Suite-Level Repairs
Leaks, fixtures, shutoffs, and hot water inside an individual strata lot, arranged with the owner or tenant and completed with the building rules respected.
Strata and property management
Strata Plumbing, Heating and Gas Services
Work for councils, property managers, and individual owners across Metro Vancouver. We establish the common property boundary before the scope, provide documentation a council can actually put in front of owners, and answer the emergency line at any hour.
Strata Work Has an Extra Question in Front of It
On a house call the question is what is broken. In a strata the question before that is whose it is. Getting the boundary right at the start prevents the dispute that otherwise arrives with the invoice.
Tell Us About the Building
Include the building type, whether the issue is in a suite or common property, and whether more than one unit is affected. For active leaks call (604) 614-0121 — answered 24/7.
Scope
What We Take On in Strata Buildings
Common Property Mechanical
Risers, shared mains, mechanical room equipment, and hot water plant, scoped for a council or property manager rather than an individual owner.
Leak Investigation Between Units
Water appearing in one suite rarely starts there. Tracing the source across a ceiling or wall assembly decides who is responsible for the repair and the damage.
Planned Replacement Projects
Repiping, hot water plant replacement, and heating system work that runs through a depreciation report, a budget decision, and an approval vote before scheduling.
How it works
Practical Detail for Councils and Managers
The Boundary Decides Almost Everything
The first question on any strata call is not what is broken. It is whether the broken part sits inside the strata lot or on common property, because that determines who authorises the work, who pays for it, and who we should be talking to.
There is no universal rule. The boundary is set by the strata plan and the building bylaws, and it varies between buildings. Pipe inside a suite is commonly the owner responsibility while risers and shared mains commonly are not, but "commonly" is doing real work in that sentence. We identify the boundary before the scope is settled, so nobody authorises work they were not responsible for.
Working With Councils and Property Managers
Strata work has more approval steps than an equivalent house call, and the steps are the reason projects stall. A council needs a scope it can put in front of owners. A property manager needs something that survives a budget conversation. Neither is served by a verbal estimate given at the door.
We provide written scope, a clear statement of what is included and excluded, and the practical sequencing, including which stages need building access and how much notice occupants require. For recurring or larger work we deal directly with the manager or council rather than routing everything through individual owners.
Access and Notice
Entering an occupied strata lot has rules attached. Bylaws normally require written notice to the occupant before entry for repairs, with an exception for genuine emergencies. That notice period is part of the schedule, not an afterthought, and ignoring it creates a dispute that costs more than the repair.
For work affecting multiple suites, we set the notice and access plan alongside the scope: which units are affected, when water or heat will be isolated, and how long each isolation runs. Emergencies are handled differently, which is exactly why the emergency exception exists.
Emergencies in a Multi-Unit Building
A failure in a multi-storey building is not contained to the suite it started in. Water moves down through assemblies and affects units that had nothing to do with the cause, which is why the first priority is isolation rather than repair.
Our 24/7 line covers strata emergencies. The useful thing a council can do in advance is make sure whoever is on call knows where the isolation valves are and which ones serve which risers. That knowledge is worth more at two in the morning than any service agreement.
Planned Work and Depreciation Reports
Large mechanical projects in a strata run on a different clock. Repiping, domestic hot water plant replacement, and boiler replacement generally need to appear in planning, get funded, and be approved before any scheduling conversation is realistic.
We can scope and quote at a level that supports that process, including what the work involves, what access it requires, and what condition the existing equipment is actually in. A quote written for a contractor is not the same document as a quote written to be voted on by owners.
Strata FAQs
Questions Councils Ask
Who is responsible for a leak, the owner or the strata?
It depends on where the failure is, and that boundary is set by the strata plan and bylaws rather than by a general rule. Pipe inside a strata lot is commonly the owner responsibility and shared risers and mains commonly are not. We identify the source and its location first, because that is what determines who authorises and pays for the repair.
Can you work directly with our property manager or council?
Yes. For common property work and larger projects we deal with the manager or council directly, with written scope and clear inclusions and exclusions, rather than routing the conversation through individual owners.
How much notice do occupants need before you enter a suite?
Bylaws normally require written notice to the occupant before entry for repairs, with an exception for genuine emergencies. The specific requirement is set by your building bylaws. We build the notice period into the schedule rather than treating it as a formality.
Do you handle whole-building repiping?
We can scope and quote repiping at the unit level or for a building-wide project. Building-wide work usually needs to move through planning, funding, and an approval vote before scheduling is realistic, and we write the scope to support that process.
What should the building have ready before an emergency?
Know where the isolation valves are and which risers they serve, and make sure whoever is on call at night knows too. In a multi-unit building the first job is isolating the failure before it reaches more suites, and that is far faster when the valve locations are already documented.
Related work
Services Strata Buildings Need
Emergency response
Burst pipe? No heat? Gas smell?
Call the emergency line now. For suspected gas leaks, leave the building and call FortisBC or 911 first.