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WalkOnPlans brings blueprints to life to instill confidence in builders and manage client expectations
When a homeowner sets out to build their dream home, the possibilities seem endless and the vision seems flawless. But when it comes down to the actual work of building, for some, visualizing flat lines on paper isn’t enough to help them truly understand how blueprints will translate in the three-dimensional world. The result? The client feels like their dream home became a so-so home, and ultimately feels let down.
“This is what happens when customers have expectations that are not met, and they feel like they should have been because of the investment they made,” says Andrew VanderWoerd, principal at WalkOnPlans in Langley, BC.
VanderWoerd and co-principal Ted DeVries are changing all that with their company WalkOnPlans, which turns blueprints into a virtual, life-size map that homeowners and designers can experience in real time.
“We are planning to revolutionize an industry that is operating the way it has been since 1950,” DeVries says. “Our process brings clarity to the builder and, most importantly, it brings clarity to the homeowner.”
The process begins with sending blueprints to WalkOnPlans, where VanderWoerd and DeVries prep the plans in their state-of-the-art facility. Projectors in the ceiling then project the blueprints on the ground at a 1:1 ratio using proprietary software.
“That means if the plans show an eight-by-eight room, the customer can walk through that room at eight by eight,” VanderWoerd says. “We are offering an experience that reflects the builder’s expertise and almost ensures complete customer satisfaction.”
This instills confidence in builders and designers because at the end of the day when they finish the prints, what they have developed and designed is exactly what the client wants. “They know that because the customer has already had a walk-through,” DeVries says. “In this market, people expect more, and they want it to cost less. Our process eliminates changes in the building stages, which can be extremely costly.”
Building a home is usually the most important, expensive and stressful time in a person’s life, and they are usually trusting someone they don’t know to handle it. Every client wants peace of mind, a lighter stress load, and to understand what they are paying for and that they will get what they want.
“Builders and designers put lines on the paper and the customer must trust that everyone will work together and be on the same page, but that doesn’t always happen,” VanderWoerd says. “This puts the decisions back in the hands of people who are paying the bills.”
Learn more at walkonplans.ca
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