Wood frame condo. How was your experience?

[TOS'd]

Reviewing construction assemblies and details for townhouses, lol..

[rsx]

If you're going to view a unit, go on a weekday and a time when most people are home from work. You can get a truer sound level of the neighbors.

[Hondaracer]

Also if you're considering a townhouse Id strongly suggest finding a strata that doesn't permit dogs.

Some of the owners in the townhouses we built have little dogs that literally bark alllll day long. It's annoying through a sliding glass door, let alone living next to it.

To add to what I posted on the last page, the units we've built up to this point are by no means high end, they are almost all exclusively in Surrey/Langley and ranging in price from 320-650k so fairly standard in terms of pricing at entry level town homes. However, we are a fairly good builder backed by developers who have quite high standards for the price point, especially when it comes to finishing etc. We have never skimped on our design aspects nor our sound proofing with overlaps etc.

I used to always kind of think "lol look at this crap we build, who would want to live there?" Then I went and over a 2 month period walked though about 8 different display homes for various townhouses and low rise wood frames in Surrey, Burnaby, and east Van. I could not believe how terrible the quality of finishing was. And this is in a SHOW HOME, not the unit you're buying, this is the best they can put on display in an attempt to sell you on buying one.

I used to live in Fraser Heights and there is a development at 176th and HWY1 I visited. Believe it's called highcrest. Their show home was in such poor shape I was going to go back to the salesman and say somthing along the lines of, not to be a dick, but you couldn't pay me to buy here with a display like this...they had basketball sized holes cut in the kitchen ceiling, wires sticking out of baseboards, in random closets there was off cuts and construction material just left there not cleaned up, it was an absolute joke.

I don't really like to bring race in it but I've got numbers to back this up, if you're interested in buying any of these wood frame multi families, I would suggest against buying from an east-indian builder/developer. About 95% of the "good" builders in BC have new home warantees with Travellers, they are the largest provider and have an excellent screening process/knowledge of the builder base, almost every single townhouse development I want into which was being built by East Indians has their warantee through National guarantee, which is essentially taking on builders Travellers rejects based on claim history etc.

To sum it up, I wouldn't buy any of the units I've been a part of building for living nor investment, and that was even before I came to realize that we are actually building a very good product relatively speaking to the market.

[hypediss]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Also if you're considering a townhouse Id strongly suggest finding a strata that doesn't permit dogs.

Some of the owners in the townhouses we built have little dogs that literally bark alllll day long. It's annoying through a sliding glass door, let alone living next to it.

To add to what I posted on the last page, the units we've built up to this point are by no means high end, they are almost all exclusively in Surrey/Langley and ranging in price from 320-650k so fairly standard in terms of pricing at entry level town homes. However, we are a fairly good builder backed by developers who have quite high standards for the price point, especially when it comes to finishing etc. We have never skimped on our design aspects nor our sound proofing with overlaps etc.

I used to always kind of think "lol look at this crap we build, who would want to live there?" Then I went and over a 2 month period walked though about 8 different display homes for various townhouses and low rise wood frames in Surrey, Burnaby, and east Van. I could not believe how terrible the quality of finishing was. And this is in a SHOW HOME, not the unit you're buying, this is the best they can put on display in an attempt to sell you on buying one.

I used to live in Fraser Heights and there is a development at 176th and HWY1 I visited. Believe it's called highcrest. Their show home was in such poor shape I was going to go back to the salesman and say somthing along the lines of, not to be a dick, but you couldn't pay me to buy here with a display like this...they had basketball sized holes cut in the kitchen ceiling, wires sticking out of baseboards, in random closets there was off cuts and construction material just left there not cleaned up, it was an absolute joke.

I don't really like to bring race in it but I've got numbers to back this up, if you're interested in buying any of these wood frame multi families, I would suggest against buying from an east-indian builder/developer. About 95% of the "good" builders in BC have new home warantees with Travellers, they are the largest provider and have an excellent screening process/knowledge of the builder base, almost every single townhouse development I want into which was being built by East Indians has their warantee through National guarantee, which is essentially taking on builders Travellers rejects based on claim history etc.

To sum it up, I wouldn't buy any of the units I've been a part of building for living nor investment, and that was even before I came to realize that we are actually building a very good product relatively speaking to the market.

What are some of the developers you would recommend? I heard good things about intracorp but I'm still skeptical about consumer feedback better to hear it from someone within the industry

[TOS'd]

^ curious as well, but also interested in some examples of townhouses in langley that you have worked on. pm if you'd like or not if you choose to keep that private.

[Hondaracer]

Intracorp is actually pretty good I know a few people who work for them

Smaller guys who I've worked with who Id recommend would be Dawson Sawyer, fairborne

Big guys like Bosa, Beedie, polygon etc all are all pretty reputable and put together a good product.

