Spring is in the air! With the weather changing and less rain, now is the perfect time to build. Here are a few reasons why there is no time like the present to start building the home of your dreams with Wallmark Homes.

Rain is a huge factor in Vancouver in many different aspects. As your home is being built in the colder seasons, there is more energy used on heat to dry out the insides of your home. During the Spring and Summer season, less gas and energy is used up due to the warmer conditions, which is an eco-friendly alternative. With longer hours of daylight, watching your home go up in warmer conditions is the perfect way to start off your summertime.

Building permits do go through the city faster due to lower volumes of applicants during this season which allows a faster transition as you plan your dream home. Due to less rain and warmer temperatures, this also allows for a smooth start-off as your home is being built. It is never too late to start thinking about building a Custom Home. The sky is the limit!

Finding a lot specific to you and your families needs be a challenge at times. Whether it is searching for a lot or finding the right fit, it can be quite a challenge to find a property to build your dream home on. These days, tear downs are becoming very popular, especially in the Vancouver market. Have you ever passed an idea on demolition due to high costs?  It may be less than what you actually think!

Wallmark Homes helps clients through the preliminary stages of building a Custom Home. This also includes demolition.  We can take stress and strain out of your life by planning your demolition.  Our knowledgeable staff are always available to explain the demolition process and point you in the right direction.

Our Marketing Team will also be following your build through each step of the process by providing pictures of every stage. To find out the steps involved in demolition and building a Custom Home; please contact please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Where should you build your new home? We understand that choosing the perfect home site can be as important, and intimidating, as designing your new home.  Let Wallmark Homes relieve you of the extra time, leg-work and undue stress you may experience when searching for your ideal home site by taking advantage of our detailed and professional Lot Discovery Services.

As the proven leader in full service custom home building in the greater Vancouver area, Wallmark Homes has access to many developer lots that have not yet been released on the MLS. Contact our Development Manager, Troy Abromaitis, or one of our experienced Realtors© today to learn more about how we can help you turn the home of your dreams into a tangible reality.

Wallmark Homes has simplified steps to winterizing your home with the intention of leaving you plenty of time to relax and enjoy the fall. Treat yourself to a job well done and enjoy some time OUT of the house. Now is the best time to start planning your fall retreat, vacation, stay-cation or in many cases, a well deserved, highly anticipated weekend off.

Get a Change of Scenery

Located only an hour and a half drive east of Downtown Vancouver, Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa is nestled on the southern shore of Harrison Lake and surrounded by the snowy peaks of Mount Breckenridge and Mount Cheam. Three restaurants offer everything from casual fare to dining and dancing as well as nightly live entertainment in the legendary Copper Room. Their mid-week packages offer an incredible value, with room prices starting at only $116.00 and include access to the Healing Spring Spa, three indoor and two outdoor hot springs pools, beach access as well as four golf courses within a 15 minute drive.

Stay In-Town
You don’t need to physically leave town to in order to “get out of town”. Vancouver is such an amazing city, full of gems and jewels and nooks and crannies just waiting for your discovery. Step out of your usual weekend and live like a tourist (without spending like one). With nightly rates starting at $75.00 and over 40 registered  Bed & Breakfasts in the greater Vancouver area, you should have no problem planning an affordable and fun “out-of-town” weekend.

Be Adventurous-Fly By the Seat of Your Pants

Do something fun! Grouse Mountain is only a hop, skip and a 30 minute drive from Downtown Vancouver. For only around $100.00, you start off with a 1.6km Skyride up the mountain to enjoy the breathtaking views of the City of Vancouver, Pacific Ocean, Gulf Islands and neighboring Coast Mountains. Take the Mountain Zipline Tour down and soar over tremendous old-growth forests at speeds up to 80km per hour.

If you have always wanted to skydive but never wanted to actually jump out of a plane, Fly Zone Bodyflight in Richmond may be just what your adrenaline rush is missing.  This controlled activity using a Mobile Vertical Wind Tunnel System is safe for almost anyone over the age of 5. There is no falling sensation and most importantly, no need for a parachute! If you’re too chicken, take the kids! What kid doesn’t want to fly? With tickets under $65.00, how can you afford NOT to have this experience?

The days are getting shorter. School is back in session. Even though the August sun is still beaming her warm summer rays, there’s no denying it. Fall is almost here. With October being only 7 weeks away, Wallmark Homes has laid out a few tasks that you can easily conquer each weekend to help prepare your home for this coming winter while still leaving you plenty of time and energy to enjoy the beautiful Vancouver fall.

