Strata governance and building management

My mixed-use strata corporation had been operating with informal systems that were difficult to sustain as maintenance, communication, financial oversight, and governance needs grew. The building includes residential units and commercial units, which meant decisions had to balance owner, tenant, contractor, business, resident, council, and budget considerations.

Over multiple terms as Strata President, and later as the building’s on-site Building Manager, I helped bring more structure, transparency, and accountability to the way the strata operated. The work combined governance leadership with hands-on building operations: council coordination, owner communication, contractor management, budget planning, maintenance scheduling, legal and bylaw review, and practical troubleshooting.

Taking over a mixed-use strata with informal systems

When I first became president, the building was self-managed and did not have enough repeatable structure to support clear decision-making, consistent maintenance, and owner confidence. Information was difficult to access, processes were informal, and council responsibilities depended too heavily on individual memory.

The challenge was to improve the way the strata operated without overbuilding the system. A small strata has limited funds, volunteer council members, and a mix of residential and commercial stakeholders, so the solution had to be organized enough to be useful and simple enough to maintain.

Building clearer governance and communication

I helped standardize the way council handled communication, records, contractors, budgets, meetings, and owner-facing decisions. That included clearer processes for monthly council work, AGM and SGM preparation, maintenance planning, contractor coordination, and owner communication.

To improve transparency during the self-managed period, I set up a dedicated email system and an owner-only website for notices, documents, updates, and communication. That became less necessary after the strata later transitioned to professional management, but it helped establish a more organized operating culture when the strata needed it.

I also created AGM and SGM packages and helped establish fairer, more transparent voting processes for building-wide decisions. The goal was to make council work easier to understand, easier to document, and less dependent on one person holding all the context.

Improving financial and maintenance planning

I rebuilt and managed financial tracking spreadsheets, supported annual budgeting, and used the depreciation report to inform short- and long-term maintenance planning. That helped connect governance decisions to building reality: what needed attention, what could wait, what should be budgeted, and what risks needed to be planned for.

I also developed digital filing systems, owner communication templates, contractor records, maintenance schedules, and procedural references. Much of the operational information was organized in Trello so recurring tasks, contractor follow-up, and building knowledge had a clearer place to live.

During the self-managed period, I renegotiated waste management and elevator maintenance contracts, saving over $8,200 annually. I also initiated a lighting retrofit that saved approximately $600 annually and paid back in less than four years.

Coordinating contractors and building operations

On the operational side, I coordinated and supported a wide range of building issues, including plumbing failures, minor repairs, contractor access, maintenance follow-up, owner concerns, and general troubleshooting. I evaluated and coordinated contractors for building maintenance and capital work, while helping council understand what needed to be handled internally, what needed a contractor, and what needed professional review.

I reviewed bylaws, contracts, depreciation reports, insurance documents, legal correspondence, and Strata Property Act requirements to help council make more informed decisions and reduce risk. Where needed, I used CHOA and legal counsel as resources to support more reliable governance decisions.

Transitioning to professional management

After roughly three years of self-management, I helped transition the strata to a professional strata management company. The goal was not simply to hand off the work, but to leave behind clearer records, improved procedures, and a more financially disciplined operating structure so the transition would not erase the context that had been built.

Since returning to council, I have also taken on the practical role of on-site Building Manager. Because I am in the building and understand its history, owners, contractors, and recurring issues, I can often identify problems earlier, coordinate responses more efficiently, and help keep both contractors and the strata management company accountable.

Bringing it home

The result is a building operation with clearer records, better maintenance planning, stronger communication, more useful financial tools, and a closer connection between governance decisions and site reality.

The work took long-term stewardship rather than a one-time fix: bringing structure to a messy system, managing competing owner and tenant interests, improving accountability, and combining practical technical judgment with steady communication over time.

Bespoke farm wedding venue

For our wedding, my wife and I transformed an overgrown working farm into a full private venue for 240 guests. The site had never been used as a venue of that scale before. It was primarily set up for cows and goats, with rough ground, overgrown vegetation, limited infrastructure, and no ready-made event layout.

