We will be hosting a booth at the event and our very own Ken Connolly is speaking at 12:00 PM on the ‘Top 10 Renovation Blunders’.

There’s plenty of parking underneath (over 300 stalls) as well as another 300 under the Port Theatre next door. HGTV host, Sarah Daniels of Urban Suburban will be presenting twice from our Speakers Stage and 102.3 The Wave will broadcast live on location.

Admission includes your ticket for the Grand Prize Draw, Kenmore front loading washer & dryer worth over $2000 courtesy of SEARS!!!  It’s $5 for adults, $3 for Seniors & Students and Children under 12 are FREE. This year’s show is sponsored by Fortis BC, La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery, The Nanaimo News Bulletin and 102.3 The Wave.

Visit the chbacvi.com site for more details!

In our work, some projects pose more challenges than others.  It is also true that some offer more opportunities than others.  Opportunities to be creative, to introduce beauty, functionality and efficiency beyond every day norms.  Along these lines, we are excited to now begin a major renovation of the Crossan Heritage House in Nanaimo.  This promises to be both challenging and rewarding in every way, and we’re looking forward to sinking our teeth into it.

The Project:

We will renovate, upgrade, restore and generally breathe new life into a genuine, 1912 Nanaimo Craftsman home.  The house is a good example of Craftsman era construction and finishes which, despite some modifications, is more or less intact.  It even has a “miner’s shower” on the back porch– a place for a worker’s coal dust to get rinsed off before stepping into the house! 

Welcoming front porches and wooden staircases were hallmarks of the Craftsman movement, and it appears that these were removed from the front of this home in the 1950′s.   This significantly moved the home away from its architectural roots, and we will restore the front façade to its former state – that is our starting place.  Beyond restoring the home’s original architectural purity, we will modernize the interior with a blend of new and old finishes, lift the house up to create a legal suite in the basement and significantly upgrade the home’s shell to 21st century energy standards.

Phase I – Assessment and Design:

The work done prior to construction commencing is in fact just as important as the building phase, yet it is often neglected in the rush to get construction underway.  Before rushing into construction we took three and a half months to document existing conditions and construction of the house, perform an energy audit, trace some of the modifications performed since it was built, and to develop plans and engineering which will allow us to turn it into a warm (in every sense of the word!), functional, eye-catching home that will provide at least another century of comfort and pleasure to its subsequent owners.

As already mentioned, we want to be faithful to the history and “street presence” that this home once had.  We will be restoring features that have been removed over the years, and adding onto the house in a seamless manner which will complement the original architecture.

Next, complete modernization of the interior will take place; a bright, comfortable suite will occupy the basement.  Heating, ventilation, electrical, and plumbing will all be renewed and upgraded with comfort and efficiency in mind.  Structural weaknesses in the house will be addressed along the way.  To “top it off” a cozy master suite will be tucked into the attic.

Energy efficient design needs to be part of any renovation or new home.  This heritage house, like many, is in desperate need of a deep energy retrofit if it is to be comfortable and durable for another 100 years of life.  While the attic is already well insulated from previous upgrades, we suspect little or no insulation in any of the walls.  This suspicion seems to have been validated by a November hydro bill of $350 based on one occupant living in the house.  (And yes, that was a bill for 30 days – NOT 60!)  We will therefore focus on upgrading the building envelope (a fancy name for the wall, roof, and floor assemblies that separate the indoor environment from the outdoors).  Insulation will be added under the basement floor and to the exterior walls.  A Heat Recovery Ventilator will supply fresh air indoors while minimizing the heat loss of exhausted stale air, and we will seal up the house effectively to reduce energy loss through unwanted air leakage.  New windows– used in combination with the original windows in some cases– will complete the retrofits.  What is now a noticeably un-comfortable house, will  be transformed into a cozy, comfortable home.

