In the past weeks, we got a few comments from our customers who dealt with our Customer Service staff, especialy Jessica and Martin from our Customization service.  I am more than pleased to put them on our company blog!

“Hi Jessica

We got our plans yesterday, thank you! We are very satisfied with your service. You and Martin were always very friendly and so
professional and delivered right on time! Thank you very much. You are outstanding!!

Thank you again. Kind regards,   Elke”

And also this one:

“Hi Jessica,

I received the plans about 11 a.m. today and have had a good look at them.  I am taking some to the contractor tomorrow.  We will not be starting until the Spring but hope the get the building permit before the end of the year.

I wanted to thank you, Martin and the technician for all your hard work.  You made the process pleasant, quick and interesting.  I thank you very much.  The idea of building a house is intimidating but you have made creating the space a pleasure.

Many thanks,

Jennifer”

I always believed that the customer testimonies were the best marketing tools for a company!  Thanks to Jennifer and Elke for theuir good words and also, a huge thank you to Martin and Jessica to take good care of our precious customers!

We really appreciate you all!

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Whether you are considering buying an older home to renovate, or your existing home needs revamping, remodeling can have pros and cons. Older homes tend to have more charm and personality than modern homes and good craftsmanship are the pros of most older homes. When it comes to remodeling the cons can be numerous – from outdated mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems to structural challenges as well. If you are thinking of remodeling an older home, here are tips to consider, before you start. The rewards can be great, but if you don’t know what you’re doing they could be costly and frustrating. Here are tips for remodeling an older home.

Know your home: Whether you are hiring a professional to remodel your older home, or you’re considering doing it yourself (DIY), know your home. This basically means, do as much research about the age of your home, what it is made of, what type of systems it has, and if possible, what the previous home owners renovated, if any before you took ownership. If you’ve lived in the home for generations, than many of these questions you can answer without a lot of research.

Know your budget of time and money: A renovation project should always estimate taking a longer time and costing more money than you anticipate. This doesn’t mean don’t renovate! It only is a factor to think about when budgeting how much time and money you have to dedicate to your renovation. New discoveries come about when walls, ceilings, and floors get knocked down or dug into. The best plan is to ask a general contractor to come and give you an estimate on what the process in involved and what their professional opinion is for how much money and time to allocate.

Be realistic with your renovation plans: When renovating older homes consider the condition of what is existing and what you’re trying to improve. If you are trying to add a wing on to the house and totally change the entire house, your efforts may be too vast for your family lifestyle and budget. Once again, ask a contractor about how realistic your ambition is. The charm of older homes is keeping the bones, but updating the function and finishes to appeal to you and your family.

Embrace the process: Renovation of your older home can be rewarding, especially once it’s done! Look through magazines and renovation magazines and websites to get inspiration. Many older homes have incredible attention to details, but they may lack the visual appeal in their current state. Consider updating interior finishes like flooring, paint colors, wall paint, and plumbing fixtures. If you do spring for a total renovation, be prepared for the work and patience involved. Either way, you will love your home after the renovation, and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Consider the above steps when considering renovating your home. The pros and cons will be different for every lifestyle and every home.  Take the time before you take a demolition hammer to your walls to consider all the factors. Older homes usually have a timeless story to tell and restoring, or adding your own renovation amenities could make the story that much better to tell. Remember, your home should reflect you and your family, a renovation of your home should do the same.

Article source: freshome.com

Remember to consider DrummondHousePlans when considering updating the exterior look, or adding extensions and additions. Drummond House Plans has the know-how and the experience to provide you with detailed construction drawings for your renovation project. More more information, and photos of completed projects, click here…

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Our parody on the Twelve Days of Christmas continues. We dare you not to sing them out loud!

Four house plans to choose from,

Three French city planners,

Two steel-toed boots,

and a journal for my hopes and dreams!

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There are so many options but only one will do. When looking at house plans, it goes back to the priorities and wishlist you should have from your journal (remember the one from the first day of building -the one for all your hopes and dreams?) You may find yourself with a shortlist of plans that are spot on or very close to your priorities. Of course, they will also be within the local zoning parameters (third day of building).

When making your final decision for your plan, run through this checklist:

Privacy – how much and where is it required? Most new home owners prefer home plans with more privacy in the master bedroom and personal living spaces, others might need privacy in a home office space. Is it more important that these rooms are private from other occupants or neighbours? Check the placement of windows to see if they will provide adequate privacy from neighbors’ windows and yard spaces. Also consider your outdoor spaces, how you will use them and if they will have enough privacy with your selected plan.

Consider the views. Make sure your design capitalizes on your views, whether a scenic vista or a great cityscape. You may even go as far as to take a ladder to get an idea of what the actual views from an upper level will be.

Where do you want the morning sun? Take note of the way the sun tracks in relation to the plans you are considering. Do you love waking up with the sun shining in? Kitchens are also a strong consideration.  It is very common to orient the kitchen to the morning sun. Natural light plays such a strong part in mood that this is a very important consideration. Sometimes a plan you love can simply be reversed to take advantage of natural light.

