- Address: 12 Lankin Blvd #3, Orillia, ON L3V 7B6
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Custom Home Designs in Orillia, Shaped to Your Lot
Custom home designs in Orillia from My Own Cottage start one of two ways: you adapt a preconfigured model from our catalogue, or you begin a design tailored to your lot.
Either way, the design has to fit the City of Orillia’s lot rules. Foundation, site preparation and servicing are quoted separately against your lot.
Bring us your Orillia lot. We’ll help you see what fits before you commit to a design.
✓ HCRA Licensed | ✓ Tarion Enrolled
Written by Sean Stevenson, Chief Marketing Officer and Buyer Experience Lead, My Own Cottage Inc.
5 years guiding Ontario buyers • Updated 10 Sept 2026
My Own Cottage Inc. is an HCRA-licensed, Tarion-enrolled custom prefab home and cottage builder based in Orillia, Ontario. You can confirm the licence by searching the company name on the Ontario Builder Directory.
Our facility is at 12 Lankin Blvd #3, Orillia, ON L3V 7B6. We deliver anywhere in Ontario, so a lot in the city or in neighbouring Severn or Ramara is inside our delivery area.
The first conversation is about your lot and the year-round home you want on it. It is free and carries no obligation.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1.
You choose between adapting a preconfigured catalogue model and a custom home design tailored to your lot.
2.
A listed model’s price covers the structure and its delivery. Foundation, site preparation, servicing, permits, municipal charges and turnkey finishing are separate.
3.
Waterfront lots on Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching carry a dwelling setback and a lot-coverage cap inside the Shoreline Buffer Overlay Zone that decide where the house can sit.
4.
Your lot’s zone under the City’s zoning by-law sets the setbacks, height and coverage the design works within.
5.
Whether municipal water and sewer reach your property line decides how the lot is serviced.
Where Custom Home Designs in Orillia Start
Can you adapt a catalogue model to an Orillia lot?
Yes. Every preconfigured model in the catalogue has a floor plan, and that plan is the starting point for your changes. You pick the model closest to how your household lives, then adapt it to the lot.
These are among our catalogue models you can start from:
If one of these is close to what you want, start there.
Listed prices cover the structure and delivery. Foundation, site preparation, servicing, permits, municipal charges and turnkey finishing are quoted separately.
Can you start from a tailored custom home design?
Yes. A tailored design is a home designed from your lot, your household and year-round use, rather than from a catalogue plan. It suits lots where no catalogue footprint fits the setbacks or the slope.
What a Listed Model’s Price Covers on an Orillia Lot
What does a listed model’s price include?
A listed model’s price covers the structure and its delivery. Everything that depends on your lot is quoted separately.
| Part of the project | Included in a listed model’s price? | How it is handled |
|---|---|---|
| The structure, as the preconfigured model is listed | Yes | Shown in the catalogue as “Preconfigured model starting at” |
| Delivery | Yes | Anywhere in Ontario |
| Foundation, site preparation and servicing | No | Licensed-trade installation affiliates, quoted separately against your lot and set in the agreement before the build |
| Permits | No | My Own Cottage helps with permits |
| Municipal charges | No | Set by the municipality |
| Turnkey finishing | No | Quoted separately |
Who handles the foundation, site preparation and servicing?
Licensed-trade installation affiliates carry out the foundation, site preparation and servicing. They are contracted rather than employed, and their work is set in the agreement before the build. My Own Cottage designs and builds prefab homes and acts as the custom home builder for the home itself.
Want the model price and the site work separated for your lot? A scoped quote prices foundation, site preparation and servicing against your lot.
Designing an Orillia Waterfront Home
How far back from Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching does a home have to sit?
On a City of Orillia waterfront lot, a new home must sit at least 30 m from Lake Simcoe and at least 15.0 m from the Lake Couchiching high water mark.
| Lake | Minimum dwelling setback (Zoning By-law 2014-44, s. 5.34) | Maximum lot coverage inside the Shoreline Buffer Overlay Zone (s. 15.1.3) |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Simcoe | 30 m | 25% |
| Lake Couchiching | 15.0 m from the high water mark | 25% |
Source: City of Orillia Zoning By-law 2014-44, consolidated July 27, 2026, checked September 10, 2026.
The Shoreline Buffer Overlay Zone is an overlay zone in Zoning By-law 2014-44, and your lot’s schedule map shows whether it applies. Inside it, lot coverage is capped at 25%.
Each lake has its own setback. On Lake Couchiching it's measured from the high water mark, so that line on your survey is where your design starts.
What is the high water mark, and where is it on your lot?
The high water mark is the boundary between a navigable waterway and land not under water at normal or controlled summer levels, as defined in Zoning By-law 2014-44. The Lake Couchiching setback is measured from it, so its position on your survey sets where the setback starts.
