Kitchen renovations
The room the whole house runs through, and the one that takes the longest to live without.
We hired Plus Living Construction & Renovations to do our home renovation. From start to finish, Aaron & Ethan were professional, courteous, and skilled.
Custom homes and thoughtful renovations in Richmond, BC
Two licensed builders, from the first drawing to the day you move in. Plus Living Construction & Renovations · Custom Home Builders in Richmond, BC
BC LICENSED BUILDERS As published by Aaron
It starts as a lot, and a line on the ground.
Footings, foundation, and a floor to stand on.
The skeleton goes up — and the pipes and wires go in behind it.
Then it closes in, and stops being a frame.
That last frame is not a drawing. It is one of theirs.
- NET ZERO CERTIFIED
- BC LICENSED BUILDERS
- RENOMARK CERTIFIED
14
Verified reviews
Serving Richmond
Richmond · Vancouver · Burnaby · North Vancouver
What we do
Straight answers and a price before anything gets touched.
Custom home construction
A new house on your lot, from the survey to the deficiency list.
Bathroom renovations
Small room, most trades. Waterproofing is the part you never see and always pay for twice if it is wrong.
Basement finishing
Square footage you already own. Ceiling height, egress and moisture decide what it can become.
Whole-home renovations
Everything at once, sequenced so the trades are not waiting on each other.
Commercial construction
Build-outs, tenant improvements and studio fit-outs, run around a building that is still open.
Why Richmond homeowners choose Aaron
Two licensed builders on the job, Aaron and Ethan, not a sales office that subcontracts the whole house.
- A custom home runs to their own six published phases, from pre-construction planning through to the deficiency checklist before the keys change hands.
- BC LICENSED BUILDERS, NET ZERO CERTIFIED and RENOMARK CERTIFIED — three marks they publish on their own site, not adjectives we chose for them.
Aaron Ethier & Ethan Zhang · BC Licensed Builders
- 12+Years building
- 40+Custom homes completed
- 120+Renovations completed
- 5.0Google rating, 14 reviews
What happens when you call
Phase One: Pre-construction planning
we discuss your ideas, budget, and project requirements
Phase Two: Design and approvals
tailored to your vision, lifestyle, and specific requirements
Phase Three: Demolition and Foundation
scoped and sequenced before anything is demolished
Phase Four: Framing
strict quality control at every stage of the project
Phase Five: The home stretch!
smooth execution, timely delivery, and clear communication
Phase Six: Down to the details
the deficiency checklist before the keys change hands
Nothing gets opened up before you know the price.
Cumberland
One house, told in full.
- 01
Before
The original kitchen and the two bathrooms, photographed before anything was removed.
- 02
Containment
A taped dust door, protected floors and poly on spring poles: what separates the work from the rest of the house.
- 03
Waterproofing and structure
Backer board with the seams waterproofed, a floated mortar bed, then tile going up over it. The part of a bathroom nobody photographs.
- 04
Finished
The same rooms, finished. The last two frames are the ensuite and the main bath that opened the first chapter.
Selected work
Truro
New build, finished to a dark lacquered kitchen with an integrated hood and lit display niches.
Goldsmith
New build with a covered outdoor room — timber-lined soffit, glass balustrade, open to the field beyond.
Hollybank
New build, opened up at the back into a single kitchen and living room under one ceiling line.
Elsmore
New build carrying a backlit stone feature wall between built-in shelving in the living room.
Springhill
New build with a double-height entry hall lit by a skylight over the upper landing.
Bonavista
New build, including a bathroom in large-format porcelain with a glass-screened shower and a drop-in tub.
Quebec
Accessible bathroom renovation — a curbless walk-in shower in marble-look tile, with grab bars, a fold-down teak bench and a hand shower on a slide bar.
Drag to compare 
120 ave
Renovation: new cabinetry, stone counters and a relocated range wall, with the floors protected through the work.
Pitt Meadows
Bathroom renovation with a low-threshold shower, grab bars, a fold-down seat and matte black fittings throughout.
Two licensed builders
Who you are hiring
Plus Living is Aaron Ethier and Ethan Zhang. Both carry the licensed builder title, and both are on the job. Between them there is over a decade of custom homes and renovations in Richmond and across Greater Vancouver. There is no sales office in the middle taking a margin to pass your house along to somebody else.
We build new custom homes, and we renovate the houses worth keeping. A new build runs to six phases: pre-construction planning, design and approvals, demolition and foundation, framing, the home stretch, and the walkthrough before the keys change hands. A renovation runs the same order on a shorter clock.
