What we do in a condo renovation
We renovate the inside of a condo: one room or the whole unit. The building work matches a house renovation, and the planning has more steps, because every choice has to fit the building's bylaws, its shared pipes and its rules for working hours and deliveries.
One contract covers the planning, the strata request, the trades and the finishing.
- Kitchens: cabinets, counters, backsplash tile, lighting, plumbing and appliance installation, with the sink and the range placed where the building's drains, ducts and electrical supply allow.
- Bathrooms: waterproofing, tile, fixtures, vanity and fan, with the shower base tested with water before any tile is laid.
- Flooring: removal of the old floor and installation of the new one, with the sound-rated layer under it where your building's bylaws require one.
- Full interiors: kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, doors, trim, lighting and paint planned as one job with one schedule.
How we handle the strata request and the building's rules
We prepare the renovation request with you and send it in the form your building asks for. Under BC's Standard Bylaws, an owner needs the strata corporation's written approval before altering the parts of a unit listed in Bylaw 5(1), and that list includes the original flooring, plumbing fixtures and electrical fixtures. Your building's own bylaws can ask for more.
The request uses the same scope of work as our contract, so the council approves the work that will be built. It names every wall, pipe, drain, wire and duct the work will touch, and it attaches the drawings, the product sheets and the contractor documents your building lists.
We set the start date after the written approval arrives. If the council asks for a change, we revise the scope, the price and the schedule together and send them back as one document.
During the work we follow the building's rules. We work inside the hours it allows, book the elevator and the loading area where it requires a booking, and protect the hallway and elevator surfaces it asks us to protect. Under section 130(1) of the Strata Property Act, a strata can fine the owner when a contractor breaks a bylaw or rule, so we read those rules before the first day.
What we check before quoting
We visit the unit and read the building's documents before we give a price. A condo price depends on conditions that cannot be seen from a floor plan.
- The bylaws, the rules and any renovation form or alteration agreement: working hours, insurance documents, deposits, fees and flooring requirements.
- Where the drains and water pipes run, and which ones serve other units. Under the Strata Property Act, a pipe that can serve another unit is common property.
- What the floor and the walls are made of, and whether a wall you want removed is part of the building's structure.
- Where each fan and hood connects, and whether that duct is shared.
- The electrical panel, and what the strata's electrical planning report says about the building's capacity.
- The age of the building. WorkSafeBC says a home built before 1990 is likely to contain some asbestos.
- The route from the loading area to your door: the elevator size, the booking rules and the surfaces that need protection.
Hazardous materials and permits
We arrange an inspection for hazardous materials before the price is fixed. Section 20.112 of BC's Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires the employers and the owner to ensure that a qualified person inspects for hazardous materials, including asbestos, before renovation work begins. If the report finds any, a contractor licensed by WorkSafeBC contains or removes it before our work in that area starts.
Electrical and gas work is done by licensed contractors under permits. Technical Safety BC states that owners of a strata must hire a licensed contractor for this work, and it lists the City of Vancouver as issuing its own electrical and gas permits. For building permits, we confirm with the City what your scope of work needs before we give a start date.
How a condo renovation is priced
A condo renovation is priced after a site visit and a read of your building's bylaws. We publish no condo price list, because the building's rules change the amount of labour from one address to the next.
For comparison, these are our published 2026 ranges for the same rooms in a North Shore house: $65,000 to $110,000 for a full kitchen replacement in the same layout, and $28,000 to $48,000 for a full bathroom in the existing layout. They are house figures. A condo quote adds the conditions below.
- The working hours your building allows, which set how many days the work takes.
- Time spent moving materials and waste through the elevator in small loads.
- Protection for the hallway, the elevator and the lobby.
- The hazardous materials inspection, and removal where the report requires it.
- Fees or deposits your building charges under its bylaws or rules.
- A sound-rated layer under new flooring, where the bylaws require one.
Examples of our finished rooms
The galleries linked on this page show kitchens, bathrooms and flooring we have finished. Use them to judge the standard of our cabinet, tile and flooring work.
Common questions
What condo renovation work does RealDream do in Vancouver?
We renovate condo kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and full interiors in Vancouver and downtown Vancouver. One contract covers the planning, the strata request, the trades and the finishing. Before we price the work we read your building's bylaws and rules, because they set the working hours and the documents the strata expects.
Does RealDream prepare the strata renovation request?