If you are have an interest in, or questions about the energy audit and our plans to improve the efficiency of this home, please contact us by clicking here.  We’re always happy to discuss how we can improve energy efficiency for any project.  We believe educating the public about building issues is an important part of our profession, so don’t be afraid to ask!

Check out all the “before” photos in the gallery below, and stay tuned to keep up with our progress as we implement our plan!!

This February 9th, Nanaimo Daily News is launching a new quarterly feature focusing on interior design and homebuilding, called “Island Homes by Design.”  To our delight, they have chosen Pheasant Hill Homes as their featured builder for the launch.  Having noticed a recent new build of ours that really stands out from the crowd, the Daily News wanted to focus on that specific home to show how precisely an attentive and meticulous builder and a tuned-in designer can create something truly exceptional.

Fortunately we have an extremely gracious client who has allowed her home to be photographed multiple times, featured in new homes tours, and included in sustainable homes tours.  Her patience and willingness to let strangers into her home has definitely gone far beyond the call of duty.

   The Homes by Design feature will focus on the ability of clients to find local designers, builders and suppliers to provide something uniquely personal.  In the case of this Pheasant Hill Homes project, the client knew exactly what she wanted in a home: clean, modern design, energy efficiency and low maintenance.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t find that complete package already on the market.  So she knew it was time to track down a builder that could package those goals into a custom home specifically built for her.

  The article was put together with support from Karly Parker of Kallos Interior Design for some staging of the shoot, and was photographed by Dirk Heydemann of HA Photography.  The writer, Jacquie Howardson, will focus on how clients can move from concepts and ideas of what their ideal home might be, to having local talent and suppliers turn it into reality.

So, make sure to check your mailbox this February 9th for the new “Island Homes by Design” pull-out from Nanaimo Daily News.  And if you like what you see, make sure to contact us to find out how effectively we can translate your goals and wishes into a home that’s perfect for you!

For most people employed in an office setting, their workspace needs to be comfortable and productive.  When you’re an architectural firm, however, your office space has to be not only an effective workspace, but it also has to embody everything that your firm is capable of achieving for any number of clients that might walk through your door.

That is precisely what Raymond de Beeld (B.A., M. Evds (Arch), MAIBC) set out to achieve when he asked Pheasant Hill Homes to help him transform a unique Art Moderne styled heritage house near downtown Nanaimo into a new commercial office space for his firm, Raymond de Beeld Architect Inc.  Raymond had, of course, a clear vision of what he wanted the space to be: an open, communicative layout for the architects to work and collaborate in, with design elements that showed off their ability to blend creativity, functionality and cost effectiveness.  He succeeded.

In addition to this, it was important to preserve the appearance of the home, which had become a landmark for many on Terminal Ave.  The “big white stucco building,” as everyone in town seems to refer to it, has design qualities cherished by many architects. Because Art Moderne was born out of the German Bauhaus movement in the 1930′s, the house displays many of the sleek, sophisticated signatures recognized as “modern architecture,” even today.  The flat roof, the simple massing, and the wrap-around windows are common on contemporary design today, but at the time of the original home’s construction, these were cutting edge architectural features designed to make the home functional and beautiful all at once.  Not content to sit on the laurels of Art Moderne, however, Raymond de Beeld introduced some new life into the old design.

  Bright primary colours now adorn both the exterior and interior throughout.  Rustic reclaimed fir lumber was refashioned into fun and sophisticated shelving.  The resident architects’ entrance into the office was designed to be a sophisticated modern cedar rainscreen vestibule that acts as a perfect counterpoint to the historic nature of the house.  And Pheasant Hill even helped Ray pick up a length of re-claimed maple bowling alley from DEMXX, which we then lovingly turned into a beautiful 12′ long boardroom table.  It was so enormous (and heavy!) that we had to crane it up to the second story boardroom.

