Vancouver Home Designer
Vancouver Home Designer
Architect Blog
Home Architect Blog Page 2

Category: Architect Blog

Architect Blog
March 29, 2023 Architect BlogLaneway HomeSenior life by aryo@myhomedesigner.com 0 Comments

Burnaby Laneway homes coming fall 2023!

Burnaby Laneway Homes coming in effect soon!

After many years of waiting, the city of Burnaby has decided to accept the fact that the city needs more housing options to combat the rental shortage. After going through the process, the city held a couple of open houses on March 28 and 29th and is expecting to present the program to the council’s approval in the fall of 2023.

Burnaby Laneway home
A sample of Laneway home in the city of Vancouver

Eligible Properties:

First and foremost, the lot has to have vehicular access either from a lane or from a side street. Some corner lots will require approval from the engineering department.
The Laneway home will be constructed at the rear of the lot.

The lot zoning should be on a single family zoning such as R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R8, R10, R11, R12, RM1, RM2, RM3, and RM6.
Please consult with us to see if your lot is eligible for building a laneway home by clicking here.

What size can we build on a lot?

The maximum allowed floor area of a laneway home is 20% of the lot size up to a maximum of 1,507 SF. 
For example, if your lot size is 7,000 SF your laneway house can not be more than 1,400 SF.
Other considerations such as site coverage and impervious area coverage will affect the size of the home as well.

  • The Laneway home can not be more than 2 storeys
  • The maximum height can not be more than 24.93 ft for a sloped roof
  • The maximum height can not be more than 21.98 ft for a flat roof
  • Passive house has some exemptions
  • Basement and sellers are allowed in laneway homes 
Burnaby laneway home
  • Only one parking stall will be sufficient for the house and laneway home
  • If you decided to build a garage and a laneway home, the area of the garage will be calculated to the total floor area allowed
  • If your existing house has a secondary suite, you are still eligible to build a laneway home

There are other restrictions such as sideyard and rear setback, outdoor space, distance from the main house, access, servicing and the construction method that all can be taken care of by our team as soon as our client has decided to move forward with the project.

There are many benefits of investing in a laneway home construction and we assure our clients we build the most cost-effective one with the best standard in the market.
Our business module is on win-win philosophy and we take pride in having many happy clients because of our work ethic. See what our past clients say about our services by clicking here.

Burnaby home builder
The laneway homes are a good way to generate income!

The city of Burnaby is aiming to accept building permit applications by September 2023. Considering the number of homeowners who would like to apply for the permit, there will be a huge number of applicants’ anticipation. 
The question is how the city can handle the number of applications.
We experienced similar situations in other municipalities and the backlog of applications is taking years to be taken care of.
If an applicant wants to wait until September 2023 to start their process, it will take about two months to have the initial documents ready to submit to the city.

By the time the documents are ready, there will be a huge number of applicants who applied for the permit already.

The best approach is to hire the company of your choice and have them have all the documents ready and as soon as the permit application is open to submit, your application will be one of the first ones.
Fill out the form below and let us help you to build your Laneway home sooner!

We are all working toward a better community. We can do it by opening the floor for dialogue and listening to all the ideas on the table.

Contact us if you need to know more about how can you make a difference and make your home energy efficient.

 

Read More
December 14, 2021 Architect BlogLaneway HomeSenior life by aryo@myhomedesigner.com 0 Comments

BC Electrification by 2030. How would affect your home?

Home electrification by 2030

Read More
November 16, 2021 Architect Blog by aryo@myhomedesigner.com 0 Comments

Vancouver Bylaw Changes

west vancouver zoning changes

What are the changes in Vancouver Bylaw, and how would it affect your project?

The city of Vancouver is going under new changes on the VBBL starting on January 1st, 2022.

Some of the changes are for new home constructions and some can affect the renovations as well. How would these changes affect your project?

The city of Vancouver is changing Vancouver Building Bylaw to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions for new lowrise homes on the new lowrise buildings (single-family homes, laneway homes and infills).
That can be achieved by improving the performance of the homes. A simple explanation for this is that they are moving away from natural gas heating sources in homes. By electrification of the domestic hot water and space heating systems, the new homes will be more energy-efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Use of an electric heat source heat pump which can produce heat during cold weather and cooling during hot weather is encouraged.
 The move is to build homes to energy step code four standards, making homes more airtight with higher R-value on the building envelope; specifically, the new changes apply to the roofing systems.

If you are planning to construct a new house after January 2022, these changes will affect your project.

