Burnaby sits between Vancouver and the Tri-Cities, with a hill running through the middle. It has more strata housing than most people expect, and it has a large stock of single-family homes from the decades after the war.
| Area | Typical buildings | Usual focus |
|---|---|---|
| Heights, Willingdon, Capitol Hill | 1940s to 1960s bungalows and two-storey houses | Wiring, foundations, oil tanks |
| South Burnaby, Edmonds | 1950s to 1980s houses and walk-up apartments | Suites, aluminum wiring, drainage |
| Deer Lake, Burnaby Mountain | 1970s to 1990s houses on slopes | Drainage, retaining walls, slope |
| Metrotown, Brentwood, Lougheed | Towers and mid-rise strata | In-suite scope, documents, envelope |
Houses from the post-war decades
Much of Burnaby's single-family housing went up between the 1940s and the 1970s, as people moved out from Vancouver. We see simple bungalows with a full basement, two-storey houses, and split-levels. They are often solidly built with fir framing, and many have been renovated more than once.
- Wiring and panels. Houses from the 1950s and 1960s can have small services and older panels, and some have aluminum wiring from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s. See old wiring and panels.
- Oil tanks. Some post-war houses were heated with oil. See oil tanks.
- Basement suites. Common. The quality of the finish and the safety details vary. We describe what we see, and whether a suite is permitted is a question for the City.
- Roofs. Cedar shake and old asphalt roofs, and flat roofs at additions.
Slopes and drainage
Parts of Burnaby are on steep ground. Houses on slopes have retaining walls, long driveways, terraced yards and drainage paths that run along or under the house. We look at grading, downspouts, retaining walls for movement, and the foundation walls for cracks and water stains at the lower level. Water on a slope is moving, and where it goes is the question.
Strata housing
Burnaby has many strata buildings of every age: walk-up wood-frame buildings from the 1960s and 1970s, townhouse complexes from the 1980s and 1990s, and towers around Metrotown, Brentwood and Lougheed.
- 1980s and 1990s wood-frame buildings. Check whether the envelope has been remediated. See leaky condos.
- Townhouse complexes. Poly-B supply pipe is common in complexes from this period. See Poly-B plumbing.
- Towers. The unit is the job. The building is in the documents.
- Older walk-ups. Small units, original wiring and plumbing, and often a boiler or electric baseboard heat.
See condo and townhouse inspections.
Newer buildings
Burnaby has a lot of recent construction near the SkyTrain stations, from mid-rise to high-rise. In a building under the home warranty periods, the five-year envelope coverage and the two-year labour and materials coverage are worth keeping an eye on. See new home and warranty-period inspections.
Booking in Burnaby
Phone or send a request with the address or the neighbourhood, the year built, and your subject date. We travel to you.