From first drawing to occupancy: the sequence a build actually follows

Feasibility, before anything is drawn

Feasibility establishes the constraints the design has to satisfy. On a new build it confirms zoning, lot dimensions, setbacks, height and floor area limits, servicing capacity, protected trees, and site conditions including slope and soil. On a renovation it adds the condition of the existing foundation and framing, and whether the intended scope crosses the threshold that pulls broader code compliance into the project.

This stage is short relative to the rest of the project and it determines whether the rest of the project is sound. A design produced before feasibility is a proposal about a house that may not be permitted on that lot, and redrawing it costs both the design fee and the calendar time.

The most expensive version of this mistake is commissioning a full drawing set before confirming that the site can be serviced. Where the answer comes back that the existing water or sanitary connection cannot support the proposed building, the drawings do not survive it.

Design, and the decisions that belong in it

Design turns the constraints into a building. It runs from concept through to the coordinated technical set that a permit application requires, and it pulls in consultants along the way: an architect or designer, a structural engineer, an energy advisor for the code compliance path, a geotechnical engineer where soil or slope requires one, an arborist where protected trees are present, and a surveyor.

Two decisions inside design have outsized effect on cost. The first is the building's shape and complexity, because corners, roof planes, and changes in level each add structure, envelope area, and labour. The second is the point at which selections are finalised. Selections locked before pricing produce a firm contract sum. Selections deferred become allowances, and allowances are the mechanism by which a fixed price contract stops being fixed.

This is also the stage where a builder involved early adds the most value, by pricing the design while it is still cheap to change. A design priced only after it is complete can require rework to reach the budget, and rework at that point costs design fees a second time.

The building permit

The building permit converts drawings into permission to build. In Vancouver, the City's building permit process covers new duplexes, single detached houses, and laneway houses, and the application requires a coordinated set of documents rather than architectural drawings alone: structural drawings, energy compliance documentation, and the supporting reports the site requires.

Where a development permit is also needed, it usually precedes or accompanies the building permit, and on a designated heritage property a Heritage Alteration Permit runs alongside as a second review track.

Review timelines are set by each municipality and differ across Metro Vancouver, which is why a neighbour's experience in another city is a poor predictor. Confirm the current timeline with the specific municipality for the specific application type at the point of applying.

The single largest controllable cause of permit delay is an incomplete application. A submission missing a required report or carrying uncoordinated drawings enters a correspondence cycle with the reviewer, and each cycle costs weeks. Time spent completing a submission before filing it returns more than it costs.

Construction and the inspection sequence

Construction follows a sequence dictated by the inspections the building department requires. The order varies by municipality, and the principle does not: certain work must be inspected before it is covered.

The broad sequence on a new home runs from excavation and footings, through foundation, framing, and the rough-in of plumbing, electrical, and mechanical, then insulation and airtightness, then interior finishing, then final inspections. Each inspection gates the work that buries it. Framing is inspected before insulation hides it. Rough-in is inspected before drywall closes the walls.

Work covered before its inspection may have to be opened again, and that is a cost and a schedule impact with no benefit attached. A well-run site treats the inspection calendar as part of the schedule rather than as an interruption to it.

On a renovation the same sequence applies to the new work, with demolition placed first. Demolition is where a renovation schedule is most exposed, because it is the point at which the actual conditions become visible and the scope can change.

Occupancy, and what it starts

Occupancy is granted by the authority having jurisdiction once the required inspections are satisfied. It is the point at which the home may lawfully be lived in, and on a new home it also matters for warranty: the 2-5-10 coverage periods run from occupancy or first transfer of title, whichever comes first.

A deficiency list is normal at this stage. The distinction worth holding is between deficiencies that prevent occupancy, which are typically life safety items, and those that do not, which are completed afterward under the contract. A builder who treats the deficiency list as part of the job rather than as an argument is the one worth engaging.

Venture Pacific carries projects through to occupancy and the deficiency list rather than treating the final inspection as the end of the work. On the Build side that closing stage is where a homeowner forms most of their opinion of the whole project.