Design Services, Drafting Services &
Building Permit Services
Mark H Smith Designs Inc. provides design services, drafting services and building permit services as one cohesive package of services for each project. Combining these services enables each project to completely work through all of the necessary stages to become a meaningful and useful design with a coherent drawing package and building permit approvals that enable it to begin construction.
Design services include:
Designing newly constructed custom single family homes, multi-family homes, or providing alterations to an existing building by designing custom renovations and additions that best meet each project’s goals.
Designing building conversions from single family homes into multiple family homes as legal secondary suites, duplexes, and triplexes depending on the goals for the project.
Designing garden suites, laneway suites, garages and workshops.
Drafting Services include:
Drafting services provide detailed development and coordination with a network of specialized professionals to prepare a drawing package that is able to obtain all necessary building permit approvals to being construction.
Building permit services include:
Preparation and coordination of all applications filings and communications with the building department throughout the processing of a project’s permit package. We also offer building permit services for case preparation, application filing and representation whenever a minor variance is required by the Committee of Adjustment. Our building permit services also include printing and delivery of a complete set of the permit package after it has been released from the building department.
From Possibilities to Plan to Permits
Each project will work through an initial Possibilities stage, and then proceed onto a Plans stage, and finally will complete a Permits stage where it will obtain its necessary approvals and become ready to proceed with construction.
1) Possibilities - Design Services Stage
We start every project with an in person meeting to go over the project’s possibilities and to begin understanding what you envision for this future building project. Things like property location, building type and how your dreams can be made into a reality with the budget you’ve set aside are discussed in detail. We then process all of this gathered information and prepare design proposals. At this point, a design presentation meeting is arranged where we navigate the pro’s, con’s and rough budgets for the project’s design options. Together, we then work through these options to determine which design makes the most sense for you. We iterate the design with you as many times as it takes until a final design is satisfyingly selected as ready to proceed onto the plans stage of the project.
2) Plans - Drafting Services Stage
Once we have worked through options and a final design you are excited to build has been selected, the design is submitted for an initial city zoning review(when applicable) to confirm its compliance. We then coordinate with structural engineers and mechanical HVAC designers to develop solutions wherever necessary. As these additional components are being calculated and determined, the remainder of the drawings and details are compiled for the building permit construction drawings package.
3) Permits - Building Permit Services Stage
Once the building permit drawing package is prepared, we proceed to complete all the necessary application filings and communications with your municipal building department. If the project has additional requirements such as obtaining a minor variance at a Committee of Adjustment, we can provide representation for the project and lead it through this additional planning department requirement prior to obtaining the final building permits. We keep working with the building department and any additional governing authorities until your project has received the building permits and necessary permissions it needs in order to get started with the construction stage.