Building on Trail's hillsides

Many Trail homes sit on steep streets above the Columbia River, in areas like West Trail, Miral Heights and Sunningdale. Tight lots and slopes are the norm, which is why retaining walls and solid stair runs come up so often here.

A lot of the houses in the older parts of town date from the smelter's early decades. Older homes tend to need new drainage, rebuilt steps and replaced service lines as they age.

Glenmerry, Waneta and Shavers Bench have flatter, roomier lots, which suit bigger decks, patios and shop pads.

Warfield, just up the highway toward Rossland, is close enough that we treat it as part of our home turf.

Permits in Trail

In Trail, building permits are handled through the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary's building department. A new deck needs a permit, and a retaining wall over 1.2 m needs an engineer's design. Fences don't need a permit, but zoning keeps them to 1 m in front yards and 1.8 m elsewhere.