Design considerations aside, environmental responsibility is also an important consideration in everything Raymond de Beeld Architect Inc. creates.  Pheasant Hill Homes fit into this role perfectly, as a contractor with a special focus on energy efficient building practices.  It was important to have a contractor and architect who spoke the same language when incorporating energy upgrades such as spray foam, vapour barrier paint, mini-split heat pumps, point of use on-demand hot water heaters and solar tube skylights.  Because of the work we performed for Raymond, a cold, drafty, poorly insulated (or insulation free in some spots!) heritage house has been altered into a much tighter, thermally efficient commercial space that is comfortable to work in, and a pleasure to look at.

The subtrade work  in the house was all performed either by hand-picked subcontractors via Raymond or by Pheasant Hill regulars.  All electrical work and lighting was installed by Brad Koster of Automated Electrical Installation.  Plumbing was performed by Fairwinds Plumbing and Heating.  Mechanical ventilation, heat pumps and wall cassettes were installed by Archie Johnstone Plumbing and Heating.  Re-Roofing and parapet flashing was performed by Erickson Roofing.  All painting was performed by Indigo Painting Ltd.  The fir and maple floors were re-finished and supplemented with new by Heritage Hardwood Floors.  While working to the high tolerances expected by an architect can require extra time and care, being successfully involved in a demanding commercial project was an excellent example of how Pheasant Hill Homes is capable of producing a high quality of work whether it be a commercial, new residential, or renovation situation.

Raymond and his staff now have an office they can enjoy working in and an open layout facilitates easy collaboration.  The energy efficient retrofit translates into a comfortable, conscience-friendly space and the playful, contemporary design motif injects energy into the atmosphere.  And perhaps most importantly, a landmark heritage house in Nanaimo was maintained to ensure it lasts well into another century of use.  Should the deadlines and workload ever become too stressful around Raymond’s office, however, the staff need only find their way upstairs to blow off some steam with a round of bowling on their boardroom table.

If the beautiful photos above (mostly taken by Artez Photography) haven’t whetted your appetite, review the full gallery below.  And if you have a unique project that requires an attentive, or energy conscious touch, don’t hesitate to contact Pheasant Hill Homes now, by clicking here.

2011 saw Pheasant Hill Homes host four evening seminars at Oliver Woods Community Centre.  The aim of these seminars is to share our knowledge of building with anyone who might be interested in building or renovating their own, or who simply has a curiosity about the building process that needs to be explored.  Because we’ve been building for a long time, we’ve seen how incredibly rewarding the right working relationship and knowledge set can be in building a house.   We really do want to help people have an enriching, exciting, and enjoyable building experience, and our seminars are designed to help you understand how to achieve those goals in your own way.

Quite simply, our guiding principle here at Pheasant Hill is to “Build Better Homes.”  For us, “Building Better” includes all aspects: the structure, obviously, but also the entire process for the client including the relationship they have with their contractor and how they feel about the project at the end of the process.  We want to make sure that we enable people to “Build Better” by alleviating their fears about how exactly construction projects unfold, how they can save money on their utilities, how they can make sure they will get exactly the home they want, when they want it, and for an amount that fits within their budget.  You  hear a lot of horror stories from people who have built a new home or renovation about how the proejct went way over budget, or took much longer than expected, or how the relationship between the client and the builder broke down.  It shouldn’t be this way!  We believe that the experience should be fulfilling and rewarding as your dreams come to life, and our seminars help create a road map to help achieve this.  Just as each project is unique, so is each seminar, focusing on anything from sustainable building basics, to ensuring how to choose the best contractor or “bid” for your project.  With so many ways to build better, we have a lot of insight to provide on exactly how we believe people can choose to do so.

We graciously thank the dozens of people who themselves have a desire to “build better,” and we were pleased to be able to answer so many excellent questions at each seminar.  If you’ve missed the first seminars, but would still like to learn about the myriad of ways to build in a successful, refreshing way, don’t worry: we have more planned for 2012!  The next schedule seminar is on February 29th, so make sure you’re on the invite list by clicking here to contact us.  We have lots of knowledge and experience to share, and we hope to see you there!

