Custom Home Building in Revelstoke, BC
Know your real costs during design, not after. One team from concept to keys.
How We Build Custom Homes
Straight Up Construction is an Integrated Design Process (IDP) builder. That means design, engineering, budgeting, and construction all happen under one roof, with one team, from the first conversation through to handing you the keys.
The difference between our approach and the traditional model is when you learn the real cost of your project. In a traditional process, you hire an architect, pay for drawings, then take those drawings to a builder for pricing. If the number comes back over budget, you redesign, re-engineer, and start over.
In our integrated process, the people designing your home are the same people who will build it. Cost and engineering feasibility are evaluated from the first sketch. You make informed decisions throughout, not reactive ones at the end.
What you get with every custom home project:
- Design and construction managed by one company, one point of contact
- Real cost feedback during design, not after you have paid for drawings
- Engineering feasibility confirmed before pen hits paper
- Structural engineering for local snow load and frost depth requirements
- BC Energy Step Code compliance designed from day one. Revelstoke currently requires Step 3, and we usually build to Step 4
- One point of contact keeping you current on trades, inspections, materials and timelines
- Complete handover package: permits, warranties, drawings, specifications, manuals
- 2-5-10 year home warranty on every new home (BC Housing licensed)
What Does a Custom Home Cost in Revelstoke?
Custom home construction in Revelstoke typically runs $500 to $750 per square foot, with luxury builds reaching $1,000+ per square foot. On a 2,500 square foot home, that is $1.25M to $1.875M for construction, not including land.
|
Build Level |
Per Square Foot |
2,500 Sq Ft Home |
|
Standard custom |
$500 to $600 |
$1.25M to $1.5M |
|
Mid-range custom |
$600 to $750 |
$1.5M to $1.875M |
|
High-end / luxury |
$750 to $1,000+ |
$1.875M to $2.5M+ |
That range is wide for real reasons:
- Site conditions: Steep slopes require more complex foundations. Rocky terrain means blasting. Difficult access roads add cost to every delivery and trade visit.
- Size and complexity: A simple rectangular home costs less per square foot than one with bump-outs, dormers, and multiple roof pitches. The most cost-efficient homes have the simplest geometry.
- Finishes: The spread between builder-grade and luxury finishes is one of the largest single variables in any budget at this scale, which is why every selection is made before the price is fixed rather than carried as an allowance.
- Logistics: Specialty materials 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 delays are part of building in a mountain community, and getting product into Revelstoke on schedule takes more planning than a Lower Mainland or Okanagan build.
The Build Process
Six stages take a Revelstoke build from a piece of land to a finished home, and the budget is priced alongside the design at every one of them, which is why the number you approve is the number you build to.
Stage 1: Site and Lot Analysis
The first work on your home happens before any drawing exists: we assess soil conditions, slope, access, utilities and setbacks, because the lot sets part of the budget before the design does. Steep slopes require more complex foundations. Rocky terrain means blasting. Difficult access roads add cost to every delivery and trade visit. You come away with a proper understanding of what your lot will require before designing starts.
Stage 2: Concept Design and Selections
Floor plans, elevations, materials, fixtures and finishes all get chosen up front, with nothing left as an allowance to be settled later, because choosing everything now is what lets us put one solid build cost in front of you. Cost feedback runs against every decision as it is made, so the design stays inside your budget instead of being repriced after the fact. The design phase typically runs 6 to 9 months. You end this stage holding a complete selections package and a budget that has moved with the drawings the whole way.
Stage 3: Snow Load and Step Code Engineering
The structure is engineered for the load a Revelstoke roof has to carry through winter, and energy modelling for what the BC Energy Step Code requires runs alongside it, built into the wall assembly rather than bolted on at the end. These details are incorporated early on, while they can still shape the drawings and the budget rather than force changes later. You come away with stamped structural drawings and an energy model, both of which the building department will ask for.
Stage 4: Permitting
With stamped drawings and the energy model in hand, the building permit application goes to the City of Revelstoke, and typically the review takes 6 to 8 weeks depending on the time of year and how busy the department is with development in town. If the project needs a variance, rezoning or a development permit, those run through the City as well and we manage the submissions. Permit fees and development cost charges are set by City bylaw and revised over time, so the current figures live in our guide to building permits in Revelstoke. You end this stage with the permits in hand and a timeline you can plan around.