Planning began roughly a year and a half before the wedding, with much of the physical site preparation completed on weekends in the months leading up to the event while living several hours away. The goal was to build an unconventional and inspiring wedding venue; something personal, functional, memorable, and resourceful. We wanted a place where people could gather, celebrate, camp, dance, eat, and experience something that felt like us.

My role combined lead planning, site coordination, logistics, layout design, vendor coordination, hands-on building, and day-of problem solving. Many people stepped up to help with site prep, flowers, food, service, setup, teardown, parking, and coordination, but I was responsible for turning the overall idea into a workable plan and making sure the major pieces came together.

Turning a working farm into a venue

The site needed to support a ceremony, reception, camping, parking, washrooms, photo areas, food service, live music, gathering space, and guest flow. I designed the layout around how people would arrive, move through the site, find the main areas, and safely use a space that was not designed as a venue.

Preparing the site meant removing rocks and windfall, filling holes, levelling ground, cutting back vegetation, creating paths, preparing camping areas, and planting and watering grass in levelled areas before the event. The work was practical and physical, but it was also about imagining how the site would feel once hundreds of people were using it.

The 100′ x 40′ tent became the centre of the reception, with space for tables, head table, food service, bar, band, dance floor, lighting, and gathering. I created a site plan that could be shared with guests and volunteers so everyone understood how the event should flow.

Temporary infrastructure

Because the farm didn’t have venue infrastructure, several systems had to be built temporarily. Washrooms, handwashing, water, power, lighting, audio, parking, and camping all had to work for one day without becoming fragile or confusing.

Water was one of the more difficult infrastructure problems. I built temporary sink stations, with water supplied roughly 250 feet using fire hoses connected to domestic water. The hoses also provided an additional fire-readiness measure, which mattered because the wedding was held in mid-August and the surrounding area was dry.

I handled power with two generators and an EV with an inverter. The layout had to support lighting, PA equipment, the band, and other event needs while avoiding overloads and reducing trip hazards. I placed the band on its own generator, so the most critical load was isolated.

I built guest safety into the layout through cord routing, lighting, paths, parking control, and keeping higher-traffic areas away from rougher parts of the farm. Weather and fire risk were also part of the planning, with umbrellas, extra tents, and site-wetting leading up to the event as practical backups.

Building the dance floor

I designed and built a 20′ x 32′ dance floor using pallets and recovered forming plywood. The ground had to be levelled, uneven areas were shimmed with scrap wood, and the surface was sanded and painted.

The floor was intentionally simple, low to the ground, and practical. It had to support a full reception dance floor without feeling temporary or unsafe. It performed well through the night and became one of the main pieces that made the farm feel like a real venue rather than just an outdoor gathering.

Guest experience and personal details

The event also included custom-built photo and hangout areas. One was called “Grandma’s,” built around an old floral farm couch, a rug, wooden accents, an old phone, and a large hanging macrame plant holder made by my grandfather. It was partly a tribute to family and partly a quiet place for guests to step away from the busy party. It became one of the most loved and photographed areas of the wedding.

A second installation was built in an alder grove with hanging mirrors, a vanity, and lights. It created a surreal forest photo area that felt personal, handmade, and unique.

The bouquet was launched from a homemade catapult my friends and I built during the bachelor party, using materials we had on hand. It included a safety release pin and worked perfectly on the day.

Planning and coordination

I set up Trello as our planning hub for tasks, deadlines, rentals, materials, volunteer roles, budget, guest logistics, setup schedule, and day-of details. The board helped turn a large, informal family project into something trackable and executable.

The biggest challenge was the number of interacting pieces: weather, parking, camping, washrooms, power, water, food, rentals, music, guest movement, volunteer coordination, setup, teardown, and the fact that the site was not designed to be a venue.

Got hitched without a hitch

Several guests said it was the best wedding they had ever attended, which was nice to hear, but the more useful proof was that the temporary venue actually worked. People arrived, parked, found their way around, ate, danced, camped, used the washrooms, gathered in the custom spaces, and experienced the farm as if it had been designed for that day.

For me, the project is a good example of how I like to work when the answer does not already exist. I understand the site, imagine the use, build the missing systems, coordinate the people, and leave enough personality in the result that it feels intentionally made.

