Poly-B plumbing
Poly-B is a grey plastic water pipe installed in many Canadian homes from about the late 1970s to the late 1990s. Insurers ask about it, so it’s worth knowing before you remove subjects.
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Home guides
Guides for BC home buyers and owners
The things that come up again and again in Metro Vancouver homes, explained plainly: what they are, why they matter, and who to call.
Plumbing and drainage
Kitec plumbing
Kitec is a flexible plastic and aluminum pipe used in many Canadian homes and condos from about 1995 to 2007. Its brass fittings are usually where the trouble starts.
Galvanized water pipes
Galvanized steel was a common water pipe in homes built before about 1960. It rusts from the inside, and sections of it often survive in older houses that have been partly replumbed.
Water heaters
Most tank water heaters last about 10 to 12 years. The tank’s age, its seismic straps and the relief valve pipe are the three things worth checking before you buy.
Sewer and backwater valves
The pipe that carries your home’s waste to the street is buried and out of sight. In an older home, a camera scan before subject removal is the usual way to see its condition.
Perimeter drains
The perimeter drain runs around the footings and carries groundwater away from the foundation. In a wet climate it’s one of the hardest-working parts of a house, and one of the least visible.
Electrical and fire safety
Aluminum wiring
Some homes built from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s were wired with aluminum instead of copper. The wire itself isn’t the problem; the connections are.
Knob-and-tube wiring
Knob-and-tube was the standard way to wire a house until about 1950. Some of it is still in service in Vancouver and North Shore character homes, often alongside newer wiring.
Federal Pioneer panels
Federal Pioneer Stab-Lok panels and breakers turn up in older Canadian homes. Some insurers ask about them, so it helps to know what’s in the panel before you remove subjects.
Smoke and CO alarms
Smoke alarms wear out after 10 years, and many older homes were built before alarms in bedrooms or carbon monoxide alarms were expected. Both are simple to put right when you move in.
Heating and fireplaces
Buried oil tanks
Until the 1960s, most Vancouver homes were heated with oil stored in a buried tank, and not all of those tanks have been removed.
Radiant ceiling heat
Some BC homes from the 1960s and 1970s are heated by electric cables or panels hidden in the ceilings. It’s quiet and simple, but it needs care whenever the ceiling is worked on.
Fireplaces and WETT
If the home you’re buying has a wood stove or wood-burning fireplace, your insurer may ask for a WETT inspection, and in Metro Vancouver the appliance may need to be registered before you use it.
Moisture, air and materials
Condensation and mould
Water on the inside of the windows on a cold morning means the indoor air is holding more moisture than the house can handle. Left alone, it feeds mould.
Asbestos and vermiculite
Homes built before 1990 are more likely to contain asbestos in some building materials. Intact and undisturbed, those materials aren’t a concern on their own; the time to act is before a renovation.
Radon in BC
Radon is a radioactive gas from the ground that can build up indoors. You can’t see or smell it, and the only way to know a home’s level is to test.
Condos, strata and suites
Leaky condos and rainscreen
Tens of thousands of BC condos and townhouses built from the mid-1980s to around 2000 let water into their walls. Many have since been rebuilt with rainscreen walls; some haven’t.
Strata documents
For many condos and townhouses, the biggest costs sit in the strata documents, not in the unit. A home inspection doesn’t review them; you, your realtor and your lawyer do.
Secondary suites
A suite can help with the mortgage, but not every suite was built with permits. An inspection looks at safety; whether the suite is legal is for the municipality to say.
Guides are general information. Your inspection report describes your home.
Send the address. We’ll take it from there.
Most inspections are booked within a day or two. If you’re in a subject-removal window, say so.