CondoAdvisory Blog » Technical Info

More Green Condos in North Vancouver

keith — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:39:24 +0000

Well it seems the trend to greener condo projects continues. Of course we really are not sure what “Green” really means and there are a number of different opinions as to whether any of this is really significant or just good marketing. I have to agree that there is always some marketing involved in these things but whatever the case, any step forward must be beneficial so I say this is a good thing.

Read about the the Brook condo developments in North Vancouver at “globeandmail.com”

Another Vancouver Area Condo Development Set to Use Geothermal Energy

keith — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:24:55 +0000

A proposed North Vancouver Condo Development is looking to use geothermal energy. This is something that is relatively new in residential construction and comes with an initial cost, but long run there are considerable cost savings and environmental savings.

There is one other building I am aware of in Burnaby that uses the same technology. Verdant, 9191 University Cres. at SFU uses geothermal energy. This project was built in conjunction with the SFU Community Trust.

Read more about the potential new development in North Vancouver in the North Shore News

Richmond Elevator Installed Non-compliant Hoses in Vancouver Area Condo Elevators

keith — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:46:42 +0000

BC Elevator Safety Issued a warning regarding non-compliant hoses installed in various elevators in Vancouver area condo buildings. Once discovered corrective action was taken immediately and an investigation into the cause or reason for them being installed is still ongoing. If your Building uses Richmond Elevator as a contractor you may want to enquire with the. But again it looked as though all corrective action has been taken.

Good to see that the BC Safety Authority is on top of things.

Read the full story in the Vancouver Sun

Wood Frame Condos Could Grow Higher in BC!

keith — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:58:19 +0000

I found an interesting article today about the fact the the BC Government is looking at changing the Building code to allow wood frame building to be built 6 stories high rather than the current 4 stories.

This would certainly make it possible to build certain buildings that would not have been viable before with concrete construction. Also, will possibly make for some more affordable options for buyers out there.

I guess my only question is how high should we be building with wood. Obviously we want to make sure all our buildings are structurally sound, will last a long time etc. We all want to assume that if it part of the building code it must be OK, but don’t forget what happened with leaky condos and the building code at the time. if we use that logic there should not have been any leaky condos.

Would love to hear form any builders, engineers etc. on this.

Green Roofs, In Vancouver Does This Mean Green as in Money?

keith — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:49:23 +0000

Photo Courtesy of:pnwra

And when I say money, I mean money in the form of costing money down the road.

It does seem like a great concept, and great for the environment, but there is one major problem that I can’t get out of my mind. If you put dirt, grass plants etc. on the roof of a building, is that not just like when they do the same over a underground parking?

As many of you may know, this seems to cause trouble quite often with the membrane failing and water seeping through. It is common to see underground parkades with water leaking into them, often not a huge deal as they can inject where the leaks are coming from, but also not uncommon is having to take up all the landscaping and re-doing the membrane.

Don’t forget, it is not such a huge problem when you have minor leaks in a parkade, most have just come to accept them as normal which I think is a reasonable way to look at it, but if those same leaks are happening on the roof of a building and the water is getting into the building, seems to me we have a problem. with all the leaky condo problems we have had and continue to have, it does not make a lot of sense to me to be putting landscaping on the roof of a building that will act like a sponge for moisture.

Now I must say, I am not a engineer or any type of expert in this area so I stand to be corrected on this, but on the surface I have some serious concerns about this.

New Building Techniques BeingUsed in Squamish Development

keith — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:26:45 +0000

I came across an interesting article about a new construction technique that saves time and seems to improve quality control when constructing multi family developments. With all the past problems with leaky condos and time delays with new developments I though this was an interesting concept. Rather than try to explain, have a read of the article regarding the SOLTERRA DEVELOPEMENT in Squamish.