Why This List Exists
A custom home in Revelstoke is a $1.5M to $2.5M decision and most buyers have never done it before.
The difference between a good build and a disaster usually comes down to what you asked before signing, not what went wrong after. These 12 questions work with any builder. The ones who can answer them clearly are the ones worth hiring. The ones who dodge them are telling you something.
1. Is the Builder Licensed by BC Housing?
This is the single most important question, and the easiest to verify.
In British Columbia, anyone constructing a new home must be licensed through BC Housing. This is provincial law under the Homeowner Protection Act. A licensed builder must carry insurance, meet experience requirements, and enrol every new home in the 2-5-10 year home warranty program before construction begins.
You can look up any builder's licence status yourself:
- Licensed Builder Registry: licensedbuilderregistry.bchousing.org
- New Homes Registry (warranty verification): newhomesregistry.bchousing.org
If a builder cannot produce a current BC Housing licence number, stop the conversation. It does not matter how good their portfolio looks or how competitive their quote is. An unlicensed builder cannot legally enrol your home in the warranty program, and if something goes wrong, you have no regulatory recourse. You can report unlicensed building activity directly to BC Housing at bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/legal/report-violation.
2. How Many Homes Have You Built in Revelstoke Specifically?
A builder from the Lower Mainland or Okanagan can technically work in Revelstoke. Same licence. Same building code. But Revelstoke has construction conditions that builders from other regions have to learn on the job, and you do not want your project to be someone's learning curve.
Revelstoke is a high snow load region. Foundations go deeper below the frost line. Roof engineering carries heavier structural requirements. The exterior build season runs roughly April to October, which compresses scheduling in ways that a Vancouver or Kelowna builder is not used to managing. Material deliveries travel the Trans-Canada through Rogers Pass, Glacier National Park, and 3 Valley Gap, all of which can close for avalanche control in winter. Unplanned delivery delays are part of building in a mountain community, even on the Trans-Canada.
Ask for a number, not a vague answer. A builder with 10 or 15 years in Revelstoke has seen what the climate does to schedules, materials, and budgets. A builder with two projects here is still learning.
3. Are You a General Contractor or a Design-Build Firm?
These are two different service models, and many buyers do not know the difference until they are already committed to one.
A general contractor builds from your finished architectural plans. You hire an architect independently, pay for drawings, then bring those drawings to the GC for pricing and construction. You manage the relationship between architect and builder.
A design-build firm handles both design and construction under one contract. The same team that draws your floor plan is the team that frames it. Cost feasibility is part of the design process, not a surprise at the end. Link: /services/design-build
Neither model is inherently better. A GC works well if you already have stamped architectural drawings and a specific architect you want to keep. Design-build works well if you are starting from scratch, want confirmed costs during design, or are building from out of town and need a single point of contact. For a detailed comparison, see our design-build vs general contractor breakdown at /blog/design-build-vs-general-contractor-bc.
The key question is not which model the builder uses. It is whether they can explain clearly how their model works, what you are responsible for, and when you will know the real cost of your project.
4. What Does Your Contract Look Like: Fixed-Price, Cost-Plus, or Hybrid?
This is where the most expensive misunderstandings happen.
Ask the builder to walk you through their contract structure in plain language. Ask what happens if costs exceed the estimate. Ask what triggers a change order, and what the approval process looks like. A builder who cannot explain their contract clearly is a builder you should not sign with.
5. Who Does the Design Work?
In the traditional model, you hire an architect independently. Architectural and engineering fees on a custom home through that path are significant, because the Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC) requires its members to charge a fee calculated as a percentage of the building value.
In an integrated design-build model, the builder's design team handles floor plans, elevations, and material selections while the construction team provides real-time cost feedback. Design fees are typically lower because the team is not bound by the AIBC percentage model. Link: /services/design-build
Some builders have in-house designers. Others work with external professionals they have built long-standing relationships with. Both can work well. The question to ask is: who specifically will design my home, what is their experience, and how does the cost engineering happen during design so I do not end up with drawings I cannot afford to build?
6. What Is a Realistic Timeline for My Build, Start to Finish?
Any builder who tells you "six months, start to finish" on a custom home in Revelstoke is either inexperienced or not being honest. The real timeline for a custom home build has three phases. Link: /services/custom-home-building
- Design: 6 to 9 months (floor plans, engineering, energy modelling, material selections, budget validation)
- Building permits: 6 to 8 weeks for City of Revelstoke review
- Construction: 9 to 12 months from groundbreak to move-in
Total: roughly 22 to 28 months from your first serious conversation to handing you the keys. Exterior work is planned into the April-to-October window. The goal is to reach lock-up (roof on, windows in, building sealed) before winter so interior work can continue year-round.
If a builder quotes you a construction timeline significantly shorter than 9 months, ask them to explain exactly how. If they cannot, that is a red flag.
7. What Is Included in Your Quote, and What Is Not?
A construction quote is not the total cost of building a home. Several major line items sit outside the builder's contract, and buyers who do not ask about them get surprised.
Costs typically outside the construction quote:
- Building permit fees. The City of Revelstoke charges a rate that starts at $10.25 per $1,000 of project value under the Fees and Charges Bylaw. On a $1 million build, that is roughly $10,250 as a base permit fee. Commercial, industrial, and other non-residential uses are calculated on a different rate schedule. (Source: City of Revelstoke Fees and Charges Bylaw)
- Development Cost Charges (DCCs). Charged per square metre of floor area under the City's DCC Bylaw (effective August 1, 2025). On a single-family home with a secondary suite in the Primary City area, combined permit and DCC costs can land around $60,000 or more. (Source: City of Revelstoke DCC Bylaw)
- Landscaping and site restoration. A real line item on any custom build, and one that varies significantly with lot size, slope, and how much site work the construction itself required.