Richmond builds differently from the rest of the region. Most of the city sits close to sea level, so flood construction level and minimum habitable elevation shape the drawings before anything else does. Soft soil means preloading and waiting out settlement. Step Code targets decide the wall assembly. None of it is a surprise if it is priced at the start.
Ethan speaks Mandarin and Cantonese. That is not a badge on a page. It means a permit letter from the City gets read to you in the language you think in, and a change order gets explained line by line before you sign it, instead of being summarised afterwards by a relative on the phone.
Aaron Ethier
Licensed Builder — site and structure
Aaron started in framing and never really left the site. He runs the build itself: excavation, foundation, the framing crew, inspection dates, and the order the trades arrive in so nobody stands around waiting on somebody else. He is on most jobs before seven. When a wall moves, he is the one who tells you what it costs and how many days it adds.
Aaron on site, most mornings before seven.
Ethan Zhang
Licensed Builder — design, permits and client side
Ethan handles most of what happens before the digging, and most of what a client hears during it: the drawing set, the City of Richmond permit file, selections, allowances and change orders. He works in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. A permit letter or a twelve thousand dollar change gets explained in the language you think in, by the person who wrote it.
Ethan, permit file in hand, at the City counter.
- 12+Years building
- 40+Custom homes completed
- 120+Renovations completed
- 70%Work from past clients and referrals
What is covered, and for how long
Every new home we build carries the BC Housing new-home warranty — the 2-5-10 coverage that licensed residential builders in this province are required to provide, backed by a third-party warranty provider rather than by us. Renovations sit outside that programme, so they carry our own workmanship warranty instead, plus the manufacturer warranties on fixtures and appliances, registered in your name. Either way the last thing we do is walk the house with you and write down what still needs fixing.
- 2 years — labour and materials
- Defects in workmanship and materials, with the shorter sub-periods the programme sets on some systems. This is the coverage you use for a door that sticks, a failed seal, or a fixture that was never right.
- 5 years — building envelope
- Water getting in through the roof, the walls or the windows. This is the expensive kind of defect, and the reason envelope details get checked before the siding goes on rather than after.
- 10 years — structure
- Load-bearing structure: footings, foundation, framing. Ten years, held by the warranty provider, so the coverage does not depend on whether the builder is still in business.
- 2 years — our renovation workmanship
- Renovations are not covered by the new-home programme, so we carry them ourselves for two years from completion. Manufacturer warranties on tile, fixtures and appliances run on their own terms and are registered to you, not to us.
- The deficiency walkthrough
- Before the final payment, we walk every room with you and write down everything: a scuff, a slow drain, a cabinet door out of line. It gets fixed, then signed off. That list is usually short. It is never zero, and any builder who tells you otherwise is guessing.
The principles we build on
Their words, from their own site — three values, defined in one line each.
- Vision
- Turning ideas into thoughtfully designed spaces through creativity and architectural clarity.
- Quality
- Using premium materials and skilled craftsmanship to deliver durable, high-standard construction.
- Pride
- Taking ownership of every project and delivering results that consistently exceed expectations.
Two licensed builders, Aaron Ethier and Ethan Zhang, both named and both reachable — which is the part of this their own About page leaves out.
Bring us a lot, a set of drawings, or a kitchen you have stopped using. We will walk it, tell you plainly what it takes, and put a number on it in writing. Call Aaron or Ethan directly — the numbers on this page ring their own phones.
We also lived in our home during the entire process and they ensured that the construction space didn’t interfere with the living areas.
Nan Maung · Google
Where Aaron goes
Based in Richmond. These are the places Aaron actually drives to.
Based in
Richmond
- Vancouver
- Burnaby
- North Vancouver
- West Vancouver
What neighbours say
5.0
14 Google reviews
We were looking to renovate our kitchen and bathrooms and looked into Plus Living as we saw they had worked on a home with a similar layout to ours. We were so impressed by the responsiveness and professionalism of Aaron and Ethan right off the bat. They really understood our vision and kept even the small details in mind. The end result is just stunning and everything I wanted for the space. We also lived in our home during the entire process and they ensured that the construction space didn’t interfere with the living areas. We would highly recommend Plus Living for a home renovation project. Thank you for everything!
Working with Aaron and the team at Plus Living Construction and Renovations was a seamless experience from start to finish. Their organization, professionalism, and clear communication made the entire process smooth and efficient. It’s always great to collaborate with a company that values quality workmanship and attention to detail as much as we do. We’d highly recommend Plus Living to anyone in the Greater Vancouver area looking for a reliable and well-run renovation team.
Before you call
The things homeowners usually want to know before they let anyone in the door.
How do you ensure construction quality?
