THAD Residential Design Process

Connect & Initial Meeting – Building a foundation

At THAD, we're eager to connect with you and discuss your vision for a custom home design. We understand that this can be an exciting but complex undertaking, which is why our team is here to guide you every step of the way. Your satisfaction is our top priority, and we take great pride in earning your trust and referrals.

To begin, we'll schedule an initial meeting where we'll get to know you and your goals for the project. This is a critical step in building a solid foundation for our partnership and ensuring that your custom home design experience is positive and stress-free.

After this meeting, we'll provide you with a formal proposal that outlines our services and fees based on the complexity of your project. If you're satisfied with our proposal, we'll move forward with a design discovery meeting where we'll gather more detailed information to inform the design process.

Our team is dedicated to delivering state-of-the-art and award-winning custom home designs that exceed your expectations. We look forward to working with you and making your dream home a reality.

"Residential design is not just about shelter, it's about creating an immersive experience that sparks discovery. This is achieved through collaborative dialogue between the client, designer, and builder, resulting in a design that's tailored to the client's lifestyle and crafted to inspire. Our ultimate goal is for you to love where you live."

Design Discovery Meeting – Searching for inspiration

At our initial design meeting, we strive to gain a deep understanding of your vision, architectural style, lifestyle, timeline, expectations, and budget. We'll work together to complete our comprehensive Home Design Criteria questionnaire, which serves as a wish list to ensure we fully understand your custom home design needs. We'll also review your inspirational pictures or projects and start developing a clear conceptualization of your home, all while listening carefully and asking the right questions to bring your ideas to life.

To ensure that your new home perfectly suits your style and preferences, we'll help you select your exterior architectural style before drafting floor plans. You can use Instagram, Pinterest, Houzz, and other tools to build an exterior and interior Ideabook of your favorite architectural style, which you can share with us to help us understand what you love and expect in your new home design.

Before we begin drafting your project, we'll conduct a walk-through of your lot. This helps us understand the unique characteristics of your property, including its sun-path, views, privacy, and contours, which we'll use to determine the optimal orientation of your dwelling.helps us understand the unique characteristics of your property’s sun-path, views, privacy, and contours to identify the optimal orientation of your dwelling.

"Your home is a significant investment and we believe it should stand the test of time. Regardless of your chosen architectural style, we strive to design a timeless façade that we will be proud of both today and tomorrow."

What we need to start the Design Phase:

Development Permit Survey

To commence the Design Phase, we require a comprehensive Site Plan that includes grades, Streetscape with ridge heights, and Block Plan specifically for City of Calgary Discretionary Permits. If you require assistance in obtaining this information, we can provide you with the contact information of our preferred survey companies.

FAQ - How long does the design process take?

We are able to complete Construction Drawings within 2 months.

Design Phase – Let’s collaborate and create

Version 1 – Above Grade Floor Plans and Site Plan – Building Wow Factor        

We'll start by building the 3D topography of your site, allowing us to propose and review the best possible placement for your dwelling during our V1 meeting.

The main floor plan is the heart of your home and the starting point for your design. We'll model the exterior footprint to reflect your chosen architectural style, creating stunning curb appeal. During this phase, we'll work together to review room relationships, locations, and required spaces for your custom home.

Typical main floor rooms include the foyer, office, living room, kitchen, pantry, dining, mudroom, powder room, and more.

The upper floor plan is designed in tandem with the main floor, ensuring it fits seamlessly over your footprint while accommodating your chosen architectural style and providing all the necessary rooms.

Typical upper floor rooms include the primary bedroom, walk-in closet, ensuite, second and third bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry room, bonus room, and more.

Once V1 is completed, we'll meet to walk you through the drawings. This is where your home design concept truly comes to life, allowing you to visualize your dream home in detail.

"We remain cognizant of the evolving design trends, while maintaining our focus on crafting timeless facades through innovative designs, the incorporation of authentic materials, and an unwavering commitment to detail."

Version 2 – 3… - Refining the details

Usually, it takes some iterations to achieve the full potential of your custom home design vision and refine all the details. We will collaborate with you until you are completely satisfied with your floor plan design and every element has been carefully crafted to your liking.

Basement Plan Version 1 – More than a foundation

After completing the main and upper floor plans, we begin designing your basement. We believe that your basement is just as important as the rest of your home and we will ensure that it is designed with the same level of attention and care. Our team will incorporate innovative design features throughout the space to make your basement a truly exceptional area of your home.

Typical basement rooms: Recreation room, media, bar, gym, bedroom, bathroom, storage, mechanical room, wine cellar…etc.

Elevations - Elevations are a combination of functional, stylish, and balanced design elements, such as form, repetition, patterns, focal points, materials, texture, colors, contrast, unity, variety, and proportion.

After your floor plans are completed we can now start sketching and creating your elevations. We have a great idea before we start of what your exterior is going to look like, because we’ve carefully carved your floor plan footprint to resemble your residential style. We produce a three-dimensional model and perspectives so we can show you exactly what your exterior concept will look like. We will review your exterior selections, colors materials and details.

Popular Calgary architectural styles are Modern, Contemporary, Prairie, Craftsman, Tudor, Farmhouse, French Country…etc.

Construction Documents Phase

Once the custom home design phase is completed, we proceed to produce the working drawings for your project.

Tender Set

The Tender Set serves as both the Development Permit Set and the set of drawings sent to your selected builders for pricing. We call this phase the Tender Set because the drawings are ready to be submitted to the City or County for the permit application process.

Permits

Development Permit Applications

We will handle the application for your Development Permit and collaborate with the City or Municipality to ensure your project is approved. Our team is well-versed in the Land Use Bylaws and can navigate the approval process smoothly and efficiently.

City of Calgary Contextual Permit Applications – A contextual dwelling is one built to a specific set of rules (Calgary Land use Bylaw 1P2007) without any variances. This development is sensitive to the adjacent buildings and has a timely approval process. Approval timelines can vary, but it is recommended that you plan for a timeframe of 1.5 to 3 months.

City of Calgary Discretionary Permit Applications – A discretionary dwelling is one built with variances from the Calgary Land Use Bylaw (i.e. relaxations for a third level loft, reduced contextual front setback, greater parcel coverage…etc.) typically it takes at least 3 months or longer depending on the scope and complexity of the project.

Applications for Discretionary Permits typically require additional documentation, a clear rationale for why certain rules should be relaxed, engagement with neighboring properties, community associations, and longer timelines for review and approval.

We are pleased to offer our recommendations for preferred builders during the design process.

Once your Development Permit is approved, we proceed to create your Building Permit Set, which will include all the necessary drawings and documents required for your builder to obtain a building permit from the City or County. Once the building permit is obtained, we will prepare the Construction Set in collaboration with your chosen builder. This set will contain detailed construction drawings and specifications that will guide your builder through the construction process.

Building Permit Application – Alberta Building Code - Safety Codes Officers Review

We will work closely with your selected builder to provide them with detailed drawings and documentation needed to apply for your Building Permit. The builder is typically responsible for submitting the permit application, as they must provide information about their trade contractors, engineering consultants, and structural documents. We will support your builder throughout the approval process, ensuring that the Building Permit plans are approved, and updating the drawings to create your final Construction Set.

Color Rendering

Color renderings are an excellent way to ensure that your exterior color palette and materials blend seamlessly. They can also be used as a powerful marketing tool for builders and will be included upon completion of the permit phase.

Now that we have completed the design and construction document process with you, we are thrilled to see your custom home come to life. We remain available to you throughout the building process to address any questions, concerns, or recommendations you may have. We will schedule site visits with your builder and look forward to being there with you on possession day!