The shoreline and conservation-authority approval steps for waterfront lots are set out on their own page.
Not sure where the high water mark falls on your lot? Bring your survey to a free consultation, and the design starts from that line.
Designing on Any Orillia Lot: Zoning, Servicing and Access
Which zoning rules apply to your Orillia lot?
City of Orillia Zoning By-law 2014-44 applies to every lot in the city. Your lot’s zone is shown on the by-law’s schedule maps, and overlay zones, including the Shoreline Buffer and Flood Hazard overlays, add restrictions on top. The zone sets the setbacks, height and lot coverage the design has to meet.
The by-law figures on this page apply inside Orillia city limits. A lot in Severn or Ramara is governed by that township’s own zoning by-law.
Is your Orillia lot on municipal water and sewer, or a private septic system?
Orillia property owners may connect to municipal water and sanitary sewer where the services are available at the property line. Before the City issues a building permit, it requires a completed Application and Estimate for Water and Sewer and payment of the applicable fees (City of Orillia, Water and Sewer Services, checked September 10, 2026).
Whether services reach your property line is one of the first things to confirm, because it decides where the house, driveway and any septic system can sit.
Does a new home in Orillia need a lot grading and drainage plan?
Yes. The City of Orillia requires a lot grading and drainage plan for new homes. The plan must follow the City’s lot grading plan requirements and Engineering Design Criteria, and it must be prepared and stamped by a Professional Engineer, a Certified Engineering Technologist or an Ontario Land Surveyor (City of Orillia, Lot Grading and Drainage Plans, checked September 10, 2026).
The plan sets out how water will drain from your property, so it is part of fitting the design to the lot.
What should you tell us about access to your lot?
When you book, tell us about the driveway, slope, trees and overhead lines between the road and the building spot. Those details shape the delivery logistics for your lot and the site preparation it needs.
Run through these five checks on the way in to your lot, then bring your answers when you book.
Not sure a delivery can reach your building spot? Bring your five answers to a free consultation, before anything is designed or quoted.
Your Orillia Custom Design, From Consultation to Permit Application
What happens at the free consultation?
At the free consultation, you bring the lot, the household and how you plan to use the home, and the design conversation starts from those. It carries no obligation.
What do you settle before an Orillia design is final?
1. Confirm your lot’s zone on the schedule maps of Zoning By-law 2014-44.
2. Confirm whether municipal water and sewer are available at your property line.
3. On a waterfront lot, locate the high water mark on your survey.
4. Plan for a lot grading and drainage plan stamped by a Professional Engineer, Certified Engineering Technologist or Ontario Land Surveyor.
5. Choose your starting point: an adapted catalogue model or a tailored design.
6. Fit the design to the setbacks and coverage that apply to your lot.
What does My Own Cottage handle on an Orillia permit?
My Own Cottage helps with permits. The application, the review, the fees and the timelines are the City of Orillia’s process. How the City reviews an application, and what it charges, is covered on its own page.
Once you know your zone, servicing and access, a scoped quote separates the model price from the site work on your lot.
How We Verified
Every municipal figure on this page comes from these City of Orillia sources. Confirm the rules for your lot with the City before the design starts.
| What this page states | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Dwelling setbacks of 30 m from Lake Simcoe and 15.0 m from the Lake Couchiching high water mark (s. 5.34); 25% maximum lot coverage in the Shoreline Buffer Overlay Zone (s. 15.1.3); the high water mark definition; zones and overlay zones | City of Orillia Zoning By-law 2014-44, consolidated July 27, 2026 | September 10, 2026 |
| Municipal water and sewer connection where services reach the property line; Application and Estimate for Water and Sewer required before a building permit | City of Orillia, Water and Sewer Services | September 10, 2026 |
| Lot grading and drainage plan required for new homes, stamped by a Professional Engineer, Certified Engineering Technologist or Ontario Land Surveyor | City of Orillia, Lot Grading and Drainage Plans | September 10, 2026 |
Start With Your Lot
Custom home designs in Orillia begin with the lot, so the first conversation is about yours. Bring the address or survey, what you know about servicing and access, and how your household will use the home.
These photos show the kind of year-round home a tailored design can lead to.
One free conversation covers your lot, your starting point and your timeline.
MY OWN COTTAGE
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About the Author
Sean Stevenson is Chief Marketing Officer and Buyer Experience Lead at My Own Cottage Inc., an HCRA-licensed, Tarion-enrolled prefab home and cottage builder based in Orillia, Ontario.
For five years, Sean has worked alongside the company’s build team, guiding Ontario buyers from lot assessment and budgeting beyond the model price through zoning, permits, development charges and final occupancy. Sean focuses on the part most buyers underestimate: what a prefab home costs to complete once the foundation, servicing and approvals are added to the model price.
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