Your Project ∙ Your Priorities

KulKon’s philosophy starts with you, the client. We take pride in developing unique and innovative residential spaces encompassing only the finest in quality building materials, engineered products and design. Our client-focused philosophy ensures that we have delivered a finished product that our clients are proud to showcase to family and friends. From the initial design stage to the final construction, no detail is overlooked. Clients are carefully guided through each stage of the process and support is never more than a phone call away.

See how our process works from initial inquiry through to post-construction warranty.

Are We a Good Fit?

Through the Contact form, tell us who you are, where you live and what it is about your home that doesn’t feel right. What kind of improvements would you like to consider? When are you thinking you might like to complete a project?

From the information you provide, we can quickly determine if our company is likely to be a good fit for you. If so, we’ll send you an email right away with an invitation to book a consultation to discuss your project. If not we’ll do our best to send you some useful information about other companies or partners that might be better suited to help you.

On-site Consultation

After an initial phone conversation, one of our experienced, knowledgeable consultants will visit you in your home for 60-90 minutes to hear more about the challenges and issues you and your family are experiencing. We strongly encourage both partners and out interested parties in your family to be present so we can get a clear picture of everyone’s ideas and concerns, and can answer all you questions.

We’ll do a review of your property, and we’ll brainstorm together about possible solutions, strategies and have a candid discussion about budget and timelines. The purpose of this meeting is to allow us both to decide whether we’d like to work together. If either of us feels the fit wouldn’t be right, it’s okay to say so. If we both feel comfortable at the conclusion of the meeting, we agree to move forward with the next phase of the process, which is to enter into a conceptual design services agreement.

Conceptual Design Agreement

For a fixed fee of typically between $4,000 and $8,000, depending on the size of house and the nature and scale of the project being considered, we provided an in-depth exploration of different design option. We will help you understand what’s possible with your property, how much your project will cost, how long it will take and whether there may be any complications obtaining city approvals.

Team Assign & Measuring

One of our staff project manager is assigned to your project, and the best-suited designer from our design team is appointed as your primary designer. A date is established for the team to come to your home and take detailed measurements and photos of your house. You provide us with a copy of your property survey. If you don’t have one, don’t worry - we may be able to locate one or have one commissioned.

Existing Plans

We prepare existing floor plans and exterior elevations drawings of your house, as well as site plan of your property, which combines the critical elements of the property survey with the details we’ve recorded about your building.

We do some preliminary research with the City to ascertain the zoning regulations that apply to your property. This information, along with the statistics about your existing house, is entered into a zoning table as part of the drawing package.

Design Development

With the existing plans in hand, we have a preliminary design meeting with you. Attending this meeting with be the designer, the project manager and the senior consultant who initially met with you. We review all your issues, concerns and ideas for the house in more detail, as well as your target budget and timelines, and we look at any photos, sketches or product ideas that you may want o share with us that would help the designer steer the initial conceptual plans in the right direction.

We schedule a follow-up meeting, typically a week or two later to review first draft conceptual plans. Usually we’ll bring at least a couple of different plan options to review. We’ll take you feedback about the draft plans and follow up with any required variations, revisions or adjustments. For everyone’s convenience, we’ll typically recommend connecting via video conference online. This can be a great way to review plans together and we can even sometimes make minor plan adjustments on the fly during our video calls.

Budget & Zoning

Once we have conceptual plans that you’re happy with we prepare a carefully considered construction budget estimate. If the project as designed is costing more than you’re comfortable with, we can make adjustments to the design or the scope of work to align with your budget. We’ll repeat the above steps as required until we arrive at a solution that works for you.

If the desired plan includes any additions to the building, we will prepare and submit the plans on your behalf to the City zoning department for review. This in not a building permit application. It is a preliminary step towards a permit, where the City determines whether the proposed construction would violate any zoning or other special regulations. If it does, they’ll provide us with the details of the variances that we would need to request from the City’s Committee of Adjustment. If there are no zoning violations, they’ll issue a document called a zoning certificate, which confirms that the proposed plans are acceptable from a zoning standpoint.

Design & Build Agreement

The next step is to enter into a design build construction agreement, where we’re making a firm commitment to each other to move ahead with the project. Our design team will now prepare materials for the next step in the approvals process. If we’ve determined that zoning variances will be required, we’ll apply on your behalf to the Committee of Adjustment, and then we’ll get to work on the detailed technical drawings, including structural engineering, construction assemblies, cross sections through the building, window and door schedules and various other details required to prepare a complete package suitable for building permit application and construction. We prepare electrical and lighting plans and, where applicable we’ll develop heat loss calculations and heating design plans.

The project manager who has been involved with you throughout the design process now sets up a schedule for construction and prepares a detailed selections list for you on our project management website, to which you have 24/7 access.

Pre-Construction

The selection list notes all the decisions and actions that we need from you in order to complete the project. We provide you with deadlines for each of these items so you know what you have to do, and when. You’ll find lots of additional helpful information here, such as suppliers, contacts and other resources to help you with product selections.

If you want to handle all the product, fixture and finish selections on your own, you can. If you’d like the assistance of our experienced designers, we’re ready to offer you all the help you need to make the right choices on everything, right down to window coverings, furniture and artwork if you wish.

Our project manager will work with you to get prepared for the project. We’ll address issues like access, neighbors, parking, fencing, protection of your finishes and landscaping, and identify any items you want salvaged during demolition. Your project manager will make arrangements for a portable toilet if necessary, arrange buried service locates, work through WSB requirements to check for hazardous materials like asbestos, and address any required tree protection.

Construction

The fun begins now as our team of professional renovators and specialty tradespeople work in an organized, safe, supervised, tidy manner. Our project manager coordinates all the necessary personnel to execute the work, arranges for necessary inspections at the required intervals and ensure that the work follows the plans and the schedule. Your project manager will communicate with you frequently-typically at least once a day to let you know what’s happening and address any questions or concerns. You will also receive monthly cost reports to keep you up to date on any elements of the project that are being provided on an allowance(cost-plus) basis.