2006

Tommie Awards (Okanagan) - one gold and two silvers 
Georgie Awards (For the Province) - 2 gold and two silvers

Magazine and Newspaper Articles

Penticton Herald - Real Estate Guide - February 16, 2007

He says it was better than winning the Stanley Cup. That comment comes from Chuck Edwards, owner of C.M. Edwards Construction in Penticton who recently won two Georgies at a gala event in Vancouver. The Georgies are presented to the best builders in the province in a number of different categories as chosen by internationally renowned judges.

"Unbelievable! This is the height of my building career that I've been in for more than 30 years. It was totally unexpected," said Edwards when he won. He's been in construction all his life and has been in the Okanagan since 1990.

His company won a Georgie for the category of homes in the 2,500 to 3,500 sq. ft. range for a house in Bighorn Ridge and the second Georgie in the category of homes valued between $1,000,000 and $3,000,000 for the spectacular La Punta Norte. When you drive from Penticton to Kelowna on Highway 97, you'll see the home on your right, four kilometers north of Summerland.

"That 12,000 sq. ft. adobe-style home was a challenge to build," says Edwards. "You'll notice that it is on a sloped piece of land jutting up from the Okanagan Lake. We had to drill to bedrock and then install 60 concrete columns to support the structure before we could begin the actual construction."

When asked why he believes why his company won the awards, he says, "it is our attention to detail that was one of the reasons". "I'm not doing this for me. I do this for my customers. We step outside the box when it comes to designing the homes. The two that won for us are in the category of adobe southwest design which complements the valley perfectly because we are at the northern tip of the great North American desert and the style is in vogue."

C.M. Edwards Construction is a small company but produces big-time results. "We have only three full-time employees and myself. My wife Beverly looks after the books. She's the brains of the company and I'm the brawn," he laughs.

It's a combination that has worked very well for the company and Chuck says the sports analogy of wining the Stanley Cup is apropos. I'm a veteran of natural luge and am known as 'that luge guy' in the sport." He says he's traded the training and competition of the sport for the arena of construction.

"It's real nice to win on the provincial scene," he says, "and I can also equate it a lot to the Ironman triathlon". "For years I've supported the event by taking cameramen around the course on the back of my motorcycle. To see the athletes put everything on the line is quite remarkable. There's a huge amount of training that goes into the sport and there is a correlation to this industry. You don't get to where you are by luck. It's a lot of hard work and the prizes (awards) I received are icing on the cake."

Edwards also recently won gold and two silvers at the Tommie Awards in Kelowna, the Thompson-Okanagan area's best builder awards.

Business Thompson Okanagan - January, 2007

C.M. Edwards wins with southwestern style

When it comes to building houses in the south Okanagan, Chuck Edwards fits right into the environment.

Situated just 30 miles north of Canada's only bona fide desert his C.M. Edwards Construction company has developed a style and adapted his house building expertise to the setting.

When asked why he those to specialize building homes in the southwestern adobe style, Edwards says he definitely was influenced by looking at a friend's house plans. "It was designed in that particular style and I liked it. They asked me if I could build it. Building is building and I figured it was a matter of just using common sense so I said, yes".

The fact that his company recently won three Silver Tommie Awards this year from the Canadian Home Builders Association in Kelowna (CHBA Kelowna), and placed in the top five in the province for two Georgie awards hasn't changed Edwards' quiet confidence. I'm a little embarrassed - I'd rather just blend into the woodwork", he says. "Whatever we win will be given to the home owners to display. Knowing they are happy is my satisfaction." For Edwards, that kind of confidence comes as the result of more than 35 years in the construction business, 30 of them as his own boss. During those years he's built a reputation he says has eliminated the need to put his company name in the phone book.

"C.M. Edwards Construction has never been in there, because my business comes from word of mouth. If I'm not pleasing my customers then I'm not doing my job," he says. Relying on customer referrals proves that his customers are his best salespeople, he says. If steady work based on his reputation is the criteria, Edwards' claims to be well-founded.

Acting on a friend's invitation and a sense that it was the right time to make a change, Edwards and his wife, Bev, moved to Penticton in 1990. One year later he launched C.M. Edwards Construction. He says he has found his niche and has no aspirations to become a large company. I've been working in Penticton for 15 years now and I'm kept extremely busy," he notes. "There are five people in the company and I would like to keep it that size. We have four full time employees, including my wife who does all the office work."

