5-Step Process: Home Owners
Five-Step process from inception to move-in ready home modifications for Homeowners.Step 1 - Consultation & Assessment
Initial Consultation
We begin with a consultation via an initial phone call, or in person at your home or our design studio. We provide high-level renovation design solutions and budget estimates at this initial on-site consultation. Depending on your overall requirements as either proactive measures to gracefully age in place or if you are currently living with a disability. We will determine who from our team is needed on that initial consultation call or visit:
Cost: No Charge
Scenario 1: Simple Assessment (No Designer)
If the retrofits discussed are basic in nature and do not require a designer (IE. Barrier Free solutions) we would provide a scope and associated cost proposal, start date and target completion dates.
Cost: $195.00
Scenario 2: The “Good Fit” 90-120 Minute Assessment
(Optionally with Occupational Therapist)
If you and your family feel our team may be a good fit, we begin with a macro Home Assessment consultation. Again, depending on the reasons you are motivated to modify your home (IE proactive aging in place solutions, or if you or a loved one are currently living with a disability), we will determine who from our team is needed to attend this initial Home Assessment session. Our team may include an Occupational Therapist or you are most welcome to have your Occupational Therapist join our architectural designer and construction manager as we work through our respective checklists auditing your home for accessibility solutions.
From that initial Home Assessment, we collaboratively then determine if your home can indeed be modified in a cost-effective manner or if an alternate home (See https://www.pinnaclerenovations.ca/renovate-or-relocate) may be a better fit. This Home Assessment session is designed to offer and suggest either immediate and simple modifications including equipment rentals, as well as paint a picture for what a long-term plan and design could look like depending on how you would like to live and function in your Home. During this 90-120 minute Home Assessment session, we will openly discuss solutions and ideas both for accessible design and high-level budgets.
Cost for Initial assessment: $247.50
Occupational Therapist: Add Additional $247.50
Design Consultation for Complete Re-Design
If it is deemed that a complete re-design of your current home is needed, or a possible relocation to a more suitable home is a better solution, we provide the full set of services to either renovate the current home or source a more suitable home via our Realtor network (See https://www.pinnaclerenovations.ca/renovate-or-relocate). In both cases varying degrees of renovations are typically required either now or can be targeted for future; depending on budgets and degree of accessibility needs.
Cost for Design & Consultation Retainer: 10 hour minimum @ $135/hr.
Summary & Moving Forward
Whatever the outcome of our sessions with you, our goal is to provide you with immediate and proactive help, depending on your circumstances. Perhaps you are in forward-planning mode with an aging in place motivation or you have received a prognosis that may require an evolution of home modifications, completed in phases as needed. We simply want to earn your trust to allow us to then work alongside you or your loved one to create a plan that makes sense today and in the future.
If you or your loved one is in Rehab and/or about to be discharged from hospital; we want to do our best to work alongside you to mitigate a crisis and help you avoid reactive decisions that could be both redundant and unnecessarily cost prohibitive.
No matter your circumstances or motivation, at the very least and regardless of the circumstances mentioned, you or your loved one can move into your respective home. Either way, we can assist with some basic updates to meet your core mobility needs in a proactive manner to avoid crisis management upon rehab or hospital discharge. Or, if you are in a forward-planning/aging in place mindset, you can proceed with truly proactive planning and begin with either Step #2 for financing options or skip to Step #3.