Stage 5: Build Phases
Construction typically takes 9 to 12 months from breaking ground to move-in. The work runs in sequence: excavation and foundation, then framing, roof and envelope, then mechanical systems and interior finishing. What each of those stages costs per square foot in Revelstoke is set out in our guide to the cost of building a home in BC. Exterior work is phased into the April to October window because raising the shell in the best conditions of the year protects your budget and your schedule. The goal is lock-up before winter, and interior work then carries on year round, with interior finishing taking 3 to 4 months.
Building outside that window is possible; phasing just spares you the added cost of building through winter conditions, which most projects do not need to carry. Through it all, one point of contact manages trades, inspections, materials and timelines, and keeps you current on all of it. That is how many of our clients build from Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto or the US without visiting the site every week. At the end of construction you are holding a move-in-ready home; the full record of it comes at handover.
Stage 6: Handover and Warranty
Handover is when the whole record of the project changes hands: a complete project book with all permits, warranty documentation, drawings, specifications and manuals. Your new home is covered by the 2-5-10 year home warranty, issued through an approved provider licensed under BC Housing's Licensing and Consumer Services. You walk away with a complete record of your home, not just the keys.
How to get started
Getting started takes one complimentary 15 minute call about your lot, budget range and timeline. We figure out if we are the right fit. Not every project is, and if yours is not, we will tell you straight and point you in the right direction. If it is, a longer discovery conversation goes deeper on scope, timing, priorities and early budget signals. From there, a pre-construction agreement opens the design phase, and the full path from first call to handover is laid out for you to see.
Book a complimentary 15 minute call
Who We Build For
Local families building their permanent home. You know Revelstoke and the climate. You want someone who understands both and will manage the process without surprises.
Relocating from Vancouver, Calgary, or Toronto. Selling in an expensive market, building for the lifestyle. Our process works even when you cannot visit the site every week. One team, regular updates, no gaps to manage.
Second-home and vacation property buyers. The resort market is growing. RMR is expanding, the Cabot Pacific golf project is in development, and Revelstoke is exempt from BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax. For out-of-town builds, our integrated process and project management tools make remote oversight practical.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to build a custom home in Revelstoke?
Typical construction runs 9 to 12 months from groundbreak to move-in, on top of 6 to 9 months of design and 6 to 8 weeks for building permit review. End to end that is roughly 16 to 23 months from the first design conversation to the keys, and bigger builds run longer. Exterior work is planned into the April-to-October window, so timing your start matters. Winter work is possible but not the preferred window and can add cost.
How far in advance should I start planning a custom home in Revelstoke?
Plan on roughly a year before you want to break ground, and often a little more. Design is measured in months rather than weeks. The building permit application only goes to the City once the drawings and the energy model are finished. The review sits on the end of that. Because the exterior work is phased into the warmer half of the year, the real question is less which date you start on and more which building season you are aiming at. A conversation that starts in spring or summer is usually what puts a shovel in the ground the following spring.
Do you have custom homes available in Revelstoke, or do you build to order?
Straight Up Construction builds to order, so your home is designed around your lot and your household before it is priced. That is a different exercise from buying a car, where the manufacturer has already made a thousand decisions and the choice comes down to trim level and colour. On a custom home those decisions are yours, which is why the planning has to happen before anyone can give you a real number. The one exception is River Peak Court, where serviced lots are paired with homes designed in advance, so the design work is largely done and you tailor it from there.
Can you build my home if I live out of town?
Yes. Many of our clients build from Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, or the US. Our integrated process gives you one point of contact for everything, with regular photo and video updates and scheduled calls, so you always know where the project stands without needing to be on site.
What warranty do I get on a new home?
Every Straight Up home carries the 2-5-10 year home warranty: 2 years on materials and labour, 5 years on the building envelope, 10 years on structural defects. The warranty is issued through an approved provider licensed under BC Housing's Licensing and Consumer Services program rather than by us. It covers new home construction, so renovations, additions and carriage homes sit outside it.
Do I need a separate architect?
Not with our integrated design process. We handle design and construction under one roof, working with the engineers and designers we have relied on for years. If you already have plans from an architect, we also work as a general contractor on projects with existing drawings.
What is the advantage of your integrated design process over hiring an architect and builder separately?
You learn the real cost of your project during design, not after. When the designer and builder are the same team, cost feasibility and engineering feasibility are part of every design decision. This eliminates the common problem of finishing architectural drawings only to discover the project is significantly over budget.
What is the minimum project size you take on?
Our custom home projects typically range from $1.25M to $2.5M+. For renovations and additions, we take on structural work only: projects that change the foundation, framing, envelope or floor plan and need engineering and a full building permit.