Occupied office renovation with staged remediation

With Pentillion Construction, I helped deliver a two-floor renovation for a high-value professional office client while the space remained in use. The work included removing and adding walls, replacing flooring, painting and finish upgrades, a new kitchenette, a new reception area, custom feature walls, blind replacement, HVAC reconfiguration, and new data wiring.

Renovating around an office that still had to function

The project became more complex once the flooring scope exposed asbestos-containing tile below the existing finish. Because the office remained active during construction, the remediation and renovation work could not be handled as one clean shutdown.

We brought in a professional remediation contractor and broke the work into multiple stages so the tenant could keep operating while offices were shuffled around the floor.

Coordinating design decisions, trades, and tenant moves

My role was a mix of coordination, design support, and hands-on field work. I coordinated between the tenant, landlord, architect, remediation contractor, and trades while also helping the tenant work through design details and practical decisions.

The work had to keep moving without losing sight of how the space was being used day to day. Walls, flooring, abatement, painting, lighting, blinds, HVAC, data, and millwork all had to be coordinated around people who still needed to use the space.

Making the reception finish hold up under real lighting

One of the more detailed parts of the project was the new reception area. The client had a specific look they wanted for the feature walls, and the wall-wash lighting made the finish quality especially important.

Any waves, seams, or surface defects would have been highlighted by the lighting, so the wall needed a high-quality, Level 5-style drywall finish along with careful custom carpentry and detailing. I helped work through how to make that design intent buildable, coordinate the finish requirements, and bring the reception area together with the level of finish the client expected.

A clean finish

The difficulty came from the setting, not one dramatic detail. Everything had to happen in a real occupied workplace, in stages, with people still needing the office to function.

The result was a completed two-floor renovation delivered through staged work in an occupied environment. It shows the practical side of tenant-improvement coordination: communicate clearly, respect the people using the space, make finish details buildable, and keep adapting when field conditions change the plan.

Access control and building security upgrade

With Pentillion Construction, I helped coordinate an access-control and security-system upgrade for a commercial building. The work included access-controlled doors, elevator access, cameras, wiring routes, and the operational requirements needed by both the landlord and tenants.

The project was not just a matter of selecting hardware. The scope had to balance security, usability, cost, code requirements, tenant disruption, and long-term building operations. I helped define which access points needed to be controlled, what the system needed to do, and how the work could be coordinated across the security contractor, electricians, elevator company, automated door contractor, tenants, and landlord.

One of the key constraints was elevator access. The building needed more controlled access to certain areas, but a full elevator-control upgrade would have added cost and complexity beyond the practical scope of the project. I worked through the requirements with the contractor and helped shape a solution that controlled access where it was needed without overbuilding the system.

The project also required code interpretation around the building’s crossover floor. Because the crossover floor formed part of the life-safety and exiting strategy, the access-control approach had to preserve the required function of that floor rather than treating every door as a simple security device. That added an important check on the design: the system still had to support safe movement and code-required access while improving security.

I also coordinated wiring routes with the contractor and helped manage the system after installation. That included programming useful operational automations, such as event-based actions that supported day-to-day security and reduced manual steps for building management.

The result was a more practical access-control system that served landlord and tenant needs without turning the project into a larger elevator-modernization or building-wide security rebuild. It shows the value of defining the real operating requirements before selecting a technical solution, then coordinating the trades and code constraints needed to make the system work.

Bike room, showers, and service-space retrofit

With Pentillion Construction, I coordinated the retrofit of vacated tenant space into building amenity and service areas. The new program included bike storage, lockers, three shower stalls, an accessible washroom, an accessible combined shower and washroom, janitor storage with a mop sink, and a garbage room.

The design had to work for tenants, the landlord, building operations, accessibility expectations, and the service needs of the property. A space like this can look simple once it is complete, but the hidden coordination is what makes it usable.

The challenges with retrofitting an existing building

The retrofit involved fire separations between tenants and floors, subgrade plumbing, new washroom and shower layouts, secure access requirements, mechanical and electrical coordination, and revisions to engineered details so the work better suited the actual space.

The existing conditions mattered. Plumbing routes, wall layouts, access points, service spaces, and fire separations could not be solved independently. Each decision affected another part of the retrofit.

Coordinating consultants, trades, and adjacent work

My role was to coordinate between the architect, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, Pentillion Construction, subtrades, and contractors working in adjacent tenant space at the same time.

