Instagram

We as a company are trying hard to distinguish our self from all the other building companies out there in the market...after getting feedback from our clients, we came to the conclusion that the best way to do that is to improve communication and collaboration.  Undoubtedly, you saw in our post a couple months ago that we started with a new software program that has been a HUGE success....our Guinea pig clients are loving it!
Another way we have been trying to improve is to get ourselves (and our work) out there! As a result you might start to see Hickory Homes pop up on a number of social media platforms.  We are on INSTAGRAM as @hickoryhomes (so go look for and follow us there!).

We are also partnering up with HOUZZ in the new year and will be "popping" up on the site...we have had a Houzz account for many years and you can find us there under Hickory Homes Ltd.  Houzz is a great tool we use with clients to communicate ideas and get different and unique style ideas for our custom homes.  If you haven't been on Houzz before, you should definitely get over there right away!

Fun Things!

Earlier this fall we were approached by the show Income Property (who are shooting some episodes in PEC) to do some work at one of their sites.  This isn't something that we would typically take on but it piqued our interest, and we are always open to new experiences and opportunities....so we said "why not"!
So, for the last 3 weeks have been working with the host, homeowners, producers and designers to help renovate an "Income Property" for the show.  It has been quite and experience so far!
Excited to see it air in the new season!
Obviously we don't want to spoil anything so we will not be posting any details until after it airs....but here is a little teaser shot for you!

Kyle with the homeowners (Kate and John) and Income Property host Scott McGillivray

Welbanks Subdivision - Late Fall Update

After a bit of a delay we got our client into her home in Welbanks Meadows! We love how all the finishes turned out.  Especially her fireplaces!

The units across the road from her are moving along as scheduled and we are working with their respective owners to create interiors that are suited to their style and taste!

Here is a little preview of some of those interior selections...

 Lot 61 - Kitchen Finishes

Lot 63 - Finish Details



Late Fall Progress - Wellington

With all this great weather we have been getting lots done this fall.  Luckily we haven't seen much of the white stuff yet (aside from the light dusting yesterday morning!)

We are making progress at our Wellington job.  This project is really interesting, our client wanted it to look like a "Modern Barn" both on the outside and the inside.  We will be starting the exterior cladding in the next week or two.  Our client chose a really interesting combination of materials for the exterior...it will be red, metal, architectural panels on the 2 storey section (reminiscent of a big red barn....but modern).  The single storey section will have wood siding stained to look like weathered barn board.  The windows are black aluminum, commercial windows, which give them a very streamlined, modern look both on the exterior and the interior.
It may not look like much has been done since the last update, but lots has been happening inside...lots of interesting features which I will get into next time! 

Fall Updates

Its been great working weather here in Prince Edward County and our crews are getting lots done.
We are moving quite along with several projects!

Wellington:
If you have driven through Wellington the last few weeks you will see lots of action on the east end! The new Gas station/Tim Hortons is getting really close to completion and right across the road is our "Modern Barn" house, all framed up and ready to start looking like a Barn!
We are a little jealous of the view from the top deck!

 

 

 

Welbanks Meadows:

 

The unit we started in July is in the finishing stages and should be complete in the next couple weeks.  The push was on for this unit and our guys really came through with finishing! We are lucky to have a great crew who can come through in a pinch.

 

 

 

Wayne was the only one willing to be on camera!

 

 

The other side of this semi-detached unit is still available! Give us a call or email us for more information.

 



 

 

We also started the 2 units across the road (both are already sold!).  We have been working with these clients on interior finishes. Luckily, we are well on our way and should have no delays with these homes! These are our final 2 semi-detached units in the subdivision.

 

 

Morrison Point:

Our job in Morrison Point is also moving along nicely, we are all drywalled and ready for finishing.  The clients have opted to paint themselves, so we have stepped out for a week to allow them to complete that!

 

 

Our House:

We are moving in really shortly! Here are a few teasers....please excuse the excessive use of herringbone...I may have gone a touch overboard!

 

 





New Technology, New Frontiers!

Check this out!

It's a screen shot of my IPhone.....Do you see it??? At the middle left hand side of the screen... Its a Hickory Homes App!!! WHAT???

We are so excited to be trying out a new online builder software that will allow us to have a better grasp on all our jobsites, schedules and better avenue to communicate with clients (especially out of town clients).

If it all works out as planned,  our clients will be given a login and password which will give them access to their own personal jobsite website! AND (if they choose) will be able to download the Hickory Homes app to their smartphone!! SO COOL!

We are on a trial basis with 2 of our clients...hopefully up and running with ALL future clients mid-autumn!

Also....HAVE YOU SEEN OUR NEW WEBSITE!!!!!!! Get over there now! (OOPS its not quite up yes as of Tuesday at 4:43! Hopefully tomorrow...you know what, just keep checking it until its up!)

I think you can tell by all the caps that we are EXCITED.

August Updates

Finally a little progress in Wellington! We have a hole and we have selected exterior finishes....we have begun on all the interior details and I am SUPER excited to show you what we have come up with....but not yet (awww so mean!)

Our Morrison Point project is well under way and we have been working with the clients to hammer out all the interior details and finishes.

The Semi-Detached units in Picton have been very delayed ....not too happy about that, but some things are beyond our control.  We have walls and a roof....just waiting on trades to finish their part so we can get in there and get caught up!

Update - DenOuden Residence

We finally got the basement poured after the rain stopped in mid July, so our guys have been working like crazy to get us caught up and on schedule!

We have made all of our selections for the exterior:

 ...kitchen and bathrooms are designed and ordered:

 ...and design details have been specified:

Now everything comes together, stay tuned for progress pictures!

