Muskoka Cottage Plans Need To Reflect The Features Of Your Dream Home
If you are looking to get a vacation cottage built, there are a number of companies who can provide ready to use Muskoka cottage plans in many sizes and designs. The good thing with most of these designs is that they are probably already compliant with local and national building codes. Most probably there are already some units built to the same specification you can look at; perhaps you can ask the owners for their comments as well. However, readymade Muskoka cottage plans can be limiting; you may find that none have the features that you want.
The first step towards realizing your dream cottage is to engage the services of a good company to work with you drafting plans that incorporate your specifications while meeting the requirements of local and national building codes. In this crucial step, you can use all the help you can get in finding the right building company to work with. Consulting with Tarion will be a big help; Tarion is an organization created by the government of Ontario to assist and protect home buyers. Check the references and project portfolios of several building contractors and choose the one which gives you the most confidence. Engage the services of the builder or an architect initially only for the drafting of your cottage’s plans.
According to wholesale pillow inserts supplier Ronco Furniture, when working with architects and builders to finalize the details of your home, you need to be able to communicate what you want. There may be instances when what you want is possible; at other times technical and cost considerations may force you to accept compromise solutions.
Visit the Muskoka Town Hall and inquire about the various permits and approvals you will need to obtain before construction can start, and how much they cost. If you have even a preliminary estimate from your builder, determine how you will finance the project; nothing can be worse than finding out you don’t have enough resources halfway through construction. Nothing ever goes perfectly according to plan so it is prudent to allow a minimum of 10% over the total estimate to cover any contingencies.
Once you and the building contractor have finished the plans for your Muskoka cottage, ask several builders for a quotation. When you compare their bids also consider the warranties they offer, insurance coverage, track record, manpower resources, and available equipment. Review the work contract each of them offers to find the one which most closely describes what you have asked for. Some of the most important details to carefully scrutinize are delivery schedules, payment schedules, start date, which party is responsible for obtaining the necessary permits, and the scope of the project. It is prudent to include a clause that says the last 10% of the project price is to be paid only after final acceptance.
Visit the site often and communicate any concerns openly with the building contractor. As the project winds down keep a punch list – a list of deficiencies that the contractor must make good on prior to acceptance. Then you can be relatively sure your Muskoka cottage is built with the features you asked for.