I reviewed historical drawings, engineering plans, and architectural layouts to understand the existing conditions and help propose solutions that could satisfy the different stakeholders. The work required balancing design intent with field realities so the retrofit could move forward without creating conflicts for the surrounding construction.

Clean cut finish

The result was a more useful and serviceable set of building spaces. Accessibility, service use, plumbing, fire separations, secure access, consultant details, trades, and active building constraints all had to line up so an underused area could work as dependable building infrastructure.

Fire panel relocation and life-safety retrofit

With Pentillion Construction, I helped coordinate a fire alarm system retrofit in an occupied commercial building. The existing fire panel was outdated and located inside a secure tenant area, which created access and operational constraints for building management, contractors, and emergency-related service work.

The project involved more than simply replacing equipment. The panel needed to be upgraded and relocated to a more appropriate building service area, while related alarm devices such as bells and pull stations also needed to be reviewed and upgraded as part of the broader retrofit.

I engaged multiple contractors to understand the available paths forward and help shape a practical scope. The work required coordination between the fire alarm contractor, security contractor, electrician, tenants, and building operations. Because the existing panel location was inside a secure space, access had to be planned carefully and coordinated with the affected tenant and other building users.

The crossover-floor requirements added another important layer. Because crossover floors form part of the building’s life-safety strategy, the access and fire alarm work had to be considered in that context rather than treated as a simple equipment swap. The retrofit needed to improve serviceability and bring the equipment into a better location while preserving the required life-safety function of the building.

The result was a more serviceable fire alarm system with the panel relocated out of the secure tenant space and related devices upgraded as part of the work. The project shows the coordination behind a relatively contained building-system upgrade: understanding the operational problem, checking the code-related constraints, aligning the right contractors, and completing the work without exposing tenants or building users to unnecessary disruption.

Custom glass awning redesign and installation

With Pentillion Construction, I delivered a custom glass awning replacement where the design intent was clean and visually simple, but the existing building made the installation much more complicated than the drawings suggested.

The project replaced existing vinyl awnings with a suspended glass canopy system supported by steel outriggers and diagonal tie rods. The challenge was making that system work on the real building, with the right tolerance, alignment, drainage, serviceability, and installation sequence.

The hidden structure did not match the clean drawing

The upper tie-rod anchors were intended to connect back to the structural concrete spandrel beam, but that beam was hidden behind exposed-aggregate precast architectural panels with an inconsistent air gap behind them.

That changed the problem. The anchors could not simply be fastened as drawn, and the inconsistent gap made it difficult to scan the structure and confidently locate reinforcing steel before drilling. The installation needed enough field tolerance to avoid reinforcement while still leaving the finished awning visually aligned from the street.

Making the anchorage adjustable without looking like a fix

I helped investigate the existing condition and separate what was architectural cladding from what was part of the structural load path. That understanding shaped the redesign of the upper anchorage.

The detail needed to bridge through the architectural panel, connect back to the structure, and still allow the installer to shift final anchor locations where needed. The exposed cover plates then had to conceal that adjustment zone without looking like an afterthought.

The tie rods also had to stay visually aligned even when the hidden anchors had to move. The connection evolved toward a more adjustable arrangement using clevises and paired plates, with practical details such as wrench flats and opposite-handed threading so the rods could be adjusted in place.

Letting the glass layout respond to the building

The lower outriggers created another coordination problem. Their locations needed to avoid likely reinforcement while still supporting the glass layout. With the architect’s approval, the glass panel widths were allowed to vary within a controlled range so the steel supports could respond to the real structure instead of forcing a layout that was difficult to install.

The glass support detail also had to be reconsidered. A more fixed pressure-plate approach would have made installation and future service more difficult, especially if individual panels ever needed to be removed. Working with the installer, we moved toward a more serviceable approach that better suited how the glass would be handled, installed, and maintained.

Designing the corner so it could actually be fabricated

The corner conditions added another layer of practical design work. The corner framing had to coordinate glass sizes, steel fabrication, galvanizing, fit-up, and installation sequence.

I raised concerns about field welding galvanized steel and helped move the approach toward details that could be fabricated and installed more predictably. When galvanizing distortion became a concern, I helped look for a simpler framing approach that better matched the typical outriggers and reduced the risk of a distorted corner assembly.