Click “play” below to see a video clip from the November 21st seminar.

Check out our blog  for a new post about the last year’s seminars and why we’re hosting them.

Before you begin your next renovation, addition or new home – learn from our experience.

How can I control building costs?
How can new building methods save me money?
Can I be sure my project will be completed on time?

Find out the answers to these and many more important questions and this complementary educational seminar.

Wednesday night, February 29th at 7PM- 8:30PM
Refreshments at 6:30
Venue: Oliver Woods Community Centre
600 Oliver Road Nanaimo, BC V9T6T6

After years in the industry, Ken Connolly and Jason Schmidt are committed to giving the public the information needed to avoid costly mistakes. They are offering several educational seminars at no cost.

Education and knowledge are keys to a successful construction project and when it comes to your largest investment you will want to take the time to hear from experience.

You will receive helpful information on:

• New Home Energy Evaluations
• Current Building Costs
• Return on Your Investment
• New Building Science
• Avoiding Mistakes of the Past
• Reducing Home Ownership Costs
• Sensibly Sustainable Construction Technologies

Attending the seminar enters you in to win our door prize:

A FREE HOME ENERGY EVALUATION :

(City Green Solutions is the only non-profit provider of the ecoEnergy City Green Solutions and Live Smart BC programs in BC. They offer home energy assessments and access to grants for home improvements; energy efficiency services for new home construction).

Have you checked out our the Building Better Homes Blog yet?  Click here to check out information and photos on projects, information and education that we’ve been busy with!

How can I control building costs?
How can new building methods save me money?
Can I be sure my project will be completed on time?

Find out the answers to these and many more important questions and this complementary educational seminar.

Monday night, November 14th at 7PM- 8:30PM
Refreshments at 6:30
Venue: Oliver Woods Community Centre
600 Oliver Road Nanaimo, BC V9T6T6

After years in the industry, Ken Connolly and Jason Schmidt are committed to giving the public the information needed to avoid costly mistakes. They are offering several educational seminars at no cost.

Education and knowledge are keys to a successful construction project and when it comes to your largest investment you will want to take the time to hear from experience.

You will receive helpful information on:

• New Home Energy Evaluations
• Current Building Costs
• Return on Your Investment
• New Building Science
• Avoiding Mistakes of the Past
• Reducing Home Ownership Costs
• Sensibly Sustainable Construction Technologies

Attending the seminar enters you in to win our door prize:

A FREE HOME ENERGY EVALUATION:

Conducted by:

(City Green Solutions is the only non-profit provider of the ecoEnergy City Green Solutions and Live Smart BC programs in BC. They offer home energy assessments and access to grants for home improvements; energy efficiency services for new home construction).

We (Ken and Burke) just got back from Vancouver for the week having our minds stretched unmercifully as we absorbed the Canadian Passive House Institute (CanPHI) course.  This course is an educational tool to help North American building professionals learn to design and construct houses according to the extremely energy efficient Passiv Haus building standard which is becoming commonplace in Europe. The course is based on the Passive House Institute PHPP (Passive House Planning Package), a document and software packed full of data and formulae designed to analyze the performance of buildings.  How does that saying go?  “The more you know, the more you know how little you know.”?  The wealth of research and data we’re being provided with is a little overwhelming, but we stuck with it, learned lots and loved it!!

It is comforting on the one hand that much of what we have already studied and learned in the field is being confirmed and reinforced.  Yet we had many more important principles and techniques added to our knowledge base, which at times includes having some of our thinking and assumptions challenged.  The net result is that when we combine this with our experience with Built Green BC, Introduction to LEED, and all our work in renovations and new construction, we are now even better equipped to build better homes – and that is our goal!