We use premium materials, skilled craftsmanship, and strict quality control at every stage of the project.
Do you provide project management during construction?
Yes, we handle full project management to ensure smooth execution, timely delivery, and clear communication.
Can I customize every part of my home design?
Absolutely. Every project is tailored to your vision, lifestyle, and specific requirements.
Do you serve areas outside Vancouver?
Yes, we serve Greater Vancouver and surrounding areas including Burnaby, Richmond, and North Vancouver.
How do I start a project with Plus Living?
You can start by contacting us for a consultation, where we discuss your ideas, budget, and project requirements.
What does a new custom home cost per square foot in Richmond right now?
In 2026 most of what we build lands between $400 and $600 a square foot for the house itself, and $650 and up once the finishes get serious. Site work moves that number more than tile does: flood construction level, preloading on soft soil, a narrow lot with poor access, a complicated roof. We price it after we have seen the site and the drawings, not before.
What about a renovation?
A kitchen is usually $70,000 to $150,000 once plumbing and electrical actually move. A bathroom is $30,000 to $60,000, and it is small only in floor area. A whole-home renovation runs $250 to $400 a square foot. What moves it is what is behind the drywall: old aluminum wiring, rot under a window, a wall that turns out to be carrying load.
How long does it take?
A custom home is twelve to eighteen months on site once the permit is in hand, and the permit stage before that is its own timeline. A kitchen is six to ten weeks. A whole-home renovation is four to eight months. You get a schedule with the phases on it, and when a date moves you hear it the week it moves, not at the end of the month.
How long do City of Richmond permits take?
Plan on three to six months for a new single-family building permit, and longer if the lot needs a rezoning, a coach house or a variance. Richmond reviews flood construction level and minimum habitable elevation on most of the city, because most of the city sits near sea level. Ethan prepares the file and deals with the counter, and you get told in writing what comes back.
Can we live in the house during a renovation?
Sometimes. A kitchen job with a working bathroom and a temporary sink in the dining room is livable for most families. A whole-home renovation is not, and anyone who says otherwise has not done one. We seal the work behind zip-wall containment, protect the floors and run dust extraction, but there is no version of demolition that is quiet.
What happens when we change our mind mid-build?
You get a written change order before anyone touches it: what changes, what it costs, and how many days it adds to the schedule. Nothing gets done on a nod in the driveway. Ethan walks Chinese-speaking clients through it in Mandarin or Cantonese, line by line, because agreeing to a twelve thousand dollar change you only half understood is how a good project goes bad.
Do you do the work yourselves, or is it all subtrades?
Both. Aaron runs the site and the framing. Plumbing, electrical, HVAC, roofing and drywall go to the same licensed and insured trades we have used for years, on our schedule and our inspection dates. We do not shop for whoever is cheapest that month. If a trade leaves poor work behind, we are the ones who bring them back, not you.
How do allowances work?
An allowance is a placeholder for something you have not chosen yet: tile, fixtures, appliances, lighting. We set them at a real number for the level of finish you are describing, not a low one that makes the quote look good. When you choose, you see the actual price against the allowance, and the difference goes either way — added on, or back to you.
Do you handle design, or do we need our own architect?
For most homes we work with a designer and a structural engineer we know, and Ethan coordinates the drawing set through to permit. Bring your own architect and we will build to their drawings without complaint. What we will not do is start framing off a sketch. The drawings decide what the house costs, so they get finished first.
How do we start?
Call or email either of us. The first conversation is about the lot or the house, what you want out of it, and the budget you actually have rather than the one that sounds polite. If it fits, we walk the site together. After that you get a written scope and a price, phase by phase. Nothing is charged until there is something to sign.
Aaron has been such a pleasure to work with! We’ve worked with him on large projects such as studio build outs and small projects like projector installs. He is so easy to communicate with and his contractors show up and always execute as discussed. Highly recommend!
LWL Education · Google Just had some minor renovations done last month by Aaron and his team. I was very pleased with the outcome. Aaron was wonderful to deal with very prompt on communications and willing to do small jobs. The crew were amazing, their work ethic was excellent. Very professional, would use them again and recommend to friends
bridget creagh · Google The allowances in the quote were real numbers, so nothing doubled later. We went over on tile, under on lighting, and finished within about two percent of where we started.
Dave R. · Google Eight weeks for the kitchen, and it was eight weeks. We ate off a folding table in the dining room, and the crew was gone by four on Fridays so we still had our weekends.
Jenn, Steveston · Google The tile work in both bathrooms is dead straight, and the cabinet doors still line up two years on. Ethan went through all of it with us in Mandarin, including the parts we would not have known to ask about.
Wei, City Centre · Google