Turning layout into a repeatable field process

A major part of my contribution was turning the layout problem into something the installer could repeat in the field. Because the outrigger and standoff locations varied along the building, there was no simple continuous datum for every cored opening.

I designed and 3D printed a positioning jig that sat on the installed outrigger and held a laser-cut template board for the core-hole locations. The template allowed the layout to shift when needed to avoid reinforcement while maintaining the relationship between the outrigger, standoff, and tie rod.

Dealing with drainage after the slope changed

The project also had to respond to drainage requirements. A late requirement changed the awning slope so water drained back toward the building rather than away from it.

That meant reviewing tie-rod geometry, glass slope, flashing, and gutter details so the finished system could manage water without creating maintenance or building-envelope problems. I helped develop a custom gutter approach that could be installed with the completed steel and glass while remaining serviceable and cleanable.

Keeping the work moving on site

Alongside the design and coordination work, I supported day-to-day site execution. That included coordinating with the architect, structural engineer, fabricators, glass contractor, sheet metal contractor, crane company, tenants, and site team; helping maintain scaffold access; developing site-specific safety procedures; removing existing awnings and flashing; coordinating electrical and signboard-related work; reviewing layout; resolving field discrepancies; and checking installation details as the work progressed.

A clear vision

The finished awning looks clean because we solved a lot of messy problems before they became visible. Hidden structure, reinforcement risk, anchor tolerance, glass layout, galvanizing, drainage, installation access, and future service all had to be handled together.

This project shows how I work between drawings and the field. I ask how an idea will be located, fabricated, adjusted, installed, drained, maintained, and handed off.

Commercial office renovation and kitchenette fit-out

With Pentillion Construction, I helped coordinate a smaller commercial office renovation that included new interior walls, soundproofing review, kitchenette design and installation, glass doors and glazing, flooring, lighting, painting, and HVAC ducting.

The work was a compact tenant-improvement scope, but it still required the same kind of field coordination that makes these projects succeed. The layout, finishes, glazing, kitchenette, and building-system work all had to come together in a way that made the space feel complete and usable rather than like a collection of separate trade scopes.

One part of the work involved reviewing interior walls for soundproofing considerations. Another involved designing and installing the kitchenette so it fit the tenant’s needs and the available space. Flooring, lighting, paint, glazing, and HVAC ducting then had to be coordinated with the broader renovation sequence.

The project is a smaller example of practical tenant-improvement work: understanding what the tenant needs, coordinating the trades and finishes, and following through on the field details that turn an office renovation into a functional finished space.

High school reunion planning and event coordination

I organized my 10-year and 20-year high school reunions as combined events for graduates from both Campbell River high schools. Each event brought together roughly 140 people and was designed to feel inclusive, safe, and welcoming rather than like a loosely organized night out.

The work started with communication. I had to track down former students, reach people across different social circles, recruit volunteers, answer questions, and keep the event clear enough that people felt comfortable showing up. Combining both schools made the event more inclusive, but it also meant the planning had to account for a broader group of people and expectations.

The logistics were practical and detailed. I managed budgeting, ticket sales, food and drinks, supplies, venue setup, and the overall event flow. I also coordinated safety-related pieces, including security, liquor-licence requirements, and a safe-ride-home shuttle so people had a better option at the end of the night.

I wanted the events to feel considered, not generic. That meant booking a photographer and DJ, building a slideshow, and adding activities such as a minute-to-win-it challenge to help people reconnect without the event relying only on small talk. Those details mattered because the goal was not simply to gather people in a room; it was to create a shared experience that felt relaxed, safe, and welcoming.

This project is personal, but it reflects the same kind of coordination I bring to professional work: define what needs to happen, organize the people and details, communicate clearly, reduce friction, and make the experience work for the people using it.

The Big DV public installation

Design Victoria invited members of the local creative community to participate in the Meeting Point Co-Design Challenge, a collaborative design process to create a public gathering installation for their festival. The challenge brought together designers, makers, and creative professionals to explore what a “meeting point” could be: part landmark, part social space, part participatory design activity.

