BOWEN ISLAND VIEW HOME

Bowen Island is a beautiful spot only a short ferry ride off the coast of West Vancouver. Known by the locals to be quiet and quaint with a tight community it’s a great place to settle down if you want to be away from the city yet still feel connected. And those living on Bowen with a view of the ocean, surrounded by wilderness know just how special their little Island really is.

But if the perfect property isn’t on the market what’s a young family to do with hopes of living on Bowen? The answer was simple for our clients: purchase an undeveloped plot of land on a natural bluff and build your own dream home with a view!

The task for us right off the start wasn’t so simple though. Electrical services stopped a hundred feet down the main road, we had to work with BC Hydro to extend the primary grid and get power to the property. Planning and design took months. Execution wasn’t quick either. And once we had the primary transformer installed and electrical service connected inside a shed at the property entrance, it was another 250 feet underground up a rocky, curving driveway to get to the building site. Local contractors helped with ground work and two more transformers stepped up and stepped down the voltage to make it all possible.

A building site like this required plenty of temporary power points for all the crews and equipment. But despite the challenges our electrical rough-in went smoothly. We’ve worked with the GC and most of these subtrades on the mainland for years already and that familiarity made coordinating remotely much easier. Most of the plumbing, mechanical, and electrical equipment like our transformer and main panel were setup in a storage room underneath the main floor living space. The open floor plan and exposed structural beams in the kitchen ceiling, not to mention the massive windows and minimal wall spaces meant we had to get creative with running cables between floors and devices. But we got it done.

Finishing was a mix of modern and traditional lighting elements. Recessed LED panels were used for the majority of the area lighting while our exposed pipework is highlighted in the kitchen ceiling, creating an visually industrial theme with the large beams. Nuheat underfloor heating in the bathrooms will keep the toes warm during those colder seaside months. And a large fan in the raised ceiling will cool down both the living room and the open master bedroom level in the summertime.

This project was fun to work on and coordinating materials and electricians to and from Bowen Island each day was a great experience. Everyone on our team would do it again. Breaking for lunch on a sunny day meant looking out at the open ocean and enjoying the sounds of nature. Which is exactly why our clients chose this beautiful spot to build their custom home.