Here are a few words of advice from the organizers and judges to help you to prepare a winning entry, and just as importantly, to know what pitfalls to avoid. They're organized into the following:

  1. Written portion
  2. Photographs
  3. Floor/Site Plans
  4. Homeowners Permission Form

Written portion

  • Use bullets or point form in the text boxes—easier for you to write and easier for the judges to understand.
  • Word counts are the maximum only—don't feel obligated to meet the word count limit with each question, especially if you have answered the question fully and find yourself repeating information. It's much better to be concise in your answers – Judges don't like repetition.
  • Answer the question fully. Make sure you are addressing all aspects of the question, or judges will dock you points.
  • Have quality photography. Photographs are the only way judges can see your project. Make sure they are well lit and true to real-life colour and scale. For renovation categories, provide "before" photos from the same angle as the after photos.
  • More entries = better odds. Increase your chances of winning the Marketing Excellence Award, Renovation Excellence, and the Design Excellence Award by entering as many categories as possible. The more you win, the better you'll do. See the Categories tab for more information.
  • Take your time and double-check the entry before you submit it. The submission deadline is 2:05pm, December 11, 2023. You can go back and edit your entry up until the deadline, even if you're already submitted it.
  • Have a backup of your work. If you know that you'll be submitting an entry close to the entry date for whatever reason, it is strongly recommended that you prepare your entry using the supplied Word forms. That way, if you have computer glitches, your work will at least be saved. If you know you'll want to reference your content at a later point, it's also good to have a backup as you won't have access to the system.

Photos

  • Have quality photography. Photographs are the only way judges can see your project, and they have a huge impact on how judges see your entry and often influence your final score. This cannot be emphasized enough. Make sure your images are well lit and true to real-life colour and scale.
  • Renderings are not permitted. Since eligible projects for the New Home Awards, New Home Spaces Awards, Net Zero Home Awards, Renovation Awards, and Community Development Awards must have already been built (completed and ready for occupancy), do not submit renderings. The exception to this is the category: Mid- to High-Rise Project (Planned). Renderings are expected for this category as projects entered into it are not yet completed.
  • Do not submit images that have logos, borders, frames, or watermarks. The exception: marketing categories where it makes sense to include the logo.
  • Submit colour images that are 2500px wide and 300ppi for the perfect combination of fast upload times and file sizes large enough for CHBA to use on its website and in printed material. Images do not need to be renamed (i.e. you don't need to put an entry number, your company name, etc.). Smaller files are accepted, but note that if they're too small judges may have difficulty seeing details.
  • "Before" and "after" pictures are required for renovation categories. Do your best to provide photos from the same angle so that judges can see the transformation. To further assist judges, we suggest you rename each image once you've uploaded it (e.g. "before - empty kitchen corner" and "after - empty kitchen corner now with pantry").
  • Image orientation can be horizontal, vertical or square.

Floor/Site Plans

  • Use simple plans (the same kind you would provide to clients on your website).
  • Upload in PDF format.
  • Combine pages – if your plans are on more than one page, simply combine them into a single PDF document and upload all together.
  • Try to avoid having company identification on your floor plans, if possible.
  • There's no need to rename your floor plans before uploading.

Homeowner Permission Form

  • The Homeowner Permission Form must be filled in and signed by the homeowner(s) for all Home Renovation categories and Custom Home or Spaces categories. In addition, any custom home entered as an Attached Home, an Entry-Level Home, or a custom or renovated Net Zero Home must also upload the Homeowner Permission Form.
  • The project name on the Homeowner Permission Form must match the project name on the online submission. If there is a discrepancy, the project name on the Homeowner Permission Form will be used.
  • Custom homes still in the builder's possession may be entered, but the builder must fill in the form and indicate "in builder's possession" on it.