You will be dealing with Azem.
Not a call centre, not a project manager you meet once. The person who prices your job is the person who turns up to do it.
Every review Durak Homes has names him, which tells you something about how the work gets done. He answers the phone in about 40 minutes on average, quotes from a site visit rather than from a photograph, and writes the scope out line by line so you can hold it against anyone else's.
The work is carpentry-led — framing, structure, envelope, and the finishing trades that follow. Electrical and gas are carried out under permit by contractors licensed by Technical Safety BC, because a general contractor legally cannot do that work.
— Azem, Durak Homes
Durak Homes does not build new houses. Constructing a new home in British Columbia — or rebuilding an existing one past the point the Homeowner Protection Act calls substantially reconstructed — requires a BC Housing Licensed Residential Builder number and mandatory 2-5-10 home warranty insurance registered before the building permit issues. We hold neither, so we do not take that work, and we will tell you at the first site visit if your project has drifted across that line. Renovation work that keeps the existing structure is a different regulatory animal, and it is what we do.
Licensing and credentials
What we can produce a document for
British Columbia does not license general contractors as a trade. That means “licensed contractor” on a website carries no information, and a row of shield icons carries less. Below is what can be evidenced, and by what.
Our workmanship warranty term is being finalised and will be published here as a specific number of years, in writing, rather than as the word “comprehensive”. Ask on the call and you will be told exactly what it is.
- BC Housing Licensed Residential Builder
Not held. We do not build new or substantially reconstructed homes.
Being verified. The documents behind our WorkSafeBC registration, liability insurance and business licence are being collected so each can be published here with a number you can check yourself. Until they are, this page states only what can be proven. Ask Azem for any of the three on the phone and he will send them the same day.
Process
Seven stages
Numbered because it genuinely is a sequence, and because the fourth one is the stage most contractors would rather you did not know about.
First call
Ten minutes on the phone. What the job is, roughly when, and whether it is work we actually do. If it is not, we will say so and, where we can, point you at someone who does.
Site visit
We measure, we open nothing, and we look at the things that decide the price: the age of the house, where the services run, how the water currently gets away from the building.
Written scope and price
A line-itemized scope, not a lump sum. Every allowance is named as an allowance. You should be able to compare it against another contractor's scope line by line — and if you cannot, that tells you something about the other scope.
Hazardous materials survey
If the house predates 1990, a survey by a qualified surveyor happens before anything is opened up. This is not optional and it is not us being cautious — it is WorkSafeBC's requirement, and the report is yours to keep.
Permits and trades
We apply for the building permit. Electrical and gas work is carried out under permit by contractors licensed by Technical Safety BC — a general contractor cannot legally pull those permits or do that work.
On site
One person you call. A schedule that names dates, not durations. Written change orders priced before the work happens, never after.
Deficiency walk and handover
We walk the job with you and write the list down. Warranty terms, product manuals and the permit sign-offs are handed over as a package.
Regulation
The rules that shape your project
Renovation in British Columbia sits under several regulators at once, and homeowners are rarely told which apply to them. These four most often change a scope or a price:
- WorkSafeBC. Registers employers and issues clearance letters. Since January 2024, asbestos abatement contractors must hold a WorkSafeBC licence, and any pre-1990 building must be surveyed by a qualified person before work disturbs materials.
- Technical Safety BC. Licenses electrical and gas contractors and issues those permits. A general contractor cannot legally pull them or do that work.
- BC Housing. Licenses residential builders and administers 2-5-10 warranty for new and substantially reconstructed homes. We are not licensed under it and do not take that work.
- Your municipality. Issues the building permit, sets secondary-suite rules, and requires a business licence. No two Metro Vancouver municipalities apply these identically.
Reviews
What Azem's clients say
5.0 out of 5 across 5 reviews, every one of them public, attributed, and linked to where it was posted.
Azem of Durak Homes is everything that one would want in a contractor — reliable, conscientious, efficient, considerate, and knowledgeable. In short, he gets the job done, and leaves the worksite spotless. I am happy to recommend his services.
Bathroom renovation · October 2024 · Verified on Bark
Azem was extremely efficient and very professional. He got the work done and cleaned up everything afterwards. We will be utilizing his services again!
Repairs and carpentry · October 2024 · Verified on Bark
Super efficient. Azem came within an hour, assessed the work and did the repairs quickly and efficiently. He didn't leave any mess. Really happy with the service and would highly recommend him to friends.
Repairs · September 2024 · Verified on Bark
Start with a phone call.
It costs both of you ten minutes and it is the fastest way to find out whether Azem is the right contractor for your project.