Geographical and natural landscape features. Lot features including slope and mature trees will dictate the suitability of a design. Also, while choosing a plan, consider whether the lot space and features will allow for outdoor recreation space and landscaping, lawn or gardens.

Life happens. Think of your typical household flows and imagine how the design you are considering will work. Think of your daily routines and imagine how this flows in the plan you are considering. Which entry will you use? How will you deal with bringing shopping bags in? How often will you access backyard spaces and how easy is this?

Tweak your plan. As you fine-tune your decision, it is a great opportunity to address any parts that don’t quite work for you. It is far simpler to fine-tune your design before building than living with a plan that doesn’t work for you.

At Drummond House Plans, we recognize that changes are commonly required to meet your unique needs. Plans can either be customized or features from several plans or ideas can be merged in a custom design from our design team. We are accustomed to assisting in this process and look forward to your questions.

Stay tuned for all 12 days or look at the full 12 days of building series for articles you may have missed!

Happy Holidays!

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With over 1300 ready-to-build designs, there is a good chance that not every Drummond House Plan is perfect for every person. At a recent CHBA (Canadian Home Builders Association) meeting, we had the opportunity to speak with a number of fellow members about Drummond House Plans. CHBA members are trade and industry professionals and as such, tend to be quite candid (aka blunt). We were told that some of the designs were simply not applicable in the Western Canada market. Guilty as charged! I go back to speaking of the inventory of over 1300 ready-to-build designs – we are apt to find some regional differences in architectural styles and tastes.

When looking at a house rendering, one needs to look a little beyond the “lipstick and rouge”. The following models show how changing a roofline can dramatically change the character of a house.

DrummondHousePlans #2177 - Country

DrummondHousePlans #2179 - European

DrummondHousePlans #2199 - Manor

With this in mind, if a plan is “close but not quite”, you can take advantage of our free modification quote service. Change a floorplan, roofline, entryway, add a garage or customize your plan in any way you choose. In changing your plan, you will join the majority of our our clients who want to personalize their home to suit their exact needs. It is your home and you need to love it!

Also, remember that the personality of a house can be changed by using different exterior finishes and details. In Western Canada, houses have more of a tendency to use a blend of natural materials such as timber and stone accents which are typical in Northwest and Craftsman style homes. There is also an increasing use of fibre cement siding and cultured stone. The use of formal brickwork is more of an eastern style. Just remember that our renderings are suggested exterior details. The final finish should be decided upon with your builder.

As always, we welcome your questions and comments!

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You’ve thought about it for so long and now, you are close to start building your home!  What an exciting decision but are you ready?  Are you stepping down this path for the first time?  Nervous ?!…

Like any process, building a home can be tricky and there are many important details to consider as you get started.  Have you decided on a style of home yet? There are many styles such as American, Bungalow, Cottage, Country, Crafstman, and many more.  Try to find the style of a friend’s or a neighbour’s home that you like and you will probably find what you like.  Write down or draw the details you like and and keep it in a file so when you meet an architect or plan designer, you will not forget anything.   Browse the Internet and you may find the home of your dream through a Stock Plan Collection, or you can do some modifications of a stock plan through the original designer or do a complete Custom plan.

Where you build is very important too.  If you already own the land you plan to build on, you may have more options than an established subdivision with building scheme.  One thing very important though;  make sure you have your land before buying the plan.  Some people purchace plans before the land… only to discover that the home they dreamed of could not be built on the land they bought!

If you buy land in a subdivision, make sure you understand all the restrictions and limits of the developer.  These “covenants” are in place to assure that all the homes in the area are worth about the same and this will protect the value of your investment in the future.  Always remeber that a house is an investment that you have to protect and, even if you do not think about it now, you may want to sell it some day!  Protect it!

There are a lot of things to consider about the location of your new home: Distance to shopping, Schools, work have to be thought about.

Finding the right contractor is your next step.  Talk to some friends or relatives about their experiences and make sure, when you have identified the right contractor that you get at least 3 bids plus the names of satisfied customers you can contact.  Always remember the old adage: “If it is too good to be true, it problably is!”  To ensure that both you and your builder are satisfied with the work, make sure the details are spelled out in a written contract.  The time you spend at this stage and on the plan stage will avoid any confusion or unexpected expenses later on.

With the internet and groups like the Canadian Home Builders Association and your provincial groups, reams of information is available to help plan your home.  The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation also offers useful information including valuable question and answer sheets.

Beyond choosing a good contractor, you will also need a lawyer and a banker to handle legal matters and financing.  Finally, remember that some home builders are more concerned about structural integrity and the attractiveness of your home from the outside.  Remember that the interior should also be designed for practical concerns like – will all the furnitures you already have fit? Do not hesitate to contact an interior designer and kitchen and bathroom planner before starting to build;  they will help you to maximise your living space and avoid mistakes you will see once you live in your home !

