When is a 40-person design-build the right call?
When the project genuinely needs three disciplines at once. A whole-home renovation that also reworks the landscape, replaces the mechanical system and needs interior design carried through every room is exactly what a firm like My House is built for. In-house departments mean the interior designer and the mechanical lead are colleagues who share a schedule instead of two companies emailing each other.
It is also the right call for new construction, duplex or multi-family work, and anything requiring a BC Housing new homes licence. RealDream does none of that and has no intention of starting again.
The other honest case for My House is risk appetite. A firm with roughly 40 staff, over 100 awards and Built Green Canada certification is not going to vanish mid-project. If that is the thing you are worried about, size is a legitimate answer.
When is a smaller North Shore firm the better hire?
When the project is one house on the North Shore and you want the person who quoted it to be the person who runs it.
At 40 staff, the founder is not on your site. That is not a criticism, it is arithmetic. The company has departments precisely so it does not depend on one person. RealDream's structure is the opposite: Nima Gerani meets owners at the first site visit, sets the scope with them, and stays on the file until the last deficiency item is signed off. If something changes on a Tuesday, the owner tells you on Tuesday.
Geography compounds it. My House is headquartered on East Hastings Street in Vancouver and serves everywhere from Langley to White Rock to the North Shore. RealDream's founder lives on the North Shore, and the houses being renovated sit in his own community. On a project that runs six months and needs somebody to walk it on short notice, that distance is not abstract.
Want a number before you shortlist anyone?
Eleven free calculators give you 2026 North Vancouver ranges for kitchens, bathrooms, suites, laneway houses and additions. No phone number required to see a result.
Does the awards record mean the work is better?
It means the award-winning projects were excellent, which is worth knowing and worth respecting. Seven consecutive years as BC Renovator of the Year is not a fluke.
What it does not tell you is which crew and which project manager will be on your particular file, and how a $90,000 kitchen in Upper Lonsdale gets staffed inside a firm whose award entries are large multi-discipline builds. That is a fair question to put to any large contractor, and a good one will answer it directly.
The reverse question is fair too, and RealDream should answer it: with no awards record and no third-party certifications, what is the evidence? The answer is the published portfolio, the fixed price after scope lock, and a founder whose name and face are on the About page. That is a thinner stack than 100 awards. Judge it on its own terms.
What does each publish before you get in touch?
My House publishes a large portfolio, a long service list spanning renovation, new construction and design, and an awards page. It is a strong website for judging finished quality.
RealDream publishes numbers. Eleven calculators cover renovation cost, secondary suites, laneway houses, additions, commercial fit-outs and more, with 2026 North Vancouver figures. The Reveal generates a styled visual of your own room before anything is demolished. Neither tool asks for contact details before it shows you a result.
For a homeowner still deciding whether the project is affordable at all, those are different kinds of useful, and the second kind is harder to find.
Is RealDream cheaper than My House Design/Build/Team?
My House Design/Build/Team does not publish prices, so the comparison cannot be made without quotes. What can be said is structural: a firm carrying roughly 40 staff across in-house design, landscape and mechanical departments has an overhead base that a one-owner renovation company does not. Overhead lands in the price. That is not a criticism of either model, it is how the arithmetic works, and the larger firm is buying you capability with it.
Design fees are the other thing to pin down. Full design-build firms typically charge for design as its own phase, sometimes credited against construction and sometimes not. Ask directly how design is billed before comparing any two totals.
RealDream's published 2026 North Vancouver ranges, for a reference point: kitchen $60,000 to $120,000, bathroom $25,000 to $55,000, full-home renovation $200,000 to $400,000, laneway house $350,000 to $550,000, second-storey addition $400 to $650 per square foot.
Which company should you hire for your project?
4 common project types, and the honest answer for each. Two of them point at My House.
A large whole-home renovation combined with landscape and mechanical work
Hire My House Design/Build/Team
In-house interior design, landscape design and mechanical departments mean one company and one schedule across all three. RealDream would be coordinating outside consultants for the landscape and mechanical design.
