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Frequently Asked Questions |
Toll Free 1-800-450-5890 Local 403-802-4663 Fax 403-295-1309 9, 1815 27 Ave NE Calgary, AB T2E 7E1 |
Q:How long does it take to get my package? A: You must allow a minimum of two and a half weeks for drafting, one to three weeks for estimating and five to eight weeks for package delivery to your site. Q:Do I pay PST on a package if it is going to a different province but I am dealing with Cameron Manors out of Alberta? A:Yes, the package is charged PST if it is delivered to a PST charging province. There is however no PST on labour in BC. Q:How does my package get to my site? A:We truck the packages as soon as they are made, they are loaded in reverse order of the way they will be needed on the site. So first used pieces are loaded first so when unloaded the bottom of the truck will be on the top of the pile. Depending on the size of your package they may be on one truck or three. They come in the order of the materials needed. If you order a complete package your interior finishes are not delivered until your package would be able to protect them from the elements. Once the trucks are on site you must unload them using an 8 foot forked boom or rigged up equipment. You have 4 hours to unload the truck without charge. You will need one person to record the materials as they are unloaded on the checklist. Ensure if you are a self-builder that the roof layout, construction drawings and manual are provided to you. Iw we are building the package for you we will unload the truck for you. Q:What is a drafting deposit? A:Once you have decided on your package you must put in a drafting deposit. This is not an extra charge, but security that our designer’s time is being used by our customers. The deposits range from $1000 to $1 a square foot for custom packages –whichever is greater. If you decide not to proceed the drawings are yours to keep. To start drawing we will need either slope information of your lot or pictures of all 4 sides of your building site. This is to ensure it is designed properly. Q:How long does it take to draft? A:You will receive your drawings to review in about 1 week. From here you will decide if you want any additional changes- for every redraft you must allow 1 week (3 maximum redraws without charge). Once you have a completely satisfactory drawing you must sign it and fax back to 403-295-1309 to finalize your drawings. Your drawings will arrive to your door in 6 blueprint copies in about 2 weeks. You can then go and get your Development Permit. If something must be changed then we will redraft minor changes for you to meet the requirements. Q:How long does it take to get my package? A:The first step in securing a time for delivery is to put in your 65% production deposit. Once you have finalized your drawings, your package will go to estimating, if it hasn’t already done so. Please allow up to 3 weeks for this process. Your package will then go to contract which will hold your delivery day and secure your pricing for 120 days, unless otherwise specified. You will be required to pay the balance on your package 2 weeks prior to the final truck load. If you do not have more than one truck load this is due 2 weeks prior to your delivery. The closer we get to spring and summer, the longer wait times increase. We also recommend ensuring your Development Permit is approved prior to starting production as if you need to flip the house your package may not work for you. Q:How do I get funding? A:We have a few mortgage brokers we work with and they all have different requirements to start the process of building financing. The key thing to remember is that it is harder to get a loan as a self-builder. Taking money out of your existing home in the form of a line of credit or mortgage addition is the easiest way. Banks prefer people who already own their land on which they want to build. Getting a warranty from a warranty firm that supports self-builders is recommended such as the National Home Warranty Program. Please e-mail us for a copy of the forms which the bank will usually make you fill out- the more prepared you are for your first bank meeting the better your chances that you will be approved for a better rate. Q:Insurance during a build? A:There are a few key things to remember when insuring your property for a build. If you live in Alberta and your property is in BC there are two things to consider. If your BC property is just a recreational property then you can insure it through your current provider (Wawanessa allows this). Some insurance companies do find it too big of a risk for a property to be a large distance from the owner’s residence during a self-build. If you are building a primary residence in BC or Saskatchewan you must get insurance from there. You must talk to your insurance company if you are having friends and relatives help you on the site, as if they get injured they will not be covered in most policies. You may have to get commercial insurance to cover these helpers, or have them sign a waiver. Q:What do I need to get my foundation in place? A:In order to get your foundation in place you will require a development permit. You will need to talk to an excavator and ensure that they are qualified. We usually recommend talking o your plumber and electrician prior to pouring your concrete. Some cribbers (basement wall formers) do not like plumbing to be in place when they are forming walls incase they puncture a pipe. Please weigh your options and find out what works best for you. You will require a few different trades in your home for your basement. Gravel provider and spreader (usually it is easiest for the home owner to spread this evenly themselves. Cribber (basement wall former) or ICF crew. Most of these crews will not pour your concrete from the pump truck. Please ensure that you clarify if a setter is needed to avoid surprises. Pump Truck- in most areas outside of large cities pump trucks do not come standard with your cement order. Be prepared to either wheel barrow the concrete in or order a pump truck. Be prepared to pay $1000 for this service depending on the distance to your site. 1:Concrete cutter. 