Our Process
“Listening to what our clients need and want at every step, setting a realistic schedule, and communicating immediately if there are unexpected delays or issues, are all key to delivering great customer service, and completing projects on time and on budget.”
Peter Klomps, Project Manager
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Initial Consultation
This is the time to bring your wish list and vision to the table. Show us what you’re thinking; bring pictures, sketches, websites and plans. Tell us about your budget – what’s a “must-have” and what’s a “nice-to-have”.
After decades of building experience, we can advise if you can achieve what you want within your current budget, whether your plans will add value to your home, and if it makes sense – personal and economically – to renovate, build new, or move. We’ll also give you a verbal, ball-park figure of what your project might cost.
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Preliminary Design and Estimate
If Lentel is a fit for your project, our next step is to refer you to a house designer or architect from our trusted network, or meet with the building professional of your choice. (If you’re renovating, you may not need a design professional, depending on the scale of your project.) We visit the site, take measurements, identify any obvious challenges, and consult with your designer to clarify and define the project scope.
Once we receive preliminary plans from your house designer, we prepare a preliminary estimate that gives you a better idea of your actual project cost (a final, detailed budget will be prepared once we have construction drawings).
During this phase, we ask for a retainer fee to cover our initial planning work – if you commit to the project in the next phase, we apply your retainer to the project management fee.
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Design, Planning and Final Budget
During this phase, construction drawings are created for your project. If you’re building a custom home, or doing a major renovation, an energy advisor will be added to your project team. They will review your drawings to ensure that they achieve the project’s energy goals and test the building at various stages throughout the build to ensure it achieves certification.
Once the construction drawings have been approved, we prepare a final budget, a more detailed scope of work, and a project contract.
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Permitting and Project Setup
During this phase, we submit your plans and permitting documentation to the City, pay them on your behalf, and respond to any questions or concerns they may have. While Lentel is waiting for approval, preliminary project setup begins. Our goal is to try to start construction within two weeks of receiving your building permits.
Preparation is key to completing a project on time and on budget with as few issues as possible. We create a project schedule, introduce you to your project manager and team, and create an account for you in our client portal system, which will allow you to communicate with us and track the progress of your project online.
We also add any professionals to your team that your project may require, such as an environmental consultant or archeologist.
While we secure the necessary building materials and schedule our team and trade partners, we recommend that you choose as many of your finishings and key appliances as you can. During this phase, many clients choose to work with one of the interior designers in our network. We provide a list of the subtrades that will be working on your home, and let you know when items must be selected by.
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Invoicing
Before we break ground on your project, we request a deposit. Once construction starts, we invoice you monthly. We don’t believe in hidden charges or surprise bills, so if something comes up, we let you know – changes or additions to the budget are always discussed with our clients. And our invoicing is transparent – we attach all subtrade bills so that you have an accurate and honest account of expenses.
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Construction
When construction begins, our long-time team works with friendly professionalism. We know that construction projects can be disruptive to you and your neighbours, so we take care to keep a clean worksite and behave respectfully at all times.
During construction, we handle the inspection process at each stage and make sure that everything is properly approved. At various points during the project, including the framing stage, and prior to insulating the walls, we walk through your project with you and your designer to ensure everything is as you envisioned.
Throughout the build, we update you regularly on our progress. We are realistic in setting up our original project schedule, but if we encounter unexpected issues, such as supply disruptions, we notify you immediately and work towards a timely solution.
Your project manager is available if you have questions, and the client portal we set up for you allows you to track the progress of your project online. You can see site reports, pictures, your budget and schedule, and send and receive messages with our team.
At the end of the project, if your build was a new home or a major renovation with energy efficiency goals, we apply for your EnerGuide label and BUILT GREEN® certification.
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Completion and Customer Care
This is one of our favorite parts of the project, when you take possession of your new home, or settle into your new renovation.
As part of our commitment to uncompromising quality, we’re on call for any questions or issues you may have once you move in. We do post-build check-ins to ensure that you’re fully satisfied with all of our workmanship, and do any paint touch-ups that may be required after your move.
If you built a new home with us, we schedule an orientation to explain its features and systems, and give you a Homeowner’s Manual with the details of your warranty, systems, and key subtrades who worked on your home. You will also receive your EnerGuide and BUILT GREEN® labels, in addition to being covered by a 2-5-10 warranty from National Home Warranty.
Our customer care continues into your first year – we check in with you around the six-month mark, and again at about 12 months. We stand behind all of our projects and want to make sure that the workmanship and components in your new home or renovation meet the Lentel standard for quality and craftsmanship.
Thinking about building a new home, a major renovation, or developing a property in South Delta, South Surrey, White Rock or Richmond? Please get in touch – we’d love to meet to discuss your ideas and share our thoughts.