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For stratas, property managers and businesses

Strata & commercial
plumbing.

Common-property and parkade water piping, backflow testing, repipes and commercial fixtures, planned with the council or the property manager and documented for your files, across the North Shore and Metro Vancouver.

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Prosafe works for strata corporations, property managers and commercial properties: water piping in parkades and common areas, backflow testing including premise isolation, Poly-B repipes and commercial fixtures. Building work is planned, scheduled and documented: a written scope the council can approve, shut-downs announced to residents, and reports and photos for your files.

Common property or strata lot

Who looks after which pipe.

The first question in any strata plumbing job. The Strata Property Act gives the starting point; your strata plan and bylaws settle the details.

Strata Property Act, s. 1

Usually common property

Pipes inside a floor, wall or ceiling that forms a boundary between strata lots, or between a lot and the common property, and pipes that serve more than one strata lot or the common property.

Source: Strata Property Act, s. 1
Strata Property Act, s. 72

The strata repairs common property

The strata corporation must repair and maintain common property and common assets. A bylaw can shift this to an owner only for limited common property or what the regulations allow.

Source: s. 72; BC government, strata repairs
Standard Bylaws

Owners keep up their own lot

Under the Standard Bylaws, an owner repairs and maintains their own strata lot, and needs the strata’s written approval before altering common property. Many stratas have their own bylaws instead.

Source: Schedule of Standard Bylaws, s. 2, 6 and 8
Water damage and the deductible

Why a small hose matters in a strata.

The strata must insure the buildings against major perils, and water escape is one of them (Strata Property Act, s. 149; Strata Property Regulation, s. 9.1). The deductible is a common expense, but the Act lets the strata sue to recover it from an owner who is responsible for the loss (s. 158).

The BC government says strata deductibles can range from $100,000 to $750,000 or higher, and gives the example of a dishwasher hose that breaks early and floods a unit (BC government, strata insurance). Owners can lower that risk with the small things: supply hoses, fixture shut-offs and a hot water tank past its life.

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Backflow and premise isolation

Protecting the city’s water from the building.

Premise isolation is a backflow preventer on the building’s water service. The plumbing code requires a reduced pressure principle device where a severe health hazard is possible (National Plumbing Code 2020, Div. B 2.6.2.6), and several of our cities set their own rules. Our BCWWA-certified tester files the report the way your municipality asks.

Vancouver

Listed by building type

The water bylaw lists premises that need isolation, including a building higher than 10 metres above its water connection (a double check valve assembly). Required devices are tested on installation and every year, with the report filed through BSI Online within 15 days.

Source: By-law 4848, Schedule I; City of Vancouver
Port Moody

A cross connection program

The City’s program covers industrial, commercial and institutional buildings and select multi-residential properties. Premise isolation devices are tested every year and reported through BSI Online.

Source: City of Port Moody
Burnaby and North Vancouver

Where the device goes

Burnaby puts a premise isolation device next to the property line on the street unless the inspector allows otherwise. The City of North Vancouver can require one where inspection on private property is restricted or the hazard warrants it.

Source: Burnaby Bylaw 11148, s. 13; CNV Bylaw 6417, s. 603

Backflow testing, city by city

The water rules for your building's city: North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby and Coquitlam.

What we do for buildings

Planned work, not patch after patch.

Parkade and building water lines

Overhead domestic water piping in parkades and common areas, replaced in planned sections. More on water mains.

Poly-B repipes

Suite by suite or the whole building, with access openings planned around residents. Poly-B replacement.

Backflow testing

Premise isolation and fixture devices tested and reported to the city, with any repair quoted separately.

Valves and shut-offs

Pressure-reducing valves, building and suite shut-offs, including valves larger than 1 inch by quote.

Commercial fixtures

Floor-mounted tank and flushometer toilets, faucets and sinks for offices, shops and common rooms.

Records for council

Photos, test results and a written account of what was found, for the strata’s files and its insurer.

Working with property managers

From the first walk-through to the records.

  1. Walk the building

    With the property manager or a council member: where the risers and parkade lines run, where they can be isolated, and what the problem really is.

  2. A written scope

    A scope and a written quote the council can review and approve, addressed to whoever authorises the work.

  3. Notices and dates

    Shut-down dates set with the strata, with notices for residents through the manager or the council.