2:Flatwork finisher. Before you have your slab floor created ensure that your plumber has been to your site and roughed in any work. 3:Ensure you call your inspector to inspect the foundation prior to starting to frame and backfill. 4:Weeping tile installer and tar or membrane coater. 5:Back filler (usually done by the excavator). Q:What do I need to get a building permit? A:Depending on your building area you will need to research the different qualifying factors for the DP. If you are in a condo area you will have to pass your plans by your condo association following the architectural controls they have in place, you will then have to go to the municipality or county for building approval, they will then advertise for 2 weeks the plans. You will be given the approved building inspectors for this area. Be prepared that the costs of this process will cost around $10,000. Your inspector will come out when called at every stage of the building process. If you are working with a plumber and electrician you will have to clarify if the permits/inspections are included. Q:What if I want to down grade my specs? A:Some people choose to downgrade the specs of our product to save money. We can make modifications to your product as long as it will still meet code in your area. For example downgrading from ¾” fir plywood to ½” OSB is the most common request. We will do this however warn that fir is stronger and lighter. Your savings may be nullified by the cost of the weight increase in freight. Q:What are my siding choices? A:We have a few different siding choices that we provide. Vinyl is of course our most economical- however we warn that the popular trendy colors such as the reds and dark colors can cost up to 3 times more. Hardi plank is the next on the pricing scale. This concrete fiber board comes in a range of beautiful colors and styles, it can look like planks, shingles or wainscoting. This is fire rated and the only product allowed in fire prone areas. This product can come just primed if you want your own color selection. Once painted the paint will stay for 25 years. Log siding, cedar siding, Canexel are all in our higher end of the cost spectrum. Our log and cedar siding products do need to be treated prior to installation. We recommend treating the front and back prior to installation. It comes unfinished so that you can stain it to your desired color. Q:What is the difference between Prolok and Duriclad metal roofing? A:Duriclad is a commercial grade /recreational metal roofing. It is installed using strapping and comes in large sheets that can be difficult to install in windy conditions. The screws are exposed and the finish is more industrial feeling. If you are looking at living in the home and owning it for some period of time we recommend prolok. Prolok is installed on sheathing and will therefore make the interior more like a home with the sound proofing and protection from the elements. Q:What are my window choices? A:Your package comes standard with Jeld-wen Low-E window vinyl sliders, however if you want to change the windows to casement, wood frames or colors. We can also make the windows in 3 pane- but warn that the price doubles on this option. Please check out jeldwen’s website at www.jeld-wen.com . We do have other suppliers such as CWD that we can utilize also- however we cannot guarantee the delivery time on suppliers outside of our regular suppliers. Q:What are my building options- will you build it for me? A:We offer a few different options for our customers: You can get the package and build it yourself and we will sit on the sidelines for when you need help. You will receive a manual and numbered diagram to show you step by step how to set up your house. You purchase the package and we will verbally walk you through the basement process, and we will come, unload the truck and set up the shell for you. You purchase the package and we will verbally walk you through the basement process, and we will come, unload the truck and set up the shell for you, install all the windows/doors on the exterior, siding, roofing and decking. We take over the build from start to finish and all you have to do is move in Q:Where do you deliver? A:We can deliver anywhere, however we are cost effective until about Manitoba. We have delivered to helicopter only access and by boat also. If your location is hard to access we can work with you as long as we know of an issue prior to delivery. For example if your lot is on a windy road we can arrange our truck to have 2 small trailers instead of one large trailer. This way they can drop one trailer and come back for the second after. Please ensure the roads and lot can handle the weight of the truck and inform us if it cannot. We can arrange for a smaller truck to bring small loads in from the large trailer piece by piece. We have delivered to Indonesia and Chili so we can always find out how to get your package to you. Q:Where do you build? A:We build wherever another Winton Dealer is not already stationed. If there is a dealer in that are we must offer the build to that dealer prior to committing to a build. We do have to take into account the cost of fuel, and accommodation when quoting a build. However we do try to offer our fifth wheel on site option to save you money whenever possible. Q:Does it cost extra to customize a plan? A:It does not cost extra to customize a plan, they only thing that may change the cost of the plan is the additional materials cost. It can also vary the time you have to wait for your package as your plan may take longer to draft. Q:What if I want to have stone or stucco siding on my home? A:The stone and stucco is not supplied by Winton Global and does have to be installed by experienced installers. We recommend getting a credit for the siding of the package and hiring someone to install your product choice.We do offer a faux stone that can be installed by the home owner. Q:I am in a remote area and need everything delivered, can you provide paint? A:We can provide everything you require for