Get the Fireplace and Furnace Ready
Inspect the fireplace damper to ensure it opens and closes properly and screen or cap the chimney top to prevent nesting birds and rodents. Scheduling a professional inspection of your fireplace is recommended so you have the opportunity to address any safety issues before the weather turns cool. Soot and creosote buildup will also need to be cleaned by a professional chimney sweep. Store firewood in a dry place at least 15 meters away from your house to prevent fire and termites from coming close to your home. Make sure there are no flammable materials stored too close to your furnace and change your filters each month. Clean any lint surrounding your clothes dryer as a great number of house fires are sparked by unseen lint buildup behind the dryer.

Insulate your Hot Water Tank
Hot water heaters are proven to be the least-efficient appliance in your home. This is especially true if your tank is located in an outdoor storage room, basement or garage. The tank works overtime to keep the contents warm when temperatures drop; some of the heated water will go unused and will eventually require reheating for future use. This costly waste of energy, also known as standby heat loss, can account for 20% of your total water heating costs. Adding an extra layer of insulation like a thermal heat blanket can help reduce these standby losses by 25 to 45%, and water heating costs by 4 to 9%, depending on the R-value of your existing tank.

Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Carbon monoxide is produced from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. In the home CO can be formed by open flames, space heaters, water heaters, blocked chimneys or a running car inside a garage. Unlike smoke from a fire, carbon monoxide is colorless, tasteless and odorless. Prevention and detection of CO poisoning in a home environment is impossible without the alarm from a carbon monoxide detector.  The best places to install these detectors depends on the unit you purchase so be sure to follow the instillation directions. Technological advances have extended the life of carbon monoxide detectors for up to six years. Hard-wired and 2-in-1 smoke alarm/CO detectors are also available. A monthly functionality test is recommended; the batteries in smoke alarms and CO detectors also need to be changed at least twice a year, when you turn your clocks at Daylight Savings Tome, change the alarm batteries as well.

Check your Windows and Doors
Use weatherstripping around doors and caulk windows to prevent air from seeping in around the cracks. If you are not sure if your windows need additional caulking, you can always use the good old fashioned candle trick. On a windy day when your HVAC and house fans are off, light a candle and place it near your window. If air is seeping in around your windows, the candle’s flame will flicker when a gust of wind picks up. If you installed summer screens on doors and windows, replace them with the glass equivalents that have been stored during the summer. Installing that extra pane of glass will provide an additional layer of insulation against the colder temperatures.

Prepare an Emergency Kit
What happens when you experience a power outage in your home? Do you stumble around in the dark and mutter to yourself, “Where are the candles? I know I have some SOMEWHERE. Where is a lighter? Where is the flashlight?” Losing power in the middle of a dreadful winter storm can not only be scary, it can be dangerous. Adding an Emergency Survival Kit to your stock of blankets, water and flashlights will not only add to your piece of mind but may also be a saving grace if you find yourself without power for an extended period of time.

Check Foundations
Look for foundation cracks or holes around outdoor fixtures such as vents, cable outlets and mail chutes and seal with a caulking gun. These spaces, as small as they may be, allows the cold outdoor air to enter your wall space and causes your indoor heating to be less effective.  This will also help to keep small animals from crawling into or under the house. Mice can slip through spaces as small as a dime! Debris, fallen leaves and edible vegetation around the foundation is a warm invitation to these little critters so be sure to also rake around the base of your house.

Service Weather-Specific Equipment
Make sure your snow blower is tuned-up and functioning properly sooner than later. Service technicians are still in their slow season; you don’t want to get stuck on a waiting list while you’re stuck in your driveway. Lawnmowers are expensive pieces of equipment and not winterizing them properly could easily result in costly repairs. Clean the lawnmower and drain the oil and fuel. Not cleaning your lawnmower before the winter allows for build-up to rust the deck and other parts while the oil may drain into valves, filters, the muffler, carburetor, and so on.

With most family activities revolving in and around the kitchen, its no wonder that the majority of home owners consider the kitchen to be the heart of the home. Furthermore,  the majority of home buyers in today’s market regard the kitchen as the most important room in the house. Whether you are looking to buy a new home or are considering giving your current kitchen a facelift, Wallmark Homes is here to provide you with inspiration from our photo gallery of magazine perfect gourmet kitchens.

The white-washed maple shaker cabinets and seamless granite counter tops provide the perfect contrast to the richly toned hardwood floors that effortlessly flow throughout this elegantly appointed Vancouver home.
The adjacent Butler’s Pantry provides additional storage and convenient access to the formal dining room.

