might not take advantage of some of the best practices of your builder. And finally, when you shop for a stock home, you tend to end up with more than you require as you choose designs based on what you feel you need, and often those designs come with features you don’t need.

When you decide to have a custom home built, you are able to have the builder design the home to the specifics of the lot, informed by his in-depth understanding of the regional climate and building codes. The design process will also ensure that you end up with a home that meets all your wishes and requirements without rooms or features in which you are not interested.

If you are considering new home construction don’t settle for merely a new home, insist instead on YOUR new home.  Contact Alair’s design group today.

However, when you first decided to have a custom home built, you assumed that you would need to hire an architect to draft the plans; now you recognize that that’s simply not the case. Certified residential builders and housing professionals are more than capable of taking your vision and seeing it through the entire process. The truth is that, though an architect typically has a broader education than a builder, much of that breadth deals with subjects beyond the scope of residential home building. In fact, the specialized focus of a residential home builder often means that they have more experience with residential design than a classically trained architect.

Finally, when you have a designer who is also the builder there is a synergy that springs from that. Plans from an architect will, regardless of the architect, need to be interpreted by by the builder. A professional builder may very well have a number of insights and best practices based on experience which might elude a pure architect. When the designer and builder are one and the same –or work for the same firm– you can be sure that their combined experience will be working together to best effect.

Contact Alair for your custom built home in Victoria or Nanaimo

Truth be told, the plans for a custom home will make far less sense to the average layman than the concept drawings from which they are drafted. This is because they will contain detailed schematics of everything from wiring to plumbing to duct work.

These working drawings are what will be submitted in order to obtain the necessary Victoria BC building permits. These will also be submitted to, and evaluated by, an EnerGuide advisor who will give the design a preliminary EnerGuide rating for energy efficiency. Once construction is complete, any revisions to these drawings, in conjunctions with a blower door test, will be what an independent EnerGuide advisor will use to determine the final ‘as built’ EnerGuide rating.

Upon completion of the working drawings, a comprehensive building contract (complete with start dates, work schedule, completion dates, and a final proposed budget) can be drafted up for your approval.

With the working drawings complete, permits obtained, and contract signed, construction on your custom home in Gordon Head can finally get underway.

Read Custom Homes Part 1

Read Custom Homes Part 2

These drawings will illustrate what the home will look like and how it fit on the site you have chosen. It will articulate how the designers propose to incorporate your vision into an elegant workable design. Most importantly it will offer a frame of reference for more detailed discussions which would otherwise be impossible and a springboard for the discussion of further opportunities which might be yet realized.

A good set of concept drawings will allow you the luxury of mentally walking around your home before it is built. It is very much one thing to know what you want and very much another to see it laid out before you.

With the concept drawings there can be a further, more refined discussion of budget and how various options and amendments would impact of the final cost. Once the concept drawing have been approved, we can begin to prepare the working drawings for your Victoria BC dream home, overlooking the sea. The preparation of these drawing is third step in the Alair process.

Read Custom Homes Part 1