You might ask, “what about a renovation?”
If your renovation is not major, like replacing a bathroom, kitchen or small interior renovation, these changes will not affect your project.
However, if you are adding floor area or the roof is being affected by these renovations, the new bylaw has to be followed. As per walls, the city would ask to improve the performance of the walls and the house in general anyway.

heat pump
A heat pum unit installed outside a house.
Heat recovery system
https://organicnaturalpaint.co.uk/

Home recovery ventilation system is commonly used these days in the city of Vancouver and it will be mandatory in all newly constructed homes.
It helps to circulate the air throughout the house, and it will reduce the waste of energy by reusing the conditioned air within the house and combining it with fresh air.
The air quality in homes with HRV is much better and improved and will reduce the need to use individual fans in each bathroom.

If you are thinking of building your new home or renovating it after January 2022, stay in touch with us and take advantage of our 30 minutes free consultations to learn about your options.

We also offer a low-cost consultation which gives you a roadmap of what to expect before getting into more extensive commitments.
All you need to do is fill the form below, and we will contact you to arrange a time to talk or meet.

Read More
October 1, 2021 Architect Blog by aryo@myhomedesigner.com 0 Comments

The Exciting news about Laneway Homes, Coach Homes

Exciting news about Laneway homes/ Coach homes

Have you spotted these small homes showing up where there used to be a garage? They are Laneway Homes and they are becoming quite the thing. The concept of a Laneway House is very compelling. Small, well designed spaces we can use for a family member to live in (Aging In Place), or a space to rent out as a mortgage helper or a beautiful fresh space to downsize into while you rent out your original home on the property. In this article, we’re going to take a look at what’s possible in the world of Laneway Homes.

 

The exciting news is that the district of West Vancouver joined other Lower Minuciplaities and starting January 2022, will accept the construction of Coach Homes in any single family lots as part of their new bylaw changes!

 

The question remains, How to start a laneway home/ coach home project?

First let’s ask - What is a Laneway Home?

A laneway house, coach house, garden suite or accessory dwelling unit is a suite built within a single family lot which is not connected directly to the main dwelling, but cannot be separated, stratified or sold separately. They will share the same main water line, sewer and storm line. Laneway Homes should have their own meter and are generally built for long term residency

Here’s the fun stuff that will make you want one!

Laneway homes and accessory units became very popular within the last 10 years because of the options they have to offer. The return on investment is attractive when balanced with the costs of construction. Basically, if you have a lot that qualifies for a laneway home, well it’s like a lottery ticket to generate passive income for years to come. Our expert team of designers focuses on design ideas to create a set of drawings that makes clever use of all spaces to provide a smaller space that feels expansive. We inject design features and finishes that excite and give that #aah feeling of “being home”.

Working with clients is where we shine….we define your style and mix it with our expertise. Whatever your objectives are…..renting, downsizing, Aging In Place…..your satisfaction is our goal.

West Vancouver coach homes
Photo Credit to: Tierra Mallorca
So, what can you do with a laneway home?
  • You can rent it out and collect residual income 
  • You can have your loved ones living close by to enjoy their company and help out the younger generation
  • You can have a senior parent Aging In Place 
  • You can move into a new smaller home when it’s time to downsize and rent out the bigger house to enhance your retirement income

So what’s possible within the building envelope?

The size of an accessory unit (laneway home) depends on several factors and the most important of all depends on which municipality your lot is in.

 

In Vancouver standard lots are about 640+-sf. and for a larger lot up to 950+- sf. The city of North Vancouver allows an even larger home, up to 1,000 sf. At this stage, it’s time to do your due diligence. To get a better idea of what’s possible for you can take advantage of the free 30 min consultation and we will help you to get a better idea of the process and your options.

Vancouver laneway home
image bank>sotck photos>pexels-cottonbro

Important bits to know

  • Regulations around feasibility (lot size, parking rules, etc) Each municipality has different rules about the lot size, the set-backs and the parking requirements.!
  • Discuss costs – when would you use high end finishes, or be more economical (ie: rental unit vs Aging in Place option)
  • Is there an impact to property taxes? Property tax will be calculated based on the value of the lot and the value of the buildings on it. The value added to your property will more than offset the rise in property taxes. 
  • The size of the structure impacts the project costs less than other issues. The issues that impact the budget are infrastructure considerations such as services, demolition, excavations and essential structure of the building. A few hundred extra square feet won’t make a huge difference to cost. There will of course be an increase in materials and labour which will be directly related to the number of square feet. 
  • Another important factor that impacts costs is the finishing and style of the home. Most homes today are built with high performance standards. These are important issues to discuss with your designer.

In the preconstruction stage the cheapest company often ends up the most expensive one. Oftentimes people will try to by-pass the input of a designer or engineer, not understanding that at this integral stage expert input can make the project more affordable in the short term and the long run. A professional design will give the contactors iron clad drawings to work from. This will make the most out of small spaces so every square foot matters. Input from a professional designer will point the way to the most cost efficient, effective finishes and choices for the project.

What are the first steps?

Book the 30 min free consultation with our lead designer Aryo and leave the rest to us. We will make sure you are taken care of as we offer a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.

Schedule a call!

Read More