Renovating a Condo Bathroom in Vancouver: Drains, Waterproofing and the Units Below

What can change in a condo bathroom

The tub, shower, toilet, sink, taps, tile, vanity and fan can all be replaced once the strata approves the work in writing.

Section 9.1 of the Strata Property Regulation defines fixtures as items attached to a building, including floor and wall coverings and plumbing fixtures. Standard Bylaw 5(1)(g) requires the strata's written approval before an owner alters the fixtures the original developer installed. Bylaw 5(2) says the strata must not unreasonably withhold that approval.

A bathroom where every fixture stays in its position, connected to the drain it already uses, is decided under Bylaw 5 alone. More rules apply when a drain moves, because the pipe under or inside the floor may belong to all the owners.

Moving a drain in a concrete floor

Moving a toilet, a tub or a shower drain in a unit with a concrete floor involves four separate matters. Each one has its own rule.

The first is the structure. A new drain position needs a new hole through the concrete or a channel cut into it. Standard Bylaw 5(1)(a) requires written approval for an alteration that involves the structure of a building. Before we draw a new position, we ask the strata for the building's drawings, and a structural engineer decides whether and where the concrete can be cut.

The second is ownership of the pipe. Section 68(1) of the Strata Property Act puts the boundary of a unit midway through the structural floor, unless the strata plan shows a different line. Section 1 makes a drain pipe common property when it sits inside a floor that forms a boundary with another unit, and when it can serve another unit. Work on that pipe is decided under Standard Bylaw 6.

The third is the neighbour below. If the pipe has to be reached from underneath, the work is in or above another owner's ceiling. Standard Bylaw 7 gives a right of entry to a person authorized by the strata, on 48 hours' written notice, to inspect, repair or maintain common property. Access for an owner's own renovation depends on the neighbour's agreement and the strata's approval, so ask the strata how it wants that arranged before you rely on it.

The fourth is dust. WorkSafeBC says cutting, breaking or drilling concrete releases silica dust, which can cause silicosis, a serious lung disease that cannot be reversed. Section 6.112 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires a risk assessment by a qualified person before workers do this work. The controls the regulation puts first are dust reduction systems and containment of the work.

A hole through the floor between two homes also passes through the construction that slows a fire. The BC Building Code 2024 requires such holes to be sealed with a tested fire-stopping product (Article 3.1.9.1). The Province states that the BC Codes do not apply in the City of Vancouver, which has its own building by-law, so ask the City what it requires.

For these reasons our first design for a condo bathroom keeps every drain where it is. We draw a moved drain only after the strata has said in writing that it will consider one.

Why water is the main risk in a tower

In a house, a leak damages the owner's own floors. In a tower, the same leak can reach the units below and the common property, and the repair becomes a claim on the strata's insurance.

That claim has a deductible, the first part of the loss, which the insurer leaves the strata to pay. The Province of BC's page on owner insurance says strata corporation deductibles can range from $100,000 to $750,000 or higher. It says the strata may recover the deductible from an owner when the claim starts in that owner's unit and the owner is deemed responsible for the loss.

The page is direct about fault: an owner "can be deemed responsible, and required to pay the strata corporation's insurance deductible, even if not 'at fault' or negligent". Its example is a dishwasher hose that breaks and sends water into the common property and other units. Section 158(2) of the Act lets the strata sue the owner to recover the amount.

The same page lists what the strata's own policy leaves to the owner, and paying the strata's deductible is on that list. It also says an owner's policy can cover some or all of the deductible, and that other cover can include water damage, major upgrades done to the unit, and a unit left vacant for periods of time.

Call your broker before the work starts. Say what is being renovated, whether you will live elsewhere during the work, and when the water will be off and on. Ask in writing what the policy covers while the bathroom is under renovation.

Waterproofing: how we build and test a shower

We treat tile as the finish of a shower and rely on the waterproof layer under it to keep water out of the floor and walls. That layer covers the shower floor and runs up the walls.

We install that layer the way its maker's instructions say, using one maker's system for the floor, the walls, the corners and the drain connection. We then test it before any tile is laid. The drain is plugged, the shower base is filled with water, and the water level is marked. The water stays for the period the maker of the product sets. A level that has dropped means a leak, and the layer is repaired and tested again.

We photograph the finished layer and the test, with the date, for your file. If your strata asks for proof of how the shower was built, you have it.

New water lines are tested as well. We fill them and check every joint under pressure before the wall is closed, and we fit a new shut-off valve at each fixture we replace, so the water to one fixture can be turned off without closing the supply to the whole unit.

Turning the water off

Plumbing work needs the water off, and in a condo the valve that does it may be outside your unit.

If your unit has its own working shut-off valve, closing it affects only you. If the work needs a valve that also supplies other units, that valve is on a common pipe. Section 3 of the Strata Property Act makes the strata corporation responsible for managing the common property, so the shut-off is arranged through the strata.

Ask the strata manager in writing who may close the valve, how much notice the other owners need, and which hours are allowed. We put the shut-off dates in the strata request, and we plan the plumbing so that the shared water is off once and for the shortest time the work allows.

The fan and its duct

A bathroom fan pushes damp air into a duct. Find out where that duct goes before you choose a new fan.

Under section 1 of the Act, a duct is common property when it sits inside a boundary wall, floor or ceiling, or when it can serve another unit. A new fan connected at the same point as the old one changes a fixture in your unit. A new connection to a shared duct changes common property, and a new opening through an outside wall changes the exterior of the building under Standard Bylaw 5(1)(b).

Ask the strata whether the duct is shared and whether the building limits the fan that may be connected to it. Send the product sheet for the fan with the request.

A fan is also a source of noise. A note in the BC Building Code 2024 lists plumbing and fans among the common sources of noise in buildings, and says vibrating parts should be isolated from the building structure using materials such as neoprene or rubber. That code is the provincial one, and the City of Vancouver has its own by-law. Standard Bylaw 3(1) applies in every case: it forbids using a unit in a way that causes unreasonable noise.

Old finishes: hazardous materials and dust

Have the bathroom's finishes inspected before anything is removed. Section 20.112 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires the employers and the owner to ensure a qualified person inspects for hazardous materials before renovation work begins.

WorkSafeBC says asbestos was used in more than 3,000 building materials from the 1950s to the 1990s, and its list of materials that often contained it includes drywall, textured ceiling coating and vinyl flooring. A bathroom renovation disturbs all three where they are present. WorkSafeBC also says you cannot tell by looking.

Tile has its own hazard. WorkSafeBC lists tiles, cement and mortar among the materials that contain silica, and says cutting or breaking them releases the dust. The risk assessment in section 6.112 covers this work as well as concrete.

Our page on older towers explains the inspection report and what happens when it finds asbestos.

Time without a bathroom

A unit with one bathroom has no working toilet or shower while that bathroom is rebuilt. Our published time on site for a full bathroom renovation in the existing layout is 4 to 6 weeks, a figure we wrote for houses on the North Shore. A condo adds the wait for the strata's approval before the work and the building's limits on working hours during it.

Plan where you will live before you sign. We tell you at the quote stage how long the bathroom will be closed in your building.