Our team’s concept, The Big DV, was selected from six proposals and developed into the full-scale installation used during the festival. The project was collaborative from the start, with contributions from myself, Breanne Des Roche, Maureen Elmer, Carrie Smart, and Jignaa Vala, with support from Design Victoria, Make Space North Park, Toolpath, sponsors, and community partners.

Turning the shared concept into a real object

The concept needed to be visible from across the space, but useful up close. The final installation combined a large “DV”-shaped landmark in Design Victoria brand colours, an interactive design wall, long bistro-style tables, modular benches, integrated storage, and a small powered hub for volunteers.

It gave people a place to meet, sit, draw, talk, charge devices, post ideas, and participate in festival programming.

I led much of the technical and fabrication work within the collaborative team. Our shared concept had to be modelled, reviewed, fabricated, assembled, transported, installed, used by the public, taken down, and stored. That meant translating the idea into practical parts and details without losing the energy of the original proposal.

Modelling for scale, review, and decision-making

I modelled the installation parametrically in Fusion 360 so the design could evolve as the team tested proportions, geometry, assembly logic, and functional features.

I also 3D printed a scale model and placed it on a printed plan of the festival space so the organizers could understand the installation’s footprint and relationship to the space. To help communicate scale and visibility, I imported a SketchUp model of the festival space into Blender, placed our model into the scene, and produced rendered views for review and presentation.

Designing for CNC fabrication and assembly

Once the concept was approved, the work shifted from design idea to buildable object. I met with Toolpath, a local CNC router fabricator, to review the fabrication strategy, then rebuilt the model for production. Each plywood component was detailed with fasteners, door hardware, joinery, assembly clearances, and CNC constraints in mind.

A large part of the design work was deciding how the installation should be fabricated, moved, assembled, and reused. I designed the parts to avoid unnecessary second-side machining, reduce material waste, and make efficient use of plywood sheets.

I designed components to be practical for pre-assembly at Make Space North Park, transport by truck, carrying by hand, and assembly on site without obvious seams.

Making the public installation behave like furniture

The installation had to be expressive, but it also had to behave like furniture in a public space. I considered standard heights for the bistro tables and benches, the stability of freestanding forms, transfer of loads through the structure, and the risk of tipping at the V-shaped bistro tables.

Joinery and assembly details, along with fabrication methods, were part of my design thinking I used rabbeted edges, blind tenons, and concealed alignment details to help the pieces locate cleanly during assembly, while keeping the finished appearance simple and intentional. I designed for installation without glue so it could be disassembled, stored, and potentially redeployed after the festival.

Adding the practical features people would actually use

The large “D” acted as a threshold that visitors could walk through, while the “V” became the backdrop for a rebar mesh participatory design wall. The wall gave visitors a place to clip up drawings, photos, notes, and festival contributions.

The tables and benches supported multiple festival uses, including casual seating, “Ask an Expert” sessions, volunteer work, and public programming. Under the bistro tables, I added integrated coat hooks, and within the installation, I designed hidden storage and a lockable cubby for a portable power station so volunteers could charge phones, a tablet, and a printer during the festival.

Coordinating the build with volunteers and a deadline

The build relied on community support. I worked closely with volunteers at Make Space North Park to help complete the installation, including wood finishing, painting, assembly, and safe work practices.

I coordinated tasks as the project moved through fabrication, pre-assembly, finishing, and installation. As the deadline approached and volunteer availability shifted, I continued working through the remaining tasks to keep the project on schedule and allow enough time for the paint to cure before delivery.

I also coordinated transportation and installation using my truck and a teammate’s truck. I organized the site assembly and completed the final fit-up and finishing work. After the festival, I reconfigured the model to understand how the pieces would store, investigated cost-effective storage options in Victoria, and helped coordinate disassembly and storage.

One of a kind

During the festival, The Big DV was a big hit with festival-goers. Visitors found the installation interactive, exploring the space and contributing to the design wall, and practical for seating, storage, and hosting programming. They treated the piece as both a landmark and a working festival hub.

The project was completed on schedule, under budget, and with enough time to spare before opening. It shows the same pattern I bring to more technical work: clarify the real use, make the idea buildable, coordinate the people and processes, and leave behind something that can be used, moved, maintained, and handed off with confidence.