- Utility hookups and connection fees. Sewer, water, gas, electrical, telecom.
- Finishes allowances. If the quote includes "allowances" for flooring, countertops, or fixtures, ask what dollar amount is built in and what happens when you choose something different.
For a full breakdown of what drives custom home costs in Revelstoke, see our guide to the cost to build a home in BC at /blog/cost-to-build-home-bc-2026. For permit details, see our Revelstoke building permits guide at /blog/building-permits-revelstoke-bc.
8. Will You Work Through Revelstoke's Compressed Building Season?
Revelstoke's primary exterior build season runs April to October. That is when foundations are poured, framing goes up, roofing is installed, and the building envelope is closed. Winter exterior work is possible but not optimal and adds cost for snow management, heating, and weather protection.
The timing of your project start matters more than most buyers realize. Starting design in the fall means permits are ready by late winter and construction can begin as soon as conditions allow in spring. Starting design in spring means permits land mid-summer, and you may not break ground until the following year. That compressed timeline carries real risk: it tightens material lead times and supply availability, and it leaves less room to line up the right trades, which can push your schedule or your budget.
Ask the builder how they plan around the season. Ask what happens if the project is not at lock-up by October. A builder with deep Revelstoke experience will have a clear answer because they have managed this constraint on every project they have built here.
9. What Warranty Applies, and How Do I Know It Is Real?
Every new home built in British Columbia must carry a 2-5-10 year home warranty, administered through BC Housing and provided by licensed warranty providers:
- 2 years on materials and labour
- 5 years on the building envelope (the part of the home that keeps water and weather out)
- 10 years on structural defects
This is not optional. It is not the builder's internal guarantee. It is third-party insurance required by provincial law. You can verify that any specific home is enrolled by searching the New Homes Registry at newhomesregistry.bchousing.org.
One important distinction: the 2-5-10 warranty applies to new home construction only. Renovations and additions to existing buildings are not covered, regardless of project size. On renovation work, the warranty is the builder's own workmanship guarantee plus manufacturer warranties on new products and systems.
For more on how the BC Step Code affects your new home's envelope performance (and by extension, your 5-year envelope warranty), see our Step Code guide at /blog/bc-step-code-guide.
10. Can I See Active Projects and Talk to Past Clients?
Any builder worth hiring will offer both. Ask to walk an active job site. Ask for three to five past client references, and actually call them.
When you call references, skip the general "were you happy?" questions. Ask specifics:
- How close was the final cost to the original quote?
- Were there change orders? How were they handled?
- How was communication during the build? How often did you get updates?
- What would you do differently if you were building again?
- Would you hire this builder again without hesitation?
The answers to those five questions will tell you more than any brochure or website, including ours.
11. What Happens When Something Goes Wrong?
Something will go wrong on every build. A shipment gets delayed because Rogers Pass, Glacier National Park, or 3 Valley Gap closed for avalanche control. A subcontractor misses a deadline. You open a wall during a renovation and find something unexpected. The price of engineered lumber moves 15% between quote and purchase.
The question is not whether problems happen. It is how the builder handles them. Ask:
- What is the change-order process? Do I approve costs before work proceeds?
- How do you handle supplier delays or material shortages?
- What project management tools do you use, and do I get access?
- What happens if construction runs past the estimated completion date?
A builder who has been through 200+ projects will have systems for every one of these scenarios. A builder who has done 10 projects will be making it up as they go.
12. The Questions a Builder Should Ask You
A good builder does not just answer your questions. They ask their own. If a builder takes your call, agrees to everything, and starts talking about timelines without asking the following, they are order-taking, not designing:
- Do you own the land? If not, where are you in the purchase process?
- What is your financing situation? Construction loans work differently than mortgages, and the builder needs to know your lender is set up for draw schedules.
- Who are the decision-makers? If there are two owners, both need to be in the room for design decisions. Finding this out at framing stage causes expensive delays.
- What is your actual budget, including land, permits, DCCs, and landscaping? Not just "what do you want to spend on construction." The total picture.
- What is your timeline flexibility? A builder who understands the Revelstoke build season will tell you when to start, not just agree to when you want to start.
- Have you built before? First-time builders need more guidance through the process. That is not a weakness. It is information the builder needs to serve you well.
A builder who asks these questions is planning your project. A builder who skips them is selling you something.
Making Your Decision
These 12 questions work with any builder in Revelstoke or anywhere in BC. A builder who answers them clearly, with specifics and without hedging, is a builder who has done this enough times to know what they are talking about. A builder who gets uncomfortable or vague is telling you something important.
If you want to test these questions against a builder who has been answering them since 2005, Straight Up Construction offers a 15-minute qualification call to see if your project is the right fit.
BOOK A 15-MINUTE QUALIFICATION CALL
Phone: +1 250-837-1322
Email: info@straightupbuild.ca
Sources
- BC Housing Licensing and Consumer Services: bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services
- BC Housing Licensed Builder Registry: licensedbuilderregistry.bchousing.org
- BC Housing New Homes Registry: newhomesregistry.bchousing.org
- BC Housing Report a Violation: bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/legal/report-violation
- City of Revelstoke, Fees and Charges Bylaw (building permit fee schedule)
- City of Revelstoke, Development Cost Charges Bylaw (effective August 1, 2025)
- Straight Up Construction (2018) Ltd., founded 2005, 200+ completed projects
