Outback

People say building a house is scary. Well, I think that bears, spiders, and white-water rafting are scary/ The only scary thing about the house build was how scary fast it all happened. We had been wanting to build a house for a while but had been sitting on a lot trying to decide which way to proceed. We knew we didn't want a cookie cutter house, but we also knew we didn’t want to have to sell any vital organs just to be living in a new home. Then, what I thought was a birthday prank, was really a golden opportunity to work with a fantastic group of people to help build our dream home. Late November 2016 was when our family brought out the shovels to break ground for our new home. Now I said that building was not scary, it is however a bit stressful. Many, many decisions need to be made in a timely manner that can be both difficult and overwhelming. This is where WPH played a crucial role in helping us. We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted, but we needed WPH to help us put our ideas onto paper and make it happen. Joe wanted a house that was warm and well insulated with lots of natural light. This resulted in a non-traditional approach to building a raised bungalow, and Scott designed a plan to build the floor within the walls of the house. Joe wanted a massive garage with in-floor heat, LED stone panels, and a butcher block countertop. I wanted a ‘his and hers’ floating vanity, a wood-burning fireplace, and a walk-in closet. We both wanted open space that was functional for our family to grow in over the years. We both wanted efficiency coupled with practicality, and I wanted to showcase a bit of modern flair and vintage touches. Personalized touches such as cork flooring that is ergonomic and warm, in-floor heat under the tile, and a free standing bath tub, vaulted ceilings, solid surfaces such as Corian in the kitchen and bathroom for cleanliness, stone to balance the warmth of the fireplace were requests that WPH was able to incorporate into the house while staying on budget. One of the key things that I noticed right away was the attention to detail by everyone. Weekly meetings and walk-throughs of the house provided both transparency and an opportunity to talk about things directly with Scott, while Myriam diligently took notes. Daryl is the most attentive foreman that I have had the opportunity to work with. The “little things” that he would note and mention to us, from the layout of the fireplace, the position of electrical outlets, to the black interior doors, gave us the opportunity to evaluate and make informed choices. Another thing that I was impressed with from start to finish was the camaraderie between the WPH staff and all the sub-trades. Stellar project management is one thing, but skilled professionals working together for a common goal is a spectacular thing to watch in motion. This build felt like team work to me, not like individuals working on the job. Some crews were so efficient that I didn’t even get a chance to meet them because their time on site was so short. I do feel fortunate that I got to meet many new people during this build. I enjoyed bringing coffee, pulled pork, and perogies because without these hard-working people this build could not have happened so successfully. For me, I also felt special gratitude to the people who we knew prior to this build, Darcy, Jason, Chris, Aaron, Steve, Joey B. We know they do a quality job; not just because they are great people, but they are truly skilled at what they do. Even though this was an incredibly fast build, the safety of the staff was not compromised to adhere to a schedule, and for me this was a very important detail. Even though I'm writing this prior to completion, I feel that everyone’s home build should be like this. Exciting, a bit stressful, but ultimately satisfying – having a vision and seeing it come to fruition is a great feeling.