One of the things that is very clear as we study is that the more our building codes move towards energy efficiency, the more critical it will be that builders understand building science.  The early mistakes made by some builders and designers when implementing the R2000 program in the 1980’s, and the subsequent efforts to tighten up and better insulate all Canadian homes, led to many buildings with some serious problems.  “Leaky Condo (and house) Syndrome”, mold growth inside homes, low comfort levels (draftiness), and poor indoor air quality are all symptoms of poor workmanship and or design and application.  These things are avoidable, but it takes a concerted effort and much study.  We can only hope that more and more designers and builders will learn from the mistakes of the past, and inform themselves through resources like Passive House, LEED, and Built Green to give homeowners better value when they build or renovate.

The good news is that if you want to build a more energy efficient, more comfortable house, it can be done and done well.  Now that we are trained in Passive House design, we have the ability to help clients build tremendously energy efficient homes with the confidence of computer modeling to ensure that the performance will match your expectations.  It all begins with who you choose to work with!

Some projects which builders face are comfortable and familiar.  Some have a few challenges that cause some head scratching.  And every so often a project comes along that throws you so many curve balls and unique challenges that you almost have to reinvent your standard techniques and processes.  A recent rebuild of a log home on Gabriola Island forced us to do just that.  However, rather than backing away from the project, we buckled down, put in some long (very long) hours, and created a cozy and charming getaway for some lifelong Ontario residents looking for an island retreat on the West Coast.

It all started with an old log cabin that had been transplanted onto a several acre lot in the centre of Gabriola Island.  The land was a virtual paradise, with several outbuildings for creative pursuits, a terrific garden, a small pasture and stable, and beautifully spaced cedar trees throughout.  It was restful and natural.  The log house itself was a bit dark, cramped and dingy, but it was also filled with endearing, hand-crafted touches throughout.  It was also plagued by the many energy pitfalls of typical old log home.  Our challenge was to renew the log home with a more spacious, sunny interior, add more modern ammenities, make it more energy efficient and implement a reliable and sustainable water system.  The catch?  They didn’t want to lose any of the character or rustic charm of the original home.

The homeowners were lucky enough to have a talented family member do the professional redesign of the floor space to meet the new requirements of the space.  We worked with the clients and designer to carry on this vision for the charming space.  Part of that process is generating a full list of specifications to ensure every detail was thought through by both builder and client.  This forethought eliminates the uncertainties and the chance of disappointment with the finished project.  The list of specifications included in-slab heating for what would eventually be finished concrete floors, and a dual purpose boiler to provide radiant heat for these floors as well as domestic hot water demands.  Also, an extensive rainwater collection system was devised, which would be efficiently re-used through an innovative greywater system called Conservepump, developed by a local Nanaimo company IDUS Controls.

So, we went to work.  As with any country renovation, we disturbed several ancient rodent burial grounds within the walls (thank goodness for respirators and rubber gloves!) and suffered through more cobwebs and racoon soiled attic  insulation than any group of people should ever have to endure.  However, the real trouble came when it turned out that the existing foundation was not going to work with the new floors and radiant system, and further, the additions to the home that had been added by previous owners actually had no foundations for the walls whatsoever.

This is one of those tough times as a contractor when you have to break the news to the client that an improbable and unexpected discovery during the renovation process is going to add substantial cost to the budget.  As contractors with integrity, we strive to stay on schedule and keep costs on track, and we want  things to run smoothly for the people that provide us with our livelihood.  But sometimes things reveal themselves during the renovation that nobody expected to find, and one has no choice but to deal with them.  Fortunately, we had the trust of our clients, and they believed that we would ultimately create a safe and welcoming home-away-from home for them.

As can be seen from the photos, we undertook the herculean task of installing a new foundation for the entire home, bit by bit.  We even had to create some incredible temporarily “floating” rooms to install proper foundations under the small additions!  After all the foundation remediation was performed, however, we had re-built a home that was strong and stable.  We had a clean shell to get down to the fun stuff!  The floor was well insulated to retain the heat of the radiant system, which went in on top of the insulation.  The concrete floors were poured, the new walls framed, several new efficient fir windows and doors were installed, and new insulation was installed in many of the walls and the entire attic and ceiling space.

