Downtown · Yaletown · Brentwood · Metrotown · Lower Lonsdale
Condo & Strata Renovations in Vancouver
Renovating a condo is half construction and half paperwork. Most of the delays have nothing to do with the trades — they come from the strata. We handle that side for you.
- Fixed written price in 5 business days
- 2-year workmanship warranty
- Fully insured · WorkSafeBC
Why condo renovations are different
The finished result may look like any other renovation. Getting there does not.
- You need permission before you start. Not just a City permit — written approval from your strata council, and sometimes a vote of the owners.
- Work hours are dictated to you. Most Metro Vancouver buildings restrict noisy work to weekdays, commonly 9am to 5pm, with nothing on weekends or holidays.
- Access is scheduled. Elevators must be booked and padded. Loading bays have time windows. Some towers allow one contractor lift at a time.
- Everything arrives and leaves through a shared corridor. Demolition debris, slabs, cabinetry, appliances — all of it through common property, on protection, without marking a wall.
- The building's systems aren't yours. Risers, in-slab plumbing, sprinklers, in-suite fan units and the concrete structure itself are common property.
A contractor who mainly works in houses will discover these one at a time, usually the expensive way.
The strata alteration process, handled
Under British Columbia's Strata Property Act, alterations affecting common property need approval before work begins. In practice that means:
- Work inside your strata lot generally needs prior written approval from the strata council, usually through an alteration agreement.
- Significant changes to the use or appearance of common property fall under section 71 of the Act and require a three-quarters vote of the owners — not just council sign-off. This catches more renovations than owners expect, because it can include changes to plumbing that ties into common risers.
- An alteration and indemnity agreement is standard. It assigns responsibility for future maintenance and any damage arising from the alteration to you as the owner — permanently, and often binding on whoever buys the unit next. Read it before you sign it.
What we prepare: the alteration application, scope description, drawings, our WorkSafeBC clearance letter and liability insurance certificate naming the strata corporation, the trade list, and the proposed schedule with work hours. We deal with the property manager directly.
One honest warning. Strata approval timelines are outside anyone's control. Some councils turn an application around in a week; others meet monthly. Start the application before you finalise your finishes, not after.
Plumbing and electrical in a concrete tower
In a wood-frame low-rise you can usually move a drain. In a concrete high-rise you often cannot, because the drain is cast into the slab and the slab is structure.
This is the single biggest constraint on condo kitchen and bathroom layouts, and it's the thing we check first at the estimate. Sometimes there's a workaround — building a low platform, relocating within the existing stack's reach, or using a different fixture. Sometimes the honest answer is that the sink stays where it is, and we design something better around it.
Electrical is similarly constrained: many towers have limited spare capacity at the suite panel, which matters if you're adding heated floors, an induction range or additional lighting circuits. We check the panel before quoting, not after.
We'd rather tell you at the walkthrough that a layout isn't possible than discover it in week two with your kitchen already demolished.
Noise, neighbours and living in the building
You still have to live next to these people afterwards. So does the strata council that approved your job.
How we work in occupied buildings: floor and wall protection through every common corridor and the elevator lobby, negative-air dust control at the suite entry, the noisiest work — demolition and core drilling — scheduled early in the window and completed as fast as possible, corridors swept at the end of every day, and a notice on the affected floors before we start.
It sounds like small stuff. It is the difference between a strata that approves your next project and one that makes the rest of the job difficult.
Typical timelines run two to three weeks of active work for a condo bathroom and three to five weeks for a condo kitchen — genuinely faster than a house, because the spaces are smaller. The approval process beforehand is what stretches the calendar.
Our Work
Recent condo and tower projects
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Waterfront Condo Renovation
Downtown Vancouver
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Marble Slab Feature Wall
Downtown Vancouver
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Porcelain Slab Media Wall
North Vancouver
Condo and strata renovation questions
Do I need strata approval to renovate my condo?
Almost always. Work inside your strata lot generally needs prior written approval from the strata council. Significant changes to the use or appearance of common property fall under section 71 of the Strata Property Act and require a three-quarters vote of the owners.
What is an alteration and indemnity agreement?
It is the agreement your strata will ask you to sign before approving work. It assigns responsibility for future maintenance of the alteration, and any damage arising from it, to you as the owner. It often binds future owners of the unit too, so read it carefully before signing.
Do you handle the strata paperwork?
Yes. We prepare the alteration application, scope description, drawings, WorkSafeBC clearance, liability insurance certificate naming the strata corporation, trade list and schedule, and we deal with the property manager directly.
Can I move my kitchen sink or toilet in a concrete building?
Often not. In concrete towers the drains are cast into the slab, which is structural. Sometimes there is a workaround within the existing stack's reach. We check this at the estimate before quoting a layout.
What are typical strata work hours?
Most Metro Vancouver buildings restrict noisy work to weekdays, commonly 9am to 5pm, with no work on weekends or statutory holidays. Your building's bylaws govern, and we schedule around them.
How long does a condo renovation take?
Two to three weeks of active work for a bathroom and three to five weeks for a kitchen. The strata approval process beforehand is the variable — some councils respond within a week, others meet monthly.
Condo renovations across Greater Vancouver
- Vancouver
- Burnaby
- Richmond
- North Vancouver
- West Vancouver
- Coquitlam
- Port Moody
- New Westminster
- Surrey
- Delta
Free · No Obligation
Get a fixed price for your condo renovation
We'll visit, measure, and send a fixed written price within 5 business days. No fee, no pressure, no follow-up sales calls.