This gorgeous Green Built kitchen features all Energy Star rated appliances, including an induction stove that can boil water in just 45 seconds! Recycled glass tile back-splashes and quartz stone counter tops create visual perfection that is the hallmark of Wallmark Homes’ gourmet kitchens.

Accommodating top of the line stainless steel EnergyStar appliances, the timeless Shaker cabinets in this signature gourmet kitchen emphasize the and built-in breakfast bar and effortlessly fuse with the richly toned hardwoord floors that flow through out the main level in this open, airy floorplan.

This modern Vancouver-style home’s streamlined kitchen harmonizes the golden hardwood floors, maple shaker cabinets and dark granite counter tops that overlook the sweeping, open floorplan and custom designed free-standing staircase. The eat-in breakfast bar and walk-in pantry add to the lifestyle convenience features of this top-of-the-line custom kitchen.

Even If you don’t yet own a certified Green Built home from Wallmark Homes, you can still drastically reduce your energy consumption and costs while staying cool this summer by following these five simple rules:

Turn off those lights

Everyone knows we’re supposed to turn off the light when we leave a room but many of us walk right past the switch without flipping it. The first step to lowering energy costs is becoming aware of how much energy you consume-and waste. When in use,  light bulbs and televisions not only consume energy but they also produce heat, which, in turn causes your A/C to work harder

Be the boss of your thermostat

Programmable thermostats make it so easy to “set it and forget it”, allowing you to adjust the temperature according to your schedule. Keep your house warmer than normal when you are away and lower the thermostat setting only when you are at home and need cooling. When you turn on your A/C, avoid setting your thermostat at a colder setting than normal as it will not cool your home any faster and could result in excessive cooling and unnecessary expense. Avoid placing television sets and lamps near the thermostat; the thermostat senses heat from these appliances which may cause the A/C unit to run longer than necessary.

Catch a breeze and beat the heat

Even though our summer days can be a little uncomfortable, many of our summer evenings are quite pleasant. Take advantage of the fresh air these cooler evenings provide and give your air conditioning a break by opening your windows at night. Capture the cool air first thing in the morning by shutting the windows and drawing the blinds. There are a wealth of great window coverings that suit any design style that will help keep the heat and light out, and the cool air in. If you still want some natural light, adorn your windows with stylish high tech solar roller shades like these available from Blinds Galore.

Use your ceiling fan properly

A ceiling fan will allow you to raise the thermostat setting about 15°C  (4°F) with no reduction in comfort while your air conditioning is in use. Be sure to turn off your ceiling fan when you leave the room, as fans are designed to cool people, not rooms, by creating a wind chill effect.

Live Wallmark Green

LEED certified Wallmark homes are not only built with consideration of the environmental impact of the home and the resources used during construction, it adheres to internationally recognized standards to improve home performance in areas such as water efficiency, energy savings, lower emissions, and higher indoor air quality. Living in a Green Built Wallmark home allows you to take advantage of energy efficient technologies and eco-friendly design without compromising on the comfort, design and style you require. To learn how you can turn the dream of owning a beautiful, mindfully constructed energy efficient home into a reality, contact our knowledgeable Wallmark Custom Homes Team today.

Everyone knows that bathrooms are more than just a necessary room in a home. Given the amount of time we spend in them, it’s no wonder they have made the jump from a no frills necessity to the spa-like rooms we pamper ourselves in each day. Bathrooms are one of the number one spaces people choose to update for a number of reasons, one being that they are small and relatively easy to do, the other is that people know it’s an investment they can use and enjoy daily. Whether you prefer to shower or bathe, there are an abundance of options for your bathroom that can suit any design taste, color preference and budget.  For ideas on some gorgeous designer bathroom ideas, check out some of the bathrooms we have built in homes throughout the Vancouver metro and Fraser valley.

The contrast of the light green glass tile with the dark chocolate of the wood finish and oversize tile floor in this master bathroom give it a spa-like feel.  Three times the bliss comes in the form of multiple shower heads in the spacious glass enclosed shower.  From the giant rain shower head above, to the dual hand-helds, there isn’t an inch of you that wouldn’t be pampered by the caress of water in this bath. The crisp white soaking tub and white accessories help keep the space light and airy in this Vancouver home.

This bathroom is a show-stopper with the variation in the color palette from the painted ceiling, to the contrasting walls and the variation in the tile around the jetted soaking tub & shower that carries throughout the room. By contrasting the smaller mosaic-style tile with the oversize tile pieces on the floor, we created a stunning visual showcase with flowing organic lines to break the plane and symmetry of tile edges in order to highlight the bathing area.

