Adding or Moving a Washer and Dryer in a Vancouver Condo

Read the bylaws before anything else

A building's bylaws can prohibit a washer or dryer in a unit where the developer installed none. Section 119(2) of the Strata Property Act lets bylaws provide for the control, management, maintenance, use and enjoyment of the strata lots. The Province of BC's page on bylaws adds that bylaws may require written permission for plumbing or electrical changes. Read your building's bylaws and rules before you pay for a design.

Ask the strata manager in writing whether any bylaw or rule covers in-suite laundry, and whether the council has approved it in another unit. Section 36(3) of the Act requires the strata to provide its bylaws and rules within one week of an owner's request.

Three things decide it: water, a drain and the dryer's air

A washer needs a water supply and a drain. A dryer needs the path for its exhaust air that its maker's instructions describe. The table shows when each part belongs to the building, and which item of BC's Standard Bylaws the work touches. The Standard Bylaws are the default set that applies unless your building has filed its own.

The drain is the first thing we check. Before we price the work, we find where the nearest drain joins the shared pipe and how a new drain would reach that point. If the route needs a cut through a concrete floor, Standard Bylaw 5(1)(a) applies, because it covers an alteration that involves the structure of a building.

For the dryer, we read the maker's installation instructions for the model you choose and plan the air path those instructions call for. This page makes no general statement about dryer types, because we opened no primary source on them. A new opening in the outside wall can need a vote of the owners: the Province's page on common property says a resolution passed by a 3/4 vote at a general meeting must be obtained if an alteration will result in a significant change in the use or appearance of common property.

Water damage and the strata's insurance deductible

A washer adds water connections to the unit, and a leak from one can reach the units below.

A deductible is the first part of a claim that the insurer leaves the insured party to pay. The Province of BC's page on strata 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 who is deemed responsible for the loss, and that an owner can be deemed responsible "even if not 'at fault' or negligent". Its example is a dishwasher water hose that breaks and damages the common property and other units. Section 158(2) of the Act lets the strata sue the owner to recover the deductible.

The same page says an owner's own policy can cover some or all of the cost of the strata's deductible, and it lists water damage among the other cover an owner can buy. It also says that after a change in insured property it is important to contact the insurance broker and the strata council immediately. Tell your broker before the washer is connected.

What we fit to limit a leak

We fit three parts with a washer in a condo.

We test each new water and drain connection for leaks before the wall is closed, and we photograph the pipes for your file.

• A pan under the washer, to catch water from a leak.
• A drain connection for the pan, where the approved plan includes one.
• A shut-off valve on the water supply, placed where you can reach it without moving the machine.

Electricity for the machines

A dryer adds electrical demand. The Province's page on electrical planning reports says almost all strata corporations have finite electrical capacity. It adds that when an owner wants to add equipment that will increase the electrical demand, the strata needs to ensure a qualified professional selects the equipment and confirms the electrical capacity.

Technical Safety BC, the body that runs BC's Safety Standards Act, lists installing or moving electrical outlets among the work that needs an electrical permit, and states that owners of a strata must hire a licensed contractor. Inside the City of Vancouver, the City issues the permit. We ask the electrical contractor to confirm in writing that the unit's electrical panel can supply the machines you chose, and we put that answer in the strata request.

Noise and vibration

Standard Bylaw 3(1) says an owner must not use a strata lot in a way that causes unreasonable noise. A washer shakes while it spins, and under section 68(1) the floor it stands on is shared with the unit below.

The BC Building Code 2024 has an explanatory note on machinery noise. The note names elevators, garbage chutes, plumbing, fans and heat pumps as common sources of noise in buildings, and says: "Vibrating parts should be isolated from the building structure using resilient materials such as neoprene or rubber." It is advice attached to the part of the code for housing and small buildings. The Province states that "BC Codes don't apply in the City of Vancouver which has its own building bylaw", so read the note as guidance and ask the City what applies.

We level the machines as the maker instructs. At the design stage, we tell you if the place you chose stands against a wall shared with a neighbour's unit.

What to put in the strata request

Describe every connection, and where each one meets the building.

• The place for the machines, marked on a floor plan of the unit.
• The make and model of the washer and the dryer, with the makers' installation instructions.
• The route of the water supply and the drain, and the point where each joins an existing pipe.
• The path of the dryer's air, and where it ends.
• The pan, its drain connection and the shut-off valve.
• The electrical contractor's written answer on the panel's capacity.
• The hazardous materials inspection report for the walls and floor the work will open.