   Next was the rainwater system.  Luckily the home already had a new metal roof, which is required by code if one is collecting water for potable uses.  This rainwater drains down to collection tanks lower down on the property, which in turn have a variable speed DC pump powered by two photovoltaic (solar) modules in order to pump that water up to another set of cisterns higher up on the property.  In this way, with the water stored higher on the land than the house, even if the power goes out on Gabriola Island (which it frequently can), the clients can still get gravity ged water to an outlet at the house, without relying on electrical pumps to provide water.  At the house, the water goes through a particulate and UV filter which makes it perfectly clean and drinkable.  With so much invested in using rainwater when the well is unproductive, it would be a shame to waste any of the effort used to get it.  This is where the greywater reuse system enters the picture.  The water used to flush the two toilets in the home is supplied by the bathroom sinks, tub and shower.  This mildy soapy water is first filtered in the greywater recycling system and is certainly suitable for re-use in supplying the toilets and can save a great deal of water- a precious resource on the Gulf Islands- over the course of a year.

So, between the new insulation and air-tightening of the home, the in-floor radiant heat, the several efficient windows and doors installed, the rainwater collection, the photovoltaics, and the greywater re-use system, the house had some more updated and more sustainable “guts.”  Now it was on to re-creating the rustic charm that the clients wanted to retain!

   The new floor was to be finished concrete, but the clients wanted it to look “natural, almost stone-like.”  So, we set to grinding the floor to get rid of the homogenous grey that plagues concrete, by exposing some of the rock embedded just beneath the surface.  This immediately gave the floor a salt and pepper aggregate look.  But, it needed some colour, and some variety on a broader scale.  We proposed to use two different colours of acid dyes which aren’t designed to blend smoothly.  By warning the clients that staining concrete can be unpredictable, we were informing them of the possible risks.  By knowing we wouldn’t do anything counter-intuitive to their wishes, the clients trusted us to get them as close as possible to the the natural looking patina they were hoping for.  So, we dyed the floor late one night, and the result astounded even us!  The patterns the acid formed as the two colours worked with and against each other were stunning.  In areas it was almost as though frost-like patterns emerged, but overall, the floor almost looked like it grew into place, rather than having been set there by workers.  Because the results were so profound, the clients were a bit startled at first!  One loved it immediately, and over the course of a few days, the other client came to realize that the floor was actually a unique work of art, and probably one of the new centre points of their natural setting.  We couldn’t have been more pleased with the results, and can’t wait to get the chance to perform the technique again on another project.

After the floor, we were able to move on to installing the loving touches that natural wood deserves.  By using much of the wood which we saved and reused from the original interior, and blending it with new fir material, we hand scribed trim and bases around the log walls and openings.  We modified two antique dressers to make them suitable for use as washroom vanities housing the sinks.  We were even entrusted with turning the panels from one of the owners’ own crib into an endearing headboard for their bed.  It was an honour to accept the challenge of taking such a deeply personal object and making it a part of the owners’ daily life again.  By ensuring that nothing was done to drill holes in, nail, or otherwise alter the crib boards in any way, we were still able to creatively determine a means to turn these crib panels into a part of their comforting bedroom suite.

In the end, we all went through unique challenges, stresses, and rewards: from clients to workers to management.  But ultimately we created a summer getaway for two of the loveliest clients we have ever had the good fortune of teaming up with.  They have a home which they dearly enjoy and in which the old and new pieces complement one another perfectly.  And we have the satisfaction of knowing that we tackled surprises and challenges beyond anyone’s expectations to create a home that is a treasure to owners and visitors alike.

It’s often amazing how much the relationship between builders and clients relies on trust, in both directions.  But because we recognize this, we remember that of all the things we create for clients, trust is the most important thing we build every day.

Please check out the entire gallery of images from this Rustic Gabriola Rebuild and let us know what you think in the comments section!