A compact space can still feel bright and airy if you use the right materials. This Vancouver area bathroom stays clean, modern and bright with a combination of light colors on the walls, sinks and vanity to keep things light in comparison to the darker color of the marble tile and surround of the soaking tub. The polished flooring and bath tile, help to reflect light and keep the space feeling light and bright.

Traditional meets Modern with this metallic tile surrounding this corner tub. Simple and compact, the unusual tile adds the “wow factor” to the space as it gently reflects the earth tones of the room and softens the light. The corner placement takes advantage of the windows and natural light to give the bather a sense of being outdoors as they dream and soak.

Timeless and tasteful design comes into play with this glass shower that plays with soft neutral grays in the wall color and the tile. Simple and sophisticated marble tile line the floors and carry over into the shower area to pull the lines of the room together seamlessly. Classic mosaic tile in the shower base add enough contrast and elegance to ensure this gorgeous bathroom will never go out of style.

Spring is a great time to get the outside of your home looking spectacular. The weather is not too hot to put in a few hours of work outdoors, and a little elbow grease now will ensure that your home looks fantastic in the upcoming weeks as yards green up and flowers start to bloom. Springtime is also typically the busy season for real estate, so if you are looking to move into a new Wallmark Home, we have some easy tips for things you can do to get your home in shape from the outside in!

1. Ready, Set, Rake! Gather all of those extra leaves from the fall that have collected in flowerbeds, gutters and around the yard and you’ll notice an immediate improvement in how clean your home and yard suddenly looks. All of those perennials in the flower beds will thank you as they emerge from the dirt in upcoming weeks.

2. Pretty Plants & Flowers. Add visual interest by planting colorful annuals and greenery along walkways and flowerbeds. Include a hanging basket or colorful planter near the entrance to visually welcome guests. Having flowers in neat and clean flowerbeds gives the impression that a home is well cared for from the moment it is seen.

3.  Weeds Begone! Look at your home and yard with fresh eyes and get rid of those weeds and overgrowth in flowerbeds, along fence lines, and near outbuildings. If you are freshening flowerbeds, consider putting down a weed preventing fabric and mulch or decorative river rock to help keep weed control maintenance to a minimum.

4. Give Shrubs a Haircut If you have hedges or overgrown shrubs or bushes in your hard, give them a trim and make them look nice and neat.  Just a simple trim to keep things manicured will add big curb appeal.

5. TLC for your Grass Yardwork can be a pain if you don’t do a little maintenance and upkeep during the right times of year.  Treat your yard to some power raking to get old thatch up and room for new grass to breathe and grow.  Consider aerating your yard and treating with a springtime fertilizer with weed control to keep summertime crabgrass and dandelions under control.

Springtime has us taking a look around and working up project lists to transition our homes from warm winter coziness to airy and inviting for Spring. Making your home seem lighter and brighter is actually easier than you might think. Shift gears and transform your space this spring with these easy tips from Wallmark Homes.

CREATIVE COLOR. One of the easiest ways to brighten up a space is with color. From a fresh coat of paint in one of the hot spring colors to swapping out accessories like throw pillows, blankets and vases or candles. If you want an instant transformation, choose a bright colored rug and a few accessories to bring pops of color into your space and tie everything together. Cheerful blues, greens and yellows exemplify spring and will help your space look fresh.

CLEAR OUT CLUTTER. Have you wondered why model homes always look so nice? Take a look around, one of the reasons is because they are free of the clutter we tend to accumulate in our own homes.  Stacks of old books and magazines, shelves overcrowded with knicknacks, or walls covered in artwork and photos tend to make a room look smaller and less open. Accessorize with only the things you love and go for a minimalist approach on the items in a room and you’ll see a tremendous difference.

FITTING FURNITURE. Having too much furniture or pieces that are too big for the space can make a room feel very small. Choose furniture that is sized to fit your space, start with a space plan and map out exactly where everything will go before you move any furniture.  That way you can be certain that the furniture and placement will work with traffic flow and everyday living!

LET THERE BE LIGHT. Nothing impacts a room more than lighting. Have you noticed how the mood of your room seems to change on a cloudy day vs. a sunny one? Having adequate lighting both natural (whenever possible) and artificial will make your space shine no matter what the weather or time of day.

By tackling these simple things, you will be well on your way to a space that not only looks great, it will feel great too. You don’t even have to break the bank to do it.  Just take a look around, chances are you have most of the things you need right at home to get started.

If you have ideas, feel free the share them with us. We’d love to hear from you on Facebook, Twitter or right here on our blog.