One of the most difficult—and important—decisions to make when considering a home renovation or building a new home is choosing the right design and build team. It can be a daunting task especially when superior comfort, energy efficiency and quality are a priority.

As a manufacturer of high-performance fenestration products, Innotech Windows + Doors has worked alongside thousands of architects, home designers and builders. Based on our experience, there are three traits that are common to a successful highly sustainable renovation or build: experience, curiosity and teamwork.

Sustainable building

Renovating or building a home that exceeds the base building code requirements requires specialized knowledge gained through training and experience. It is important to select a design and build team that has the right qualifications and a solid portfolio of homes that meet higher levels of performance, such as BC Energy Code Step 5 (net-zero ready) homes, Built Green® certified homes, CHBA Net-Zero labelled homes, or Passive House certified homes.

Curiosity is indicative of a successful design and build team. Every project has a unique set of goals, constraints and challenges—a design and build team that is curious will be better able to identify these unique characteristics to prepare a successful project plan.

Experience, values and curiosity

An experienced and curious team is also one that values teamwork. Renovating or building a home involves many parties, from the homeowners, building officials, engineers, energy advisors and interior designers, to tradespeople and many building material suppliers. A renovation or new build that is on budget, on time and meets high-performance standards requires a design and build team that is respects and includes all necessary parties.

A design and build team that has experience, values curiosity and demonstrates teamwork is more likely to successfully achieve higher performance targets as they are familiar with the building materials, technologies and strategies needed to renovate or build a highly comfortable, low-energy and durable home.

Burnage, North Vancouver

Burnage is a recently completed project in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Designed by Humenny Design and built by Twin Lions Contracting, this custom home showcases how the design and build team leveraged decades of experience to create an architecturally striking and deeply sustainable home—all without inflating the original budget.

The custom home features several innovative building strategies and materials, including:

• ICF foundation by Vancouver ICF
• Structurally insulated panels (SIPs) for the roof and the walls from West-Eco
• Triple glazed windows and doors by Innotech Windows + Doors
• Fully electric home by Reliable Electric
• High-performance HVAC system by Paris Mechanical

The result is a beautiful home that meets the criteria of the CHBA Net-Zero Home Labelling Program and exceeds the requirements of Step 5 of the BC Energy Step Code—testaments of the home’s sustainable design and purposeful construction.

Start assembling your team today. Visit www.innotech-windows.com

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