If you own a lot in Richmond and want a new house, a house with a suite, or a small multiplex, you need two things from a designer: a home that fits how your family lives, and a drawing set the City of Richmond will accept. Richmond is different from most of Metro Vancouver. Almost the whole city sits on low, flat delta land behind dikes, so floor heights, soils and drainage shape the design long before the kitchen layout does. We design custom homes and prepare complete permit drawings for Richmond lots, and we deal with those site conditions from the first sketch.
What makes designing a house in Richmond different
Richmond lots are flat, but they are not simple. These are the conditions we check on every Richmond project before we draw a single room.
Flood construction level
Richmond’s flood plain rules set a minimum elevation for habitable floors, usually called the flood construction level. The required height depends on where your lot is, and it is often well above the existing grade of an older house. That one number decides a lot: how many steps lead to the front door, whether the garage sits lower than the living space, how the overall height limit is used up, and how the yard is graded back down to the street and the neighbours. We confirm the required level for your address with the City at the start, because guessing wrong can force a redesign late in the process.
Soft soils and a high water table
Much of Richmond is built on silts, sands and, in places, peat, with groundwater close to the surface. That is why so few Richmond homes have full basements. A geotechnical engineer normally reports on the soil, and their recommendations can change the foundation, the need for preloading the site, and the budget. We plan around a crawlspace or slab on grade unless the engineer says otherwise.
Aircraft noise near YVR
Richmond’s Official Community Plan identifies aircraft noise areas around Vancouver International Airport. Depending on where your lot falls, the City may ask for an acoustic report and for walls, roofs and windows built to reduce indoor noise, and some areas limit the kind of housing allowed. A lot in Burkeville on Sea Island and a lot in Terra Nova can face very different requirements, so we check the map for your property early.
Trees, the ALR and zoning
Richmond protects trees above a certain size, so removing one usually needs a permit and an arborist’s input, and retained trees limit where the house can go. A large part of east Richmond is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, where house size and placement follow farm-specific rules, much like the farm parcels we deal with when designing rural homes in Langley Township. On standard residential lots, Richmond updated its zoning after the province’s small-scale multi-unit housing legislation (Bill 44), so many lots that once allowed one house plus a suite may now allow more units. What your lot actually allows depends on its size, zone and location, and we confirm that with the City before you commit to a design.
What we design in Richmond
- New custom homes on single-detached lots in neighbourhoods such as Steveston, Seafair, Broadmoor, Terra Nova and Garden City.
- Homes with a secondary suite or a coach house, where the zoning allows it.
- Duplexes and small multiplexes under Richmond’s updated zoning.
- Additions and major renovations to existing Richmond houses, including raising or reworking older homes.
- Permit drawing packages for owners and builders who already have a concept and need it turned into a set the City will review.
Our general custom home design service explains how we work on any new house. This page focuses on what changes when the lot is in Richmond.
How a Richmond project moves from idea to permit
- Lot review. We look at your title, survey, zoning, flood construction level, aircraft noise area, ALR status and trees, and tell you plainly what the lot can hold.
- Consultants. We help you bring in the surveyor, geotechnical engineer, arborist and, where needed, an acoustic consultant, so their findings shape the design instead of arriving after it.
- Concept design. Floor plans and massing that respect the raised floor level, setbacks and height, with options to compare.
- Design development. We refine the layout, exterior and window plan, and coordinate with the structural engineer and energy advisor on BC Energy Step Code requirements.
- Permit drawings. Site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections, grading and the details the City asks for, assembled into a complete set.
- Submission and City comments. We submit to the City of Richmond and answer review comments until the permit is ready to issue.
Our design process page walks through each stage in more detail.
Have a Richmond lot and a question about what it can hold? Call us at 778-488-8553.
Common mistakes we see on Richmond lots
- Designing first, checking the floor level later. A plan drawn at the old house’s floor height can lose a storey’s worth of usable height once the flood construction level is applied.
- Assuming a basement is possible. On most Richmond lots it is not practical, and counting on basement space throws off the whole floor area plan.
- Skipping the geotechnical report until the end. Foundation recommendations can change the structure and the cost, so they belong at the start.
- Forgetting the neighbours’ drainage. Raising your lot means water has to be managed on your property. The City checks this, and so do the neighbours.
Who this service is for
This service is for Richmond homeowners ready to replace an older house, families planning a home with a suite for parents or rental income, and small builders who need dependable permit drawings. Take a typical case. A family in Seafair has a 1970s rancher sitting a few steps below the required floor level and wants a new two-storey house with a ground-level suite. The first conversation is about how high the main floor has to be, where the suite entrance can go without a long ramp, and whether a protected tree in the back yard limits the footprint.
If you are weighing a multiplex rather than a single house, our guide to multiplex construction costs and budgeting covers what drives the numbers. You can also see how our sister studio approaches multiplex design on an existing lot.
Frequently asked questions
Can I build a basement in Richmond?
Occasionally, but it is uncommon. The high water table, soft soils and flood plain rules make basements costly and often impractical. Most new Richmond homes use a crawlspace or slab on grade. Your geotechnical engineer and the City’s requirements for your lot decide what is realistic.
How high will my new main floor have to be?
It depends on your lot’s location within Richmond’s flood plain areas. We confirm the required flood construction level for your address with the City before design starts, and a site survey shows how far that is above your current grade.
Can I put more than one home on my Richmond lot?
Many Richmond lots now allow more than one unit because of the province’s small-scale multi-unit housing changes, but the number depends on lot size, zoning and location. Lots in the Agricultural Land Reserve follow separate rules. We check your specific lot and explain the options.
How long does it take to get a building permit in Richmond?
It varies with the City’s workload, how complete the application is, and whether other approvals are needed first, such as tree permits or servicing. A complete, well-coordinated drawing set with consultant reports included avoids the back-and-forth that adds the most time.
What does the BC Energy Step Code mean for my new house?
New homes have to meet an energy performance step set by the BC Building Code and the City. In practice that means an energy advisor models the house and tests it for airtightness. We coordinate with the energy advisor during design, so wall assemblies and windows are chosen to meet the target rather than fixed after the fact.
Start your Richmond home design
Tell us your address and what you want to build, and we will start with an honest read of what your lot allows. We reply within one business day.