  4. Work in sections

    Each section isolated, replaced and tested before it goes back into service, so residents are without water for as short a time as possible.

  5. Records

    Photos, test results, backflow reports and an invoice that says what was found and done, for the strata’s files and its insurer.

Our hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Building work is planned and scheduled within these hours, so it is done once. Every multi-unit building should have a shut-off where the water enters each suite (plumbing code 2.6.1.3), and the Act lets a strata spend without a vote when a repair is needed right away to prevent significant loss or damage (Strata Property Act, s. 98).
How it is priced

A written quote for the building.

Strata and commercial projects are quoted in writing after a walk-through, addressed to whoever approves the work. Standard commercial fixtures have published starting prices, and backflow tests are priced per device.

Commercial fixtures

  • Commercial floor-mounted tank-type toiletCommercial

    Includes attendance, a standard seal, bolts and supply line, installation, testing and cleanup. Old-toilet disposal is $35 per toilet, added to this price.

    From $550

  • Commercial floor-mounted flushometer toiletCommercial

    Includes attendance, a standard seal, bolts and supply line, installation, testing and cleanup. Old-toilet disposal is $35 per toilet, added to this price.

    From $750

Building water piping

  • Water-main replacement, overhead parkade or strata piping

    A custom written quote after a free replacement assessment. Spot repairs are quoted separately.

    By quote

Projects

  • Commercial and strata projectsCommercial

    Quoted after we see the job.

    By quote

Prices in CAD, plus GST. See all our prices

Strata plumbing, answered

Questions councils and managers ask us.

Who pays for a plumbing leak in a strata unit?

It usually depends on where the leak started and on your strata’s bylaws. Pipes that are common property are the strata corporation’s to repair and maintain; an owner maintains their own strata lot. Insurance deductibles are a common expense, but the Strata Property Act lets a strata sue to recover the deductible from an owner who is responsible for the loss. Check your bylaws, and for a dispute, the Civil Resolution Tribunal. Our findings say where the leak was and what failed.

Is the pipe inside my wall common property?

Often, yes. Under the Strata Property Act, pipes inside a floor, wall or ceiling that forms a boundary between strata lots, or between a lot and the common property, and pipes that serve more than one lot or the common property, are common property. A pipe that serves only your unit and sits inside it is usually yours. Your strata plan shows the boundaries, and your bylaws can change who repairs what.

Does our building need annual backflow testing?

It depends on the city and the devices you have. Vancouver requires required devices to be tested on installation and every year, with the report filed through BSI Online within 15 days. Port Moody runs a program for select multi-residential, industrial, commercial and institutional properties, with yearly tests. Burnaby, Port Coquitlam and the City of North Vancouver also require yearly tests of the devices they cover. Elsewhere it depends on the device and its permit. Our BCWWA-certified tester files the report the way your city asks; in Port Moody, we take out the City business licence it asks testers for once a test is booked.

What is premise isolation?

A backflow preventer on the building’s water service that protects the city’s water from everything inside the building. The plumbing code requires a reduced pressure principle device where a severe health hazard is possible. Vancouver’s bylaw lists building types that need one, including a building higher than 10 metres above its water connection, which takes a double check valve assembly.

Do you send quotes and reports to our property manager?

Yes. Quotes, scheduling, test reports and invoices go to whoever authorises the work, usually the property manager or the council, and we copy owners when the work is in their unit.

What are your hours for building work?

Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We plan building work within those hours so it is done once and done right. Every multi-unit building should have a shut-off where the water enters each suite; knowing where it and the building’s main valves are is the best first step for any leak. The Strata Property Act also lets a strata spend without a vote when a repair is needed right away to prevent significant loss or damage.

Do you work inside individual suites?

Yes: repairs, fixtures, hot water tanks and Poly-B repipes for owners in a strata. Work that alters common property needs the strata’s written approval first under the Standard Bylaws, and we plan any shut-down with the manager.

Related services

For the building and the suites.

Water main replacement

Underground service lines and overhead parkade piping.

Backflow testing & prevention

Testing by a BCWWA-certified tester, with the report filed for you.

Poly-B replacement & repiping

Repipes for single suites or whole buildings.

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Tell us the address, the number of units and what you are seeing. We reply Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Who does the work: about Prosafe Plumbing & Mechanical.

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