Step 2 - Financing
Though the recommendations we are providing here come from many years of sorting out financial solutions for a host of clients and their families; we still recommend that you seek out professional counsel:
Self-Financed Solutions & Resources
Re-financing:
Major Banking and Mortgage Brokerages offer a product that we have found not everyone is aware of. Depending on the institution; it could be called a variety of things; BMO first started this program with what they titled a Blend and Extend Mortgage. Essentially it allows you to add a renovation to your mortgage and based on the new appraised value of your home; you are able to borrow your bank’s approved LTV/loan to value ratio against the new appraisal total, NOT your current home’s value. This tool has been a tremendous solution for many of our clients: https://www.ratehub.ca/blended-mortgages
HELOC/Home equity line of credit:
Banks or Mortgage Brokers will provide homeowners a line of credit for interest-only payments that can be used to finance a home renovation:
https://www.bmo.com/main/personal/loans-line-of-credit/line-of-credit/homeowners-line-of-credit/
CHIP Reverse Mortgage:
There are many unfounded myths surrounding this product; we recommend educating yourself on this by calling a Home Equity Bank Rep for a consultation:
https://www.chip.ca/how-reverse-mortgage-works/
Alternative Ideas:
Either as a first resort or last, depending on how one might view this; speaking with your financial planner to see if funds can be raised through current savings, partially cashing out on an insurance policy, downsizing, relocating, or seeking loan assistance from family or friends.
NOTE: Whether or not this is a long term aging in place plan for living out your lifetime in your home, or more of an immediate need due to a recent prognosis or hospital discharge will motivate each individual differently as to which of the solutions listed becomes your choice. https://www.mylifetimehome.ca/finance/
Assistance-based Financing Solutions & Resources:
The retrofits for this category may be more basic depending on available funds, but our goal is to work with you, your family or loved one to create retrofits that at minimum retain access to key areas of the home such as entry, kitchen, bath, and bedroom and allow you or your loved one to live with dignity and autonomy in the safety of an at home environment.
If the above list of ‘Self-Financed Solutions & Resources’ options have been exhausted without any opportunities; we will (on a case by case consideration) provide consultation/resource websites etc for set up and management for either a GoFundMe page, or introductions to a philanthropic arm of a particular disability. IE: MS/MD/SCIA/CP/Rotary Clubs/Veterans Affairs etc.
See Funding Link: https://www.mylifetimehome.ca/finance/
Step 3 - Design & Accessible Selections
Design Retainer
Once you, your family member or loved one feels that our team is a fit for the home modifications required; we begin with a design retainer for the complete design work required. This is based on agreed upon scope and acceptance of pre-determined high-level budgets:
Cost for Designs & Selections: $135/hr.
NOTE: Each project is dependent on extent of scope; an architectural plan for a fully accessible custom home or an extensive renovation for example would be fixed cost vs hourly. Design/product selections however would remain with an hourly format.
Step 1 / Scope Creation:
We refer to as ‘Design Discovery’ and is the most critical stage where we deal direct with you, your family or your loved one. For more advanced cases and progressive disabilities, we can work either in tandem with your O/T or our on-contract O/T’s to ensure what is being designed meets your specific needs. The key is that the design needs to ensure not only immediate needs are reflected, but that the changes can be modified either as more funds become available or if a progressive prognosis requires forward-thinking on how the home needs to function specifically for your needs. Our focus is to serve you and your family or loved one in a way that best meets your needs; if you prefer that a home renovation or modification is completed in phases; our designers will ensure minimal redundancies and cost overlaps will occur. (Ask us how, we do this for many clients)
Step 2 / Accessibility:
Once floor plan designs are approved, our Designer & Selections Coordinator will meet with your and with an O/T (if required on an as-needed basis) to confirm and solidify what accessible specialty products specific to your current and future lifestyle will work best for you.
NOTE: Depending on how proactive or reactive this process is, will depend on how deep we dive into specific modifications; as time will be of essence if this is a reactive/crisis driven modification, vs a proactive approach.
Step 3 / Selections:
This stage is also fondly referred to as the ‘Shopping Stage’. Depending again if this is an aging in place initiative or for a current or progressive disability; we will either bring complete color and design palettes to your home, or escort you to our design studio as well as to vendors & suppliers. This stage can be a very enjoyable segment of the process as it covers each item impacted by the renovation or custom build. That includes, but not limited to; color & paint selections, flooring and tile, millwork & custom built-ins, fireplace selections, flooring, plumbing fixtures, cabinetry, countertops, balusters, furnishings, art work etc.
