Many owners want to buy some of their own lights, taps, tile or appliances. It can work well on a Burnaby custom home when four things are settled early: the delivery date, the spec sheet, who checks the boxes, and who warrants what.
Most owners we build for in Burnaby want to buy some things themselves. A pendant they found on a trip. A freestanding tub from a showroom sale. Tile they have wanted for years. We are happy to install owner-supplied items, and on most of our projects there are a few.
When owner-supplied items cause trouble, the cause is usually one of four gaps: the item arrives after the trade needed it, nobody had the installation sheet when the wall was framed, nobody opened the box until it was too late to return, or nobody wrote down who warrants what. This post covers how we close each gap on a custom home in Burnaby, New Westminster or Coquitlam.
What owners usually supply
The list is similar on most houses:
- decorative light fixtures, especially pendants and chandeliers
- plumbing fixtures: taps, shower systems, tubs, toilets, sinks
- tile and stone
- appliances
- cabinet and door hardware
- specialty items such as a wood stove insert, a mirror or a vanity
Some of these are simple. A cabinet pull goes on at the end and has nothing behind the wall. Others reach back into the framing, the plumbing or the electrical rough-in, and those need planning months before the item is installed.
Gap one: the date it has to be on site
Every item on the house has a date when a trade needs it. That date is set by the construction stage that builds what sits behind the item, which can be months before the item itself goes in.
A shower is the clearest example. The trim, the part you see, goes on near the end. But the valve body behind the wall goes in at plumbing rough-in, before insulation and drywall. For most shower systems the trim only fits the maker's own valve body, so the brand and model have to be chosen, and the valve has to be on site, at rough-in. The same applies to wall-mounted taps, in-wall toilet carriers, body sprays and thermostatic valves.
Lights follow the same pattern. A recessed fixture or a heavy chandelier needs its housing or its blocking at electrical rough-in. The decorative pendant itself can arrive later, but only if we already know its weight, its canopy size and where it hangs.
We put every owner-supplied item on the selections schedule with two dates: the date we need the spec sheet, and the date we need the item. Most lead-time problems on owner-supplied items start with an order placed in the week the item was needed. Order by the date that gets it here in time.
Gap two: the spec sheet before rough-in
The installation sheet from the manufacturer tells us what the item needs from the house. For a tap, that is the rough-in height, the supply size and the valve. For a freestanding tub, it is the drain location, the floor structure under a filled tub, and the space around it. For a range, it is the circuit, the gas line if there is one, and the cabinet cut-out. For a pendant, it is the weight and the mounting.
We ask for that sheet before the stage that builds what sits behind the item. Our post on choosing plumbing fixtures covers the plumbing side in more detail.
Without the sheet, the trade has to guess. A guess that is off by 50 mm on a wall-mounted tap means opening a finished wall.
Gap three: the certification mark on anything electrical
This is the gap owners are least likely to know about.
Section 21(1) of BC's Electrical Safety Regulation requires electrical equipment to carry the mark or label of a certification agency accredited by the Standards Council of Canada, or an approval label issued under the Safety Standards Act. Technical Safety BC keeps a list of the accepted certification marks.
This matters most for lights and fans bought online from sellers outside Canada. A fixture can look identical to a certified one and have no accepted mark. When it arrives on site with no mark, our electrician cannot install it, and it becomes a problem at the electrical inspection.
Before you order anything that plugs in or wires in, look for the certification mark in the product photos or ask the seller for it. If the listing does not show one, choose a different fixture.
Gap four: checking the box on arrival
Most suppliers give a limited time to report damage in shipping. If a vanity top arrives cracked and sits in its crate in the garage for six weeks, the crack is found on the day of install, and the window to claim it has often closed.
So we agree, in writing, who opens each delivery and when. On our projects we usually check owner-supplied deliveries the day they arrive: model number, finish, quantity, parts and visible damage. We photograph the contents and send the photos to the owner the same day. If something is wrong, the owner deals with the supplier while there is still time to get a replacement before the trade needs it.
Storage is part of this. A house under construction has limited dry, locked space, and tile and appliances take up room. We plan where each delivery goes before it arrives. We also check that stored items are covered under the right insurance, which our post on insurance during a custom home build explains.
Buy the item you love. Just give us the spec sheet early, tell us when it lands, and let us check the box the day it arrives.
Icon Projects Team
Appliances need their own plan
Appliances are the owner-supplied item we see most often, and they touch more trades than any other. A panel-ready fridge needs its cabinet built to the maker's dimensions and its door panels made by the cabinet shop. A wall oven needs a cut-out sized to the model. An induction range needs its circuit sized from its nameplate, and on an all-electric house the electrical designer includes it in the load calculation before the service size is chosen.
So we ask for the exact model numbers of every appliance before the cabinet drawings are finished and before the electrical design is complete. The appliances themselves can arrive near the end of the build. Buying them early at a sale is fine if there is dry, locked space to keep them, and if the boxes are opened and checked on arrival, because the supplier's return window is counted from the purchase or delivery date, depending on the supplier.
