NOT SURE WHAT'S POSSIBLE

Home Review: Start With a Site Visit

Aging in Place

Not sure what’s possible, what it will involve, or where to begin? We’ll meet at your home, walk through it together and talk it over.

At a Glance - Summary

The Home Review is a fixed-fee site visit to a Comox Valley home by residential designer Wayne Truax. In about an hour and a half, we talk through what you need, what’s possible with the house and lot (renovating, adding space, or creating a basement or detached suite), likely zoning implications, and what to expect from the design, permit and building process. It costs $295, is credited toward the next step, and is followed by a short written summary.

Good for You If

You’re thinking about renovating, adding on or creating a suite, and don’t know where to start

You want to stay in your home and are wondering what needs to change

You’d like a suite for family, another senior, or a tenant, and want to know if the house can take one

You want an honest first opinion from someone who has built, before spending on drawings

Name
Please provide the municipality or district where your home is located.
What type of secondary suite are you considering?
Price: $295.00
This is an in person site visit within the Comox Valley to initially assess your project goals.

What We’ll Talk About

Your Needs

What’s prompting this, who lives there now and who might later, what you love about the house, and what isn’t working.

What’s Possible

  • Renovating what’s there: opening up, reworking a bathroom, a main-floor bedroom
  • Adding space: an addition, a second storey, or building out
  • A suite: in the basement or lower level, within the house, or a detached garden suite
  • The trade-offs: cost, disruption, privacy and value, in plain terms

Zoning, at First Look

Whether a suite or addition is likely permitted, what your jurisdiction calls it, and any site issues worth checking, such as slope, flood areas, septic or setbacks. Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland and the regional district each have their own rules. Final confirmation comes later.

What to Expect From the Process

How a project actually unfolds, who’s involved, and roughly how long each stage takes. See below.

How a project unfolds

One of the most useful parts of the visit is knowing what’s ahead:

  1. Home Review: a conversation about what’s possible (you are here)
  2. Planning: a detailed plan or feasibility review, if the project needs one
  3. Design and drawings: layouts, then permit drawings
  4. Permits: the municipality or regional district reviews the drawings. Times vary by jurisdiction and I’ll tell you what’s typical for yours.
  5. Builder and pricing: choosing a contractor and getting real numbers
  6. Construction: with support from me through the build

Some projects also need a surveyor, an engineer or other reports. You’ll know at the visit whether yours is likely to.

What You Leave With

  • A clear sense of your realistic options, and which one makes the most sense
  • An idea of what’s involved and roughly what it costs, from twelve years of building
  • A short email summary within three business days: what we discussed, anything to check, and my recommended next step
  • The $295 credited toward the next step if you go ahead within six months