- The most common push back to making ‘accessible’ home modifications is that 100% of clients we have worked with absolutely do not want their home to look medicinal or clinical. Our focus is to work alongside you to ensure we design both beautiful and fully accessible residences. Depending on an aging in place motivation or currently living with a disability; our goal is for the accessibility modification to be nearly invisible.
- The following Accessibility-compliant products and projects are examples of a great look, yet not clinical or sterile in appearance with the latest voice activated technology examples:
Step 4 / Critical Path Compliance:
The ‘shopping stage’ is time-sensitive, simply because the project cannot begin without the ‘critical-path’ items chosen on time. For example, our team could not begin Accessible Bath plumbing roughins prior to drywall without design, selections and placement heights completed. For this reason, Our Designers have developed a time-line and product selections process template to ensure adherence to the schedule
Step 4 - Renovation/Modifications or Custom Build Process:
As a single point of contact service offering; we begin with a conversation with you, your family or loved one prior to start date of your accessible renovation or custom home to confirm level of service requirements. We can provide complete organization, packing, moving, storage and then unpacking and set up as well as complete staging if desired.
Once the level of moving services are confirmed and we’ve discussed your intent to either relocate or remain in your home during renovations; a final pre-walk of your home is done to carefully mark those items you wish to save, donate or recycle.
Prior to the flurry of activity associated with start date; we provide introductory assistance to access ‘https://buildertrend.com/’ which is our online/cloud-based Customer Portal. This is where your project calendar, all selections, designs and change scopes are stored and confirmed. We also determine your preferred points of contact; methods and desired frequency of communication you wish to receive during your project.
As mentioned; a flurry of activity is normally associated with the first day of construction. Complete floor, wall and living space protection measures will commence, including significant dust entrapment procedures. All plumbing and electrical areas impacted by the renovation will be disconnected.
This is what you can expect once construction begins:
- The creation of temporary living/kitchen areas if home is to be occupied during renovations.
- Complete protection of all surfaces; flooring, furnishings, poly-draping to enclose construction zones etc.
- Consistent, open and transparent communication is vital to our collective success; Pinnacle’s Site Supervisor will establish your preferred method (by phone, text or email) and your desired consistency (daily, weekly and time of day).
- Our Site Supervisor will be monitoring activity and quality control daily; certain stages may require more than one visit per day.
- Only WCB cleared trades and suppliers are allowed on site. In addition, our Site Supervisor will consistently be monitoring and ensuring site safety protocols are being followed.
- City building code inspections at specific stages of the project will be required which include foundation, framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation and final occupancy inspections.
- Milestone walk through times will be required to ensure all items are as your client-patient envisioned. An example is electrical installation; we always engage in client walk through detail with our electrical team as well as our designer to ensure these details are correctly positioned; specifically for degree of debilitation; proper receptacle and switch heights are critical.
- Continual and proactive communication with you, your family member or loved one as well as caregivers if desired throughout this entire process.
Step 5 - Move-in Celebration
Upon completion of your accessible renovation; our process for many years has been to bring all partners that contributed to the final outcome with what we call a Turnover Celebration. Along with you the homeowner, we invite all stake holders in for a celebratory event as you, your family member or loved one officially moves into your newly modified home. Our experience is that this can be a very emotionally charged event; as for some, this is the first time they are moving into a space that actually works wonderfully and completely for them; celebrating along with you is our greatest joy as we welcome you, your family member or loved one ‘Home’!
A final component to this move-in celebration is to also conduct a final walk-through, creating a list of any outstanding items requiring attention. We also review our warranty manual once walk-through is completed.
At the completion of each project, we also welcome feedback from our customers. We have Client Insight Inc, (a third-party Customer Review Company) hear your perspective via a phone call on how our team performed. The feedback is imperative for our entire team to learn how we can better serve our customers. See our Customer Reviews here: https://www.pinnaclerenovations.ca/about-us/customer-reviews