Want to build green ?  Many links like LEED and Built Green can surely help you.

Enjoy !

this post was based on an article from the Cottage and Home Plans magazine provided by Tim-Br Mart. Some information was also supplied by CMHC and CHBA.

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In order to answer the increasing requests from the population, Drummond House Plans has decided to re-design three of its top-selling home designs, to incorporate an elevator.

In fact, it involves three very popular house plans: a Country style design, a charming European home and a luxury European mansion, already in existence here. Modifications have been made to these homes in order to integrate an elevator in each one of them.

There are many reasons why our customers are looking for houses with elevators. Among other things, we find baby-boomers or the elderly with reduced mobility but are otherwise completely self-sufficient, as well as families where one family member has reduced mobility.

Home Elevator by www.universalelevator.com

Last January, during our annual meeting of Drummond House Plan Agencies, we had the opportunity to have as a guest, the Savaria Concord company.

They specialize in finding accessibility solutions in North America. Amongst these solutions were stair chair lifts, platforms as well as elevators themselves. Able to modify plans from its collection, Drummond House Plans also specializes in the exclusive concept of plans for new homes according to your needs as well as renovation plans and home addition designs for your existing home, among others, integrating an elevator!

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For family reasons (keeping the family together without sacrificing independance) or for economical reasons, you might be thinking of investing in a multi-family construction and build a townhouse or a semi-detached homes, a duplex,  a triplex, a multi-family building (4 or more units), or simply a home with a basement apartment with a separate entrance.

Below, I will share with you my favorite Drummond ready-to-build Duplex House Plan, Triplex House Plan, TownHouses (Semi-Detached Home Plan) and a House with a basement apartment.  However, click on the link above to access the entire collections, depending on what you are looking for or directly on the house below to see my favorite multi-family picks!  If you have something specific in mind or haven’t found the ideal multi-unit design yet, contact Drummond’s Custom Design Dpt. to get your FREE house plan cost estimate.

Drummond 4-units Multi-family plans no. 3006 which ia a Beautiful Country Style 4 unit residential building.  Each unit has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. 

www.DrummondHousePlans.com 4-unit Multi-house plan #3006

Drummond House Plans Duplex House Plans no. 4096 which is an Affordable Country Style Duplex with two nice 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom units.

www.DrummondHousePlans.com Duplex House Plans no. 4096

Drummond House Plans Triplex House Plans no. 3029 which is Drummond’s most popular European / Traditional Style Triplex, with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom per unit.

Drummond House Plans Duplex House Plans no. 3029

Drummond House Plans Country Style Semi-detached House Plans no. 6014 is among our top-selling One-level Semi-Detached Floor Plans, with a one-car garage.

www.DrummondHousePlans.com Semi-detached house plan #6014

Drummond House Plans Houses with Basement Apartment Plan no. 2795B, which is the most charming 4-bedroom Country Style, plus a one-bedroom basement apartment!  Interesting for young families and first-home buyers.

www.DrummondHousePlans.com Home with Basement Apartment - House Plans#2795B

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Interesting questions we receive from customers can be of great interest to future homeowners or people who will make additions or renovation to their existing home. 

Here are some answers provided by Drummond House Plans‘ senior home Designer, Denis Chamberland, to questions from a customer wishing to build a garage,  and how to make a great garage construction planning.

Q:  What is the width required for a garage in order to park two intermediate vehicles while still being able to fully open the vehicles’ doors?
By attributing six feet of width for each vehicle and three feet for each of the doors when wide open, we come to 24 feet wide inside the walls.  Considering the three feet in between as being common to both vehicles, we can also say 24 feet width to the exterior walls.

Q:  What is the depth required for these two same vehicles, considering I want to build a workbench in front of them?
In general, the suggested depth is 20 feet but, since you want to add a workbench (two feet deep), I would suggest you go once again with 24 feet in order to give you room to work in front of the vehicles.

Q:  If I want to add a garage door, where should I place it and what width should it be?
When one single door gives access to a garage containing two vehicles, it must be a minimum of 16 feet wide; and here I would suggest two doors rather than just one, in case the mechanism fails; then, you would have the possibility of using the other door.  Here, I recommend two 9 foot wide doors, positioned at 10 feet minimum or 11 feet maximum center to center of the doors.

When considering building such a garage, it becomes very interesting to think of the possibility of integrating storage space in the roof area which can be accessed by pull-down stairs.  This space would then allow you to use the garage area for its intended purpose, to accommodate your vehicles.  The pull-down stairs can be located in a corner, or right in the center of the garage which gives more room to maneuver at the top of the stairs.

www.DrummondHousePlans.com - Garage Plan no.3980

For great detached garage plans, garage with apartment and VR garage plans, please visit the “detached garage designs” section of our Drummond House Plans website.  Many architectural styles are available for garage designs such as Country style & Craftsman style.  Drummond can also create the perfect Custom Garage Design that will match you homestyle & colors, don’t hesitate to contact our customer service to get more information!

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