A new custom home, laneway build with a new homes licence, or a duplex
Hire My House Design/Build/Team
My House holds a BC Housing new homes licence and lists custom homes, duplex and multi-family work. RealDream stopped taking new custom home construction in 2026.
A kitchen, bathroom or basement renovation on a North Shore house
Hire RealDream Contracting
This is where a small local firm wins on the things that actually affect the experience: the owner is on site, the response time is short, and the price holds once scope and drawings are locked. A 40-person firm can do the work, but the founder will not be the one walking your job.
A project where you want to know the cost range before you talk to anyone
Hire RealDream Contracting
Eleven free calculators publish 2026 North Vancouver figures with no contact form in the way. My House, like most large design-build firms, moves you to a consultation first.
Looking for a My House Design/Build/Team alternative on the North Shore?
The usual reasons are budget and proximity. A 40-person firm with in-house design, landscape and mechanical departments carries overhead that shows up in the quote, and its head office is on East Hastings Street rather than the North Shore.
RealDream Contracting is the small-firm version: renovation only, North Vancouver based, owner on the file from first visit to final signoff, and published cost ranges so you can check budget fit before booking anything.
If you want a North Shore firm that still carries a serious awards record, Goldcon Construction holds a 2019 CHBA National Award and a 2021 Georgie Award, and Platinum Contracting is Renomark certified with recent HAVAN and Georgie shortlists. Both are compared on this site.
Common questions about RealDream and My House
Is RealDream Contracting better than My House Design/Build/Team?
They suit different projects. My House Design/Build/Team runs roughly 40 staff with in-house interior design, landscape design and mechanical departments, states over 100 industry awards including BC Renovator of the Year seven years running, and holds a BC Housing new homes licence. It is the better hire for large multi-discipline projects and new construction. RealDream Contracting is a small owner-led North Vancouver firm doing renovation only, and is the better hire for a North Shore house renovation where you want the owner running the file and the price fixed after scope lock.
Where is My House Design/Build/Team based?
My House Design/Build/Team Ltd. is headquartered at 3443 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC. It serves Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, Langley, White Rock, North Vancouver and West Vancouver. RealDream Contracting is based in North Vancouver and serves the North Shore first.
How many awards has My House Design/Build/Team won?
My House Design/Build/Team states over 100 industry awards, including BC Renovator of the Year seven years running, plus Georgie Awards and Ovation Awards recognition. It is also Built Green Canada certified, Baeumler Approved, a HAVAN member and a BC Housing licensed new homes builder.
Does RealDream Contracting do landscape or mechanical design?
No. RealDream Contracting handles site work and drainage as part of renovation scope but does not have in-house landscape design or mechanical design departments. My House Design/Build/Team does, which is a real advantage on projects that need all three disciplines coordinated.
Which company is more expensive?
Neither publishes prices, so this cannot be answered without quotes. Structurally, a firm with roughly 40 staff and three in-house design departments carries more overhead than a single-owner renovation company, and overhead shows up in the price. That overhead also buys capability a small firm does not have. Ask both how design work is billed before comparing totals.
Will the founder work on my project?
At RealDream Contracting, yes. Nima Gerani meets owners at the first site visit, sets the scope, and stays on the file until the final deficiency item is signed off. At My House Design/Build/Team, founder Graeme Huguet leads a company of roughly 40 people organised into departments, so day-to-day project delivery runs through project managers rather than the founder.
Where these facts came from
RealDream Contracting wrote these pages. We have an obvious interest in how they read, so we have kept every competitor claim to what that company publishes on its own website and linked the source at the bottom of each page. Where another firm is the better hire for a particular project, we say so by name. If you spot something out of date about your company here, email info@realdream.ca and we will correct it.
Company details last checked 2026-08-04. My House Design/Build/Team is an independent company and is not affiliated with RealDream Contracting. All company names and trade marks belong to their owners.