If a model is discontinued between ordering and installation, the replacement has to fit the same opening and the same circuit. Check that with us before you accept a substitute.
Who warrants what
This is the question to settle in writing before anything is ordered.
The product is covered by its manufacturer's warranty. That warranty belongs to the owner, who bought it. If a tap cartridge fails in year two, the manufacturer's warranty is the path to a replacement part.
The installation is the builder's work. If the same tap leaks because a connection was made badly, that is on us.
What each builder's own warranty and the home warranty on the house say about owner-supplied items is something to ask directly. Ask the question before you sign, and get the answer in the contract. Keep every receipt, spec sheet and warranty card, and put them in your house manual at handover, because the manufacturer will ask for them when you make a claim.
Items we suggest owners leave to the builder
Some items are easier when we supply them, because they are tied to other work in the house:
- Shower valve bodies and in-wall carriers. These must match the trim and go in at rough-in. We are happy for the owner to choose the brand and model; we order the part so it arrives on the right day.
- Waterproofing and tile setting materials. The membrane, the setting materials and the tile have to work together. If the owner supplies the tile, we still supply everything behind and under it.
- Anything that is part of the home's energy or ventilation design. Range hoods, exhaust fans and heat pump equipment are chosen with the mechanical designer, because they affect airflow and the energy model. Our post on range hoods and makeup air explains why the hood is part of the ventilation design.
Owners can supply everything else on the list, as long as the four gaps above are closed.
How we set it up on a Burnaby project
Before construction starts, we list every owner-supplied item in the contract. Each line gets a spec-sheet date, a delivery date, the person who receives it, and a note on warranty. The list goes on the selections schedule and comes up at the weekly site meeting until the last item is installed.
If an owner decides to supply something new partway through the build, we treat it as a change and add it to the list with its own dates. Our post on how change orders work covers that process.
Owners who follow this process usually end up with the pieces they wanted most in the house and no gaps in the schedule. The key is to decide which items you will buy yourself before the framing drawings are finished, so each one is planned into the wall it needs.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I buy my own light fixtures and plumbing fixtures for a custom home in Burnaby?
- Yes. Most custom home builders in Greater Vancouver will install owner-supplied items. The build goes smoothly when the contract lists each owner-supplied item, the date it must be on site, and who is responsible for checking it on arrival. On our Burnaby projects we ask for the manufacturer's installation sheet for each item before rough-in, because it decides what goes inside the wall.
- Do light fixtures bought online need a certification mark to be installed in BC?
- Yes. Section 21(1) of BC's Electrical Safety Regulation requires electrical equipment to bear the mark or label of a certification agency accredited by the Standards Council of Canada, or an approval label issued under the Safety Standards Act. Technical Safety BC publishes the list of accepted marks. A fixture with no accepted mark is a problem at inspection, so check the mark before you order.
- Who warrants an owner-supplied item if it fails after move-in?
- The product itself is covered by its manufacturer's warranty, which the owner holds. The builder is responsible for its own installation work. Ask your builder, in writing and before you order, how their warranty and the home warranty on your house treat owner-supplied items, and keep every receipt and warranty card in your house manual.
- When do owner-supplied items need to be on site?
- Each item has its own date, set by the construction stage that needs it. Anything with a part behind the wall, such as a shower valve, a wall-mounted tap or a recessed fixture, needs that part or its spec sheet at rough-in. Finish items such as trims, pendants and hardware are needed at the finishing stage. We put each owner-supplied item on the selections schedule with its date.
- What should I do when an owner-supplied item arrives on site?
- Open it and check it against the order the day it arrives, or have your builder do it on your behalf if that is agreed in writing. Look for damage, missing parts and the right model and finish. Most suppliers have a limited window for reporting damage, and a crack found at installation weeks later is often outside it.
- Does supplying my own materials slow down a custom home build?
- It can if an item arrives late or arrives wrong, because the trade waiting for it cannot finish that stage. It stays on schedule when every item has a delivery date tied to the schedule, a spec sheet in hand before rough-in, and someone assigned to check it on arrival. The delays we see come from missing dates and missing paperwork.
- Should I buy my own appliances for a custom home, or let the builder order them?
- Either can work, but the model numbers have to be chosen early either way. A panel-ready fridge needs its cabinet built to the maker's dimensions, a wall oven needs a cut-out sized to the model, and an induction range needs its circuit sized from its nameplate before the electrical load calculation sets the service size. Buying early at a sale is fine as long as there is dry, locked storage and the boxes are checked on arrival within the supplier's return window.
- What items are better left for the builder to supply on a custom home?
- Shower valve bodies and in-wall carriers, because they must match the trim and go in at rough-in on a schedule the builder controls. Waterproofing and tile-setting materials, because the membrane and the tile have to work as one system even when the owner supplies the tile itself. And anything tied to the home's ventilation or energy design, such as range hoods and heat pump equipment, because those are chosen with the mechanical designer as part of the airflow and energy model.
