The leaves are turning color now in October, and the temperature is starting to drop. Soon the rains will start and even some snow and freezing temperatures. So, can you have your home built during the winter?
In short – yes. But its conditional. If the house has the roof shingles on and windows and waterproofing on the walls, then no issues. The balance of the build can be done through winter. There will be some additional heating costs, but will be minimal.

The bigger challenge is when we are preparing the foundation or just starting framing during winter. It can be done in the city of Vancouver. But it will add probably a month to the time frame, add costs of between $5,000 to $15,000 for hoarding (covering the house) and drying the lumber out. Also it will require diligent process of testing moisture content prior to insulation, prior to flooring etc. If you are starting the foundation work in middle of winter, then be prepared for pumping water, more costs for concrete conditioning, covering the pour to keep from freezing. Or, even delays of weeks waiting for freezing weather to pass.

Generally though, the most common approach is to start building in the spring or summer so you are either finished or have a waterproofed building through winter. The trade-off is that sub trades are often overbooked during this period and delays can happen.

In short, we are lucky to be building in Vancouver’s mild weather compared to other parts of Canada!