Every custom home follows the same arc; what varies is how honestly it's scheduled at the start. Here is a realistic month-by-month map of a Vancouver build — including the overlaps a good team engineers on purpose.
The 24-month map
What happens in each phase
Zoning, services, budget range, schedule. The cheapest month of the whole project — and the one that de-risks every other.
Concept to construction drawings, priced as it's drawn so design and budget never diverge.
Filed complete, answered fast. This phase sets your calendar more than construction does — see our municipality-by-municipality guide.
Excavation to finishes with staged quality inspections, weekly photo reports and a dedicated project manager.
Deficiency-free walkthrough, documentation, warranty registration — then we stay reachable.
Where schedules actually slip
- Incomplete permit applications — the single most common cause; a rejected intake restarts a months-long queue.
- Late decisions — a tile choice made after rough-in is a change order; the same choice made in design is free. We front-load every selection.
- Weather and trades are real but overrated — with a vetted trade bench and sequencing discipline they cost days, not seasons.
Feasibility gives you a written schedule for your lot and municipality — free.
✱ Representative planning figures for Metro Vancouver, mid-2026 — assembled from municipal permitting schedules, the BC Energy Step Code framework and Armacan project records. Every lot and scope is different: treat these as orientation, not a quote, and confirm against your property in a free consultation.
