Westrock roof deck in progress

Victoria’s City Councillors have been busy amending the Zoning Bylaws to prohibit Roof Decks. In most Cities Roof Decks are a welcome private oasis. At SOS Design we have incorporated several roof top gardens in our designs. Green roofs provide many benefits – added insulation for sound and temperature, reduced runoff, longer lasting roof membranes – to name just a few. The new zoning bylaws will prevent access and therefore make green roof designs less attractive and more difficult to maintain. So far, the Restricted Small Lot Zone R1-S2 has been spared – but not for long. The R1-S2 zone is a very small lot with little private green space left. The roof decks, provides a welcome private outdoor space.

City of Victoria has developed a policy to allow Garden Suites on properties of Single Family Homes. SOS Design has developed a Garden Suite that is in compliance with the intent of the bylaws. This 37m² (400 ft²) one bedroom suite is available as pre-fabricated kits-of-parts from Pacific Homes at an estimated cost of less than $50.000.  For further information contact Ray Green at Pacific Homes or SOS Design. A Garden Suite can provide a great income and increase the value of your property.

Belron, the parent company of Speedy Glass, contracted SOS Design to facilitate their move. Hard to find locations in the auto repair district it took over a year to secure a new lease. The new facility also operates Interlock. SOS Design has, over the past couple of years, assisted Belron with screening new locations in North Vancouver, Vancouver and Victoria.

SOS Design planned this 2 storey 112 m² addition to a  typical bungalow style home in Victoria BC.

Our client purchased a home that had been renovated by  its previous owner without a permit. There were several infractions: the internal  stair had been removed and an illegal suite was created in what used to be the  garage.

Before a permit could be granted the owner had to comply  with the city’s “clean hands policy for planning approvals“.

Our client had to obtain a building permit for the illegal  work and a parking variance for the loss of the garage before any new building  permit could be considered. See illegal work 12.09.2011

The project was constructed by the owner and completed 2010.

Mark McDougall has created the perfect tool to join the interests of sellers and buyers with an innovative use of technology.
The aim was to create a customized strategy that removes the stress of selling or finding a new home. Here, for the first time, sellers can see what buyers are looking for. Mark will help to formulate and capture the essential wishes for a committed buyer.  (visit homesandbuyers.ca)

BC Hydro is replacing our current digital electric meter with new “smart meters”.

The cost to the users is over $1 billion. The claim is that it will save $1.6 billion over 20 years in theft and labour. Currently there is no way to know how much electricity is being stolen.

In many older homes the power entry is located near a bedroom. This can cause harmful exposure to electromagnetic radiation while sleeping. It is important that new homes are designed to prevent unnecessary exposure.

The new meter will cause additional exposure by its capacity to transmit data similar to a cell phone call.

BC hydro claims that you can save up to 15% if you monitor your consumption. Only the most careless users would be able to see that benefit if they drastically changed their habits.

It is very disappointing that the new meter will not allow for buy-back of the electricity produced by wind power and pv panels, and there is no provision for off-peak time rate reduction.

Hardly anything to complain about.

New 212 m² – 3 br. house is now in construction, to be completed early 2012.