New Custom Home
Design & Permits BC

Unlike interior renovations, new construction touches every part of the municipal regulatory framework:

Before design lines are drawn, we conduct a forensic review of your property’s legal and zoning constraints:

• Zoning Bylaw Compliance: Calculating maximum allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR / FSR), lot coverage percentages, front/rear/side setbacks, and building height envelopes.
• Development Permit Areas (DPAs): Verifying if your property triggers environmental, riparian (watercourse), geotechnical hazard, or wildfire protection guidelines.
• LTSA Title Search & Encumbrances: Reviewing statutory rights-of-way, municipal easements, and private covenants. Learn how to order these in our BC Land Title Search Guide.
• BCLS Land Survey & Geotechnical Engineering: Coordinating legal boundary mapping and soil bearing tests to ensure a safe foundation design.

With site boundaries defined, Canadian Blueprint designs your custom home or multiplex to balance your lifestyle vision with strict building code compliance:

• Custom Floor Layouts: Optimizing room dimensions, natural daylighting, open-concept living, and functional traffic flow.
• Secondary Suites & Multiplex Units: For multi-unit multiplexes, designing independent private entrances, sound-insulated shared walls (STC 50+ rating), and discrete mechanical utilities.
• Exterior Elevations & Massing: Balancing modern curb appeal with municipal neighborhood character and solar orientation guidelines.

Experiencing your space before breaking ground prevents costly on-site change orders during framing:

• Virtual Walkthroughs: Explore every room, test sightlines, review kitchen island clearances, and verify ceiling heights in full 3D.
• Multiplex & Infill Optimization: Visualize exterior massing, parking access, and outdoor amenity spaces to ensure maximum tenant or buyer appeal.

With design approved, Canadian Blueprint engineers the complete construction blueprint package:

• Detailed Cross-Sections & Wall Assemblies: Specifying high-performance insulation values (RSI / R-values), continuous air barrier membranes, and rain screen drainage details.
• BC Energy Step Code Compliance: Coordinating with a Certified Energy Advisor (CEA) to ensure your home meets municipal Step Code targets (Step 3, 4, or Net Zero Ready).
• Structural Engineering (Schedule B): Coordinating with registered structural engineers for point load sizing, steel beams, shear walls, and foundation reinforcement.

We package your entire submission into intake-ready, single-layer vector PDFs formatted to your municipality's exact naming standards:

• Digital Portal Upload: Submitting directly into portals like Vancouver ePermits, Surrey MySurrey, Burnaby MyPermits, Richmond ePlan, or Coquitlam QFile.
• Deficiency List Coordination: If municipal plan checkers issue comment letters, forward them to Canadian Blueprint. We update the CAD drawings rapidly and provide revision clouds for fast clearance.
• Full Process Reference: For a complete walkthrough of all 8 municipal stages, read our Complete BC Building Permit Approval Process.

Once your permit is issued and stamped drawings are printed for the jobsite, construction proceeds through sequential inspection stages:

1. Sub-Slab & Foundations: Excavation, footings, foundation forms with BCLS survey, drain tile, and under-slab poly.
2. Exterior Envelope: Wall sheathing, rain screen drainage mockups, and stucco wire/scratch coats.
3. Rough-In Trades & Framing: Electrical rough-in, plumbing DWV pressure tests, HVAC ducts, and structural framing.
4. Thermal Envelope & Fire Safety: Mid-construction blower door airtightness test, insulation, vapour barrier, and fire-rated drywall between units.
5. Final Inspections & Occupancy: Post-construction blower door report, final plumbing/building sign-offs, and issuance of the Occupancy Certificate.

For a detailed stage-by-stage guide on what inspectors check at each milestone, read our New Custom Home & Multiplex Inspections Checklist.

Compare our initial 3D digital concepts side-by-side with the completed custom homes across British Columbia. Click any image to open full resolution.

3D Building Concept

Finished Construction