your build if you are in a remote area. Cabinets, paint, floor finishings, bathroom fixtures, whatever you need. Q:What if I want log accents or timber beams inside my house? A:We have a timber frame beam and accent artist that can create anything you need out of timbers. You must be aware that due to the difficulty of installing and creating these full timber accents that the cost is proportional to the effort of creating them. It is possible to give your home the look of a genuine log home. Q:What are my different floor joist options? A:You can choose from a 2x10 floor joist, I –Beam or webbed/engineered floor joist system. With the 2x10 being the cheapest and the engineered being more expensive. You must take all factors into consideration when ordering. The trusses allow easier running of the venting, plumbing and electrical, eliminating the need for drop down ceilings in your basement, giving you more height. The trusses also allow larger spans between tele-posts. They will cost you about $3000 more for a 1000 sq. ft home. Q: How fast do these homes go up? A:This depends on the crew size, the complexity/size of the home and the ability of the crew. You must remember that panelized wall panels save time on framing, but the rest of the home is constructed like a regular home. The basement, siding and other finishing touches take just as long in a pre-packaged home. We estimate a 4 man crew can erect a simple 1200 square foot home in about 1.5 weeks. Q:What if I want to build in stages or add on to the package later? A:If you know already you will be expanding the building in the future we can assist you with this. We do provide add on packages to our existing packages. This works great for community buildings and people on a budget. Q:What is the difference between you and your competitors? A:Before you purchase a packaged cabin or home decide what will work for you. Our prices are usually below our prestige positioned competitors for a far superior product. We have been told that we are half the price and we also ensure that if you get stuck we will come to assist you on site. We also are very committed to the timely delivery of your package. We offer the timber frame accents and pre-framed interior walls. We also do not have large drafting deposits and pride ourselves on our designer’s ability to get you ready to build with quality drawings in a matter of weeks. We are Canadian and mill direct so our prices do not fluctuate often. Q:What if I only want the materials and not the panelized walls? A:Unfortunately we do not supply just lumber yard materials, our business is in supplying our customers with easy to build packages. Q:I am a builder and want to have the packages with just the Trusses, floor joists and wall panel, can you help me? A:We are able to assist builders with contractor packages without windows and doors. Please call us for more information. Q:Do you build completely start to finish or do you contract out the work? A:We do contract out some of our trades due to skill levels needed and quality controls. We do however have the ability to complete most trades ourselves. Q:What is the difference between a lock up package and a complete package? A:The lock up package comes with all your exterior finishes (not including water run off) and framed interior walls. Your complete package comes with everything for your exterior, insulation, drywall, baseboards, casing and interior doors –cabinets and bathroom finishing materials can be specialty ordered for remote locations. Q:If you build a package to lock up am I responsible for the foundation? A:Yes, if we are acting as a trade only, and not as a complete builder then we do require a foundation to be ready for when we arrive. If we are building a complete home for you we do take care of all the trades to control the schedule of the build. Q: Why Prepackaged / Panelized Packages? A: Save on construction costs - less time and labor or manpower to assemble your package, no cost overruns and guaranteed price up front. * Our home & cottage packages are well suited for self builders or for contractors who want to purchase just wall, floor and/or truss components * Less waste, less chance of theft on site and less stress for the customer. * Our prefabricated/panelized packages are better built than the conventional stick frame home or cottage. Walls are straight, doors fit better and nails won’t pop out. * Our packages are pre-built in a climate controlled environment, which ensures dry product and less room for error when installing. * Getting to lock-up quicker keeps the wood from the elements which avoids unnecessary moisture accumulation and mold. * All of our home and cottage packages are built with Winton brand dimensional lumber products, that are kiln dried to inhibit the growth of mold. * We are mill direct, which means we have our own source of fibre supplied by our Sawmill Division. * We have our own in-house custom design team service and truss department, ensuring that all components of your package are not only built to your exact requirements but also built to the highest standards and compliance of local building codes and requirements. * Detailed construction plans simplify the installation process. * Our years of experience in this industry offer our customers excellent customer service. * We have a satisfaction guarantee * Our packages make it easier for trades such as drywallers and finishers to complete their work due to our precision * Your home can still have custom elements unlike traditional "Prefab homes" Q:We are building a few homes – do we get a discount? A:We do offer a discount on a review basis. The homes do have to be identical models and delivered at the same time. The discounts start at 7 units. Q:How big of a building can you build? A:We can build anything / any size, if it is still permitted to be built out of wood then we can build it for you. Q:Can we visit Winton’s plant in Prince George? Yes you can with notice tour the plant. Most people do want to tour the plant prior to committing to a purchase. |
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