Yes, we prepare the request with you and send it in the form your building asks for. It lists the scope of work, the drawings, the product sheets and the contractor documents the building requires. Standard Bylaw 5(1) requires the strata corporation's written approval before the alteration is made, so we start only when you hold that approval.
What do you check before quoting a condo renovation?
We read the bylaws, the rules and any alteration agreement, and we visit the unit. On the visit we find where the drains, ducts and wiring run, what the floor and walls are made of, and how materials will travel from the loading area to your door. A pipe that can serve another unit is common property under the Strata Property Act, so we name each one in the request.
How does RealDream price a condo renovation?
We price a condo renovation after a site visit and a read of your building's bylaws, and we publish no condo price list. Our published 2026 ranges are for North Shore houses, for example $65,000 to $110,000 for a full kitchen replacement in the same layout. A condo quote adds the building's own conditions, such as limited working hours and booked elevator times.
Do you arrange asbestos testing before a condo renovation?
Yes, we arrange the inspection before the price is fixed. Section 20.112 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires a qualified person to inspect for hazardous materials before renovation work begins. Since January 1, 2024, a contractor that removes asbestos must be licensed to operate in BC, so removal is done by a company on WorkSafeBC's list.
Who applies for the electrical and gas permits on a condo renovation?
The licensed electrical or gas contractor applies for the permit. Technical Safety BC states that owners of a strata cannot obtain homeowner permits and must hire a licensed contractor, and that the contractor applies on the owner's behalf. Technical Safety BC lists the City of Vancouver as issuing its own electrical and gas permits, so inside the city the application goes to the City.
When does work start on a condo renovation?
Work starts after the strata's written approval arrives and the permit question is settled with the City. Under section 34.1 of the Strata Property Act, a council must hold a hearing within 4 weeks of an owner's written request for one and give a written decision within one week after it.
How do you move materials and waste through a condo building?
We follow your building's bylaws and rules for the elevator, the loading area and waste. Where the building requires an elevator booking, deliveries and waste removal are scheduled inside the booked times, in loads that fit the elevator. We cover the hallway and elevator surfaces the building asks us to protect before the first delivery.
Estimate your project
Renovation Cost Calculator (house ranges) →Guides
Further reading
- What a Condo Renovation Costs in Vancouver, and What Sets the Price
We publish no condo price list. This page gives our published 2026 ranges for the same rooms in a house, then lists each condition in a condo building that adds work, and what a condo leaves out.
- Renovating a Condo Kitchen in Vancouver: What Stays, What Changes, and the Order of Work
In a condo kitchen the cabinets, counters and appliances can change. The shared drains and ducts stay unless the strata agrees. This page sorts the parts of a kitchen into those two groups, then covers the electrical limit set by the building and the order of work.
- Renovating a Condo Bathroom in Vancouver: Drains, Waterproofing and the Units Below
A leak from a condo bathroom can reach the homes below. This page covers what moving a drain in a concrete floor involves, why water is the main risk in a tower, how we test a shower before tiling, and the fan, the water shut-off and old finishes.
- Condo Flooring and Sound Rules in Vancouver: The Law and Your Building's Bylaws
BC's Standard Bylaws forbid unreasonable noise and name no number. The provincial building code rates airborne sound and does not apply inside Vancouver. The requirement for the layer under a new condo floor comes from your building.
- How Long a Condo Renovation Takes in Vancouver, Stage by Stage
A condo renovation has eight stages, and three of them are controlled by the strata, the City and the suppliers. This page gives the legal deadlines, our published house durations, and the steps an owner can take early.
- Condo Renovation Permits in Vancouver: Who Issues What
A condo renovation in Vancouver can need the strata's approval, City permits and a hazardous materials inspection. This page says which body gives each one, with its source, and states plainly what we could not verify.
- Renovating a Condo in an Older Vancouver Tower: What to Check First
In an older building, four checks come before the design: hazardous materials, the strata's plans for pipes and windows, the electrical capacity, and what is inside the walls of the unit.
- What Renovation Work Needs Strata Approval in BC: Room by Room
BC's Standard Bylaws list eight kinds of work that need the strata's written approval. Here is each one, then each room of a condo, with the bylaw item that applies.
- How to Write a Strata Renovation Request in BC, With a Sample Letter
What BC law requires of a renovation request to a strata council, the nine parts of a complete request, and a sample letter with blanks to fill in.
- What a Strata Can Ask For Before and During a Renovation in BC
Which renovation conditions come from BC strata law, and which ones each building sets for itself: insurance documents, deposits, work hours, elevator bookings and fees.