Although he says he "does the whole spectrum" of home building, he also enjoys small to moderate size commercial projects. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that all the houses he builds are small.

When asked what he considered to be his most interesting project, Edwards immediately cited two recent and one past project. The first one he mentioned was the La Punta Norte. With over 12,000 square feet of floor space, the house boasts six units and is used as a bed and breakfast. Because of its size, the owners required special permission from the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen.

"We had to go to them because normally an owner would only be allowed three units in a bed and breakfast operation, but we had no problem at all. The directors correctly believed that it was a project that would benefit the Summerland area. Most weekends it is booked solid", he says.

Edwards notes the second project consisted of two structures on one property. the main house, Big Horn Ridge, is a one bedroom house but big is the operative word. At 3,300 square feet in area, with only one bedroom, it's all on one level.
Beside it is a second, 720 square foot guest house, which is also used as a bed and breakfast. This project, however, had an extra twist to it. "We took a lot of time not to disturb the local foliage. There was sage brush growing around the house and we took extreme care not to disturb it so that the house looks like it's been there for 100 years," he explains. "The decor is unique - the interior walls and ceilings are all hand plastered to give them the authentic southwestern look and the log beams extend to the outside".

He then referred to a 12,000 square foot veterinary hospital he built in 1999. "This is also in the adobe style, but the building is a up to date and modern as any hospital. It takes the next step up" he says.

According to Edwards, this is his competitive edge and niche market. Living so near Canada's only true desert makes his specialty even more appropriate. "It's the climate in the Okanagan that makes this style what it is. It fits perfectly into the area", he says.

BC Homes Magazine - Issue 12 | Winter 2006

Adobe Style in the Okanagan

You won't find Chuck Edwards' company listed in the phone book; his small group of five has more than enough work to carry them through at least the next two years, thank you. Besides, recently being named a two-time finalist in the Georgie Awards won't do the Penticton company's reputation any harm.

C.M. Edwards Construction specializes in custom homes with a southwest adobe theme, their most noticeable features including hand-plastered interior walls, magnificent fir ceiling logs, full-dimension fir beams and sturdy six by 12 door and window headers.

Architecturally striking dramatic in its visual impact, Edwards' La Punta Norte perches over Lake Okanagan in Summerland, its light sandstone adobe walls offering stunning counterpoint to its magnificent surroundings - luminous blue sky and aquamarine waters. Two years in the building due to complex design and size, the 10-bedroomj, 12,000 square foot, single-family home includes a bed and breakfast. "We pushed the envelope on that one, maxed out every space but all in compliance with the regional district," Edwards says. Not surprisingly, it made the finalist list for Best Single Family Detached Home $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 in this year's George Awards competition.

Still southwestern in character, though vastly different from La Punta Norte, Edwards' Bighorn Ridge home in Okanagan Falls covers only 3,300 square feet, with one bedroom on one level. Which is not, however, to understate its considerable charms, starting with is grandiose entrance, opening up a clear, panoramic view through to sparkling lakes and rolling hills. From without, the home looks almost like a natural outcropping; from within, it makes a bold, beautiful statement. In February, Bighorn Ridge should prove a strong contender in its category: Best Single Family Detached Home 3,000 - 3,999 square feet.

It all started in 1990, when Edwards moved from Red Deer to Penticton. "I had people coming to me to ask if I could build southwestern-style homes, architecture I had always liked," Edwards explains. "We travel a lot, and have a place in Mexico, so I was very familiar with adobe houses. In Penticton, with its semi-arid climate, they fit in well."

No trifler, Edwards uses insulated concrete forms as well as conventional wood framing in his houses. All his walls are 12 inches thick, with a minimum of R40 insulation in the walls, R80 in ceilings - cool in the summer, warm in winter. Attention to detail is remarkable, from the hand-plastered interior walls to the rounded corners, stucco and earth tones, nichos, or wall niches, plus doors and windows installed in the middle of the walls. All the cabinets are fir, lending authenticity to the look, supported by rich hardwood and tile floors, with very little carpet.

"People say that when you walk through the front door of one of these houses it's hard to believe you're in the Okanagan," Edwards says.

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