July Update....a little late!

Well the rain went away here in PEC and we are into our busiest time of year! We have 6 projects on the go, here is a little update on a few of those and one very cool recently completed project.

We just completed a commercial project for Henderson Williams LLP and it is stunning (if we do say so ourselves).  They decided (after a little convincing) to stick with the exposed concrete, brick and duct work ....and just look at the final product:

We are moving right along at our Morrison Point project, this week we are getting windows and roofing....these pictures were taken last week. Next week's pictures will be dramatically different.

We have another hole in the ground in Welbanks Subdivision here in Picton.  We have been busy selling the few semi-detached units that we have left on this street!  Only 1 unit is still available, and it is the west side of this unit!  We are just finishing up the design/permit stage on the final 2 units, which should break ground later this summer.  These pictures were taken last week, we have walls now!!

Rain, Rain, Go away.....and don't bother coming back another day!

There are so many factors that go into building a house, especially right at the beginning stages when there are so many pieces of the puzzle which must come together to maintain good flow during the building process.  We sub-contract most of our framing and concrete work so we are at the mercy of our trades and their schedules for the first month or so, windows and roofing materials can take a little time to come in so we are sometimes delayed a bit waiting for windows, clients make changes to layout or finishes which can result in re-framing or re-ordering materials.... but in the case of our current builds, it has been the weather....the weather has not been on our side for the last month...and I don't think the tourist in Prince Edward County are liking all the rain either!

We were almost closed in at County Road 1 (our own house) when is started raining, and raining and raining.  That meant that the ground was too soggy to drive a full concrete truck on, which means that our basement didn't get poured, which means that the basement windows didn't get installed, which means that we cannot proceed with any of the rough ins for plumbing or electrical, which means....well you get the picture!  When it comes to building a house ONE thing effects EVERYTHING!  So our house looks pretty much the same as it did 3 weeks ago in the last post.....



We have been able to make a little progress on the house at Morrison Point.  We have a few days reprieve from the rain in the last couple weeks and our framers have been able to work intermittently. The drainage there is pretty good on this site, so we got our backfill done as well.

 

 

Hopefully we will have a little more progress to show in our next post!

June Updates

As promised, some updated information and pictures of current projects!

Morrison Point - New Build

We have a hole and foundation at this project in Morrison Point.  Its going to be a bit of a hike for all our suppliers but we think this location is lovely.  If you haven't ventured into the southern parts of Prince Edward County you should take a drive, you won't be disappointed!

Wellington - New Build

We have been working with a client and architect on this interesting and exciting custom home in Wellington.  The idea here is Modern Barn/Farmhouse. Love the concept for the exterior and I can't wait to get into the finish selections for this job!

Our House

We have a roof and windows at our house! We've fallen in love with the porch...soooo much better than we could have imagined.  For a 2300 sq ft house it looks HUGE....I'm blaming that one on the angled garage.
Roofing and mechanical work (ie. plumbing rough in, electrical rough in and HVAC) are all happening this week....if only it would stop raining long enough for things to dry up.  We can't pour our basement or do any grading until the ground dries out a bit!

We're Growing!

We are excited to be expanding and we are looking to add some new members to our team!  It takes a number of people to create the beautiful homes that we build every day and each person in our company has a role to play.  When you flip through our Gallery and Blog and look at our past projects you will see all the beautiful details that were designed by our designer, arranged and ordered by our office support and then executed by our trades, skilled carpenters and site team. There is not one person who IS Hickory Homes we are most definitely a collaborative work environment.  If this sounds like the type of place you could work than we are looking to fill the following positions:

Experienced Carpenter - Full Time (Wages negotiable and based on experience)
This person should have the following traits:
- ready and able to work on all aspects of the building process (specifically finishing: trim work, tiling etc)
- have their own tools and be able to transport themselves to any job site in and around the County
- a good, positive and problem solving attitude is an asset!
- good knowledge of the building process and building code

Office Support - Part Time (with possibility of Full Time) Wages negotiable
This person should be:
- Organized, self motivated and flexible
- A good people person and have a positive attitude
- Computer proficiant
- Knowledge of the building industry would be an asset (but not necessary)
- Basic accounting skills would be an asset (but not necessary)


If you feel you, or someone you know, would enjoy working at Hickory Homes please send a resume to kyle@hickoryhomes.ca or call 613-922-9276 to schedule a meeting.

Wellbanks Meadows #4 - Finishing

We are in the end stages of another build in the Welbanks Subdivision in Picton.  We will be starting the next set of Semi-Detatched units this week.
The new owners of this semi decided to go with lots of different colours, and I think the wall colours in the living room co-ordinate nicely with the tile flooring in the kitchen area.

Cant wait to show you the finished product in a couple weeks!

May Madness

We hare busy finishing up all the outside items that didn't get completed for our winter builds and moving on to some new projects that will begin in the next few weeks.

Earlier this month we started our own house and we are getting pretty excited about it! Its fun to be our own clients....I never have to persuade/convince myself to do something a little different! And because it is our own house we can go into detail about the design and build process.

The process of designing the layout of this house began not only with assessing our own needs for the house but also assessing the resale potential for any layout...we are in the habit of building and selling our own homes as well as homes for our clients!
This house is a 2300 square foot family home on 2 levels, but we have designed it so that potential future buyers could have one story living....master and laundry hook up are all on the first floor.  We decided to go with angled ceilings in the upstairs bedrooms and a loft stair area to give it that "old house" character.  The exterior is a farmhouse style with a big front veranda (VERY excited about the front porch!!).

Here is was last week

Front Elevation

Dining Room

Living Room

Kitchen

Main Floor Hallway