Check out this cool East Vancouver Shed. Here is one I recently food near Woodland Park just off commercial Commercial Drive.
I think the part I really like about his building is the LARGE overhangs and the use of open joint siding. I spoke with the owner and they have separated the building into two areas. One for small item storage; garbage cans, recycling etc and the other for large items like Bike and Lawn Mowers.
Color plays a huge role in our lives, whether we recognize its value or not. Many colors we associate with happy, tranquil feelings, while other colors may excite us, save us energy, motivate us or (unknowingly) make us buy more things at stores or eat more food at restaurants.
Vancouver Pergola Sale Vancouver Pergola: Westcoast Outbuildings has just worked out a great deal with our friends at Outdoor Living Today.
We are incredibly pleased to offer you 100% Western Red Cedar pergolas that are perfect for any Metro Vancouver backyard.
The Breeze pergola will add beauty and elegance to your outdoor living space. Perfect for hanging out with your family and friends or to have intimate dinner parties under the stars. (more…)
When Kristen Hall-Geisler used to work from her home’s spare bedroom turned home office, she found herself wasting a lot of time. It got her thinking about a prefab writers studio.
“I would think, ‘I should be working. I should be writing this article,’” recalls Kristen, a freelance automotive writer and book editor. “Instead, I’d putter around and read and go downstairs and then realize I hadn’t gotten any work done.”
We often hear our customers ask us about rain screen and how it works with our open-joint siding — Oh, and what exactly is open-joint siding, why does it cost more and what the heck is Reveal Shield wrappin anyway?
We understand your confusion. So let’s break it down for you.
First of all, as we out here in Vancouver know, you need to protect your wall from the elements. Rain-screen siding is the first layer of defense against the elements, including rain, snow, sleet, wind and even the sun.
As a business owner, professional draftsperson and building designer Plamen Apostalov had a big problem. A time sucking problem that had plagued him for years, the Metro Vancouver Commute.
Quick answer: in the District of Saanich, a shed under 10 m² (about 107 sq/ft) does not need a building permit if it follows the zoning rules and creates no hazard. A shed or other accessory building over 10 m² needs a building permit.
Always check with the District of Saanich before building. Rules change and depend on the zone of the lot. This page was last fact-checked against the District’s website in October 2026.
Saanich does not require a building permit for an accessory building under 10 m² that meets zoning and is not a hazard. The size is measured the way the District measures it, so a shed that is close to the limit can tip over it once decks or roof overhangs are counted. Common sizes that sit under the limit are 8 x 10 ft (80 sq/ft), 8 x 12 ft (96 sq/ft) and 10 x 10 ft (100 sq/ft).
No permit does not mean no rules. The shed still has to meet the Zoning Bylaw for the lot.
Anything over 10 m² needs a building permit before construction, with a separate application for each structure. Saanich takes these applications through its online residential permit portal. Application fees are based on the value of the work (for example $100 for work under $15,000 and $300 for $15,001 to $100,000), and a refundable surety deposit is collected when the permit is issued.
Siting rules come from Zoning Bylaw 8200 and differ by zone. As an example, in the common RS-6 single family zone, accessory buildings must be:
Other zones have different numbers, so the lot’s own zone page in the bylaw is the one that counts.
The District of Saanich Inspection Services office is at 770 Vernon Ave, Victoria, BC V8X 2W7. Permit questions and answers, the Zoning Bylaw and the online permit portal are on saanich.ca.
Other Capital Region municipalities: Oak Bay, Victoria, Esquimalt, Central Saanich, Colwood, Langford and Sidney.
Sources: District of Saanich, Permit Q & As; Building Bylaw 2019 No. 9529; Zoning Bylaw 8200 (Schedule 210, RS-6); Streamside Development Permit Area guidelines.
If there every was an example of a great use of reclaimed materials to build and amazing reclaimed cabin this would be it.
The Sunset House in West Virginia was built by Lilah and Nick using lumber reclaimed from a barn on their property. The wood was cut and milled from the land by the previous owner many years ago. All the windows are reclaimed from junkyards over their history of thrifting together.
When building on a tight budget there are many ways to source used, free, minimal cost materials even in an urban environment like Metro Vancouver, Sunshine Coast or the Gulf Islands.