Other than that it's hard for me to say, so many small builder/developers are popping up now it's hard to keep track.

I've been told also now a new thing in Richmond are these foreign investors who basically fund a project strictly with cash, depending on the builder this could be a huge red flag because although they obviously have massive capital to back large scale (50-200 unit projects) by having such liquidity it seems like there could be very little to go after if anything ever went wrong. Some developer who just funded a 50 million dollar project with cash flow isn't gonna give a shit that you're having problems, he doesn't have his balls being held by the bank like almost every other developer does.

In the end do your own research as I'm just a superintendant who's been in the industry for about 9 years now, I can only really directly comment on what I've seen/heard but some shit especially in the last 4-5 years with this explosion of townhouses has really opened my eyes.

If I think of anything else I'll be sure to post it.

[Mr.HappySilp]

^^ concord pacific seems to be decent.

[Lomac]

I've lived in both concrete and wood condos. While you would think that concrete would be a better option, my experience is that it's not true. This was an early 90's condo in Coq so obviously minimum code was different at that that, but you could hear a mouse cough in the surrounding units. Just absolutely terrible. That said, I've been in friend's condos that were all wood and they were just as bad. It's definitely a case of who the builder was and whether they cheaped out on sound proofing or went full boar into it.

Currently I live in a three story townhouse surrounded by two other units. It's a 70's build, but even though I have university kids living in the neighbouring units, the lack of sound that's transmitted is surprising. I've had my home theatre bass cranked up at 2am before and my neighbours said that, apart from slight vibration on the wall, they didn't notice anything.

YMMV. /shrug

[winson604]

Thanks boys

Definitely developer is one of the first things I look at. Some I just skip over regardless of how good the price and layout is such as Thind for example. Like Honda, I don't want to be racist but the EI built townhouses or developers scare me.

[Inaii]

Bosa imo is one of the good development companies. My mom used to live in one of their newer buildings (all concrete) and we never heard anything from the neighbours at all unless they dropped something really heavy.

[Hondaracer]

Bosa basically builds nothing but high rises now anyways so typically you're pretty good in those.

Anyone interested in the construction of these buildings, stop and have a good look next time you see a high rise coming out of the ground. I know one of those surrey central towers was stopped in construction about 10 storeys up, good opportunity to see what really seperates the units.

Although now they seem to use a lot less concrete bearing walls as unit dividers and rely more on columns etc. Then it's not much different than a townhouse for lateral neighbors because it's just steel stud and insullation then

[RS_Pat]

Wood frame condo = you want to kill the people above you and the people below you want to kill you.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Bosa basically builds nothing but high rises now anyways so typically you're pretty good in those.

Anyone interested in the construction of these buildings, stop and have a good look next time you see a high rise coming out of the ground. I know one of those surrey central towers was stopped in construction about 10 storeys up, good opportunity to see what really seperates the units.

Although now they seem to use a lot less concrete bearing walls as unit dividers and rely more on columns etc. Then it's not much different than a townhouse for lateral neighbors because it's just steel stud and insullation then

I remember the wood frame low raise my friend purchase was build by this Chinese dude who is always on FairChild (pretty fat). I went to the one of the actual units to see and is was so bad. The electric outlet wasn't line up, Hardwood floor felt uneven, Windows were thin, blinds were paper and you can hear people talking outside. Went to the parking lot and you could see the ceilings are coming off. And this is a brand new building. Sure it was cheap like 260k for a 600sq ft place but I rather pay more for a better build quality.

[VR6GTI]

i know someone that spent over a million for a penthouse suite in new west built by bosa. He's lived there for almost a year and is thinking about selling it. He will never buy anything Bosa built anything again.
I don't think it really matters if its wood or concrete its more of the people around you that is the big picture. You can live in a detached house and still want to shoot yourself in the face if you have shitty people around you

[quasi]

I'm not fan of Bosa but that's more related to how they do business then necessarily the end product. Axiom is also a Bosa company as is Appia (owned by Jim as opposed to Robert) there are probably others as well. I won't comment on what kind of product they put out just the dealing I've had in the past. Like Hondaracer said they do mostly concrete highrise developments and a lot of them.

[N8]

Just moved into a rental townhouse Jan that was built in 1995. Lucky to have an end-unit so I really only have to deal with one neighbour. Lived in a concrete building downtown for 3 years before and it really is night and day. Pretty much nothing from conrete except the 'marbles' dropping sound that others have described.

However I'm lucky to have a good neighbour - only real thing is when they play movies or fly some mini drone, which seems to penetrate as if nothing were there into my living room. From the bedroom I can barely hear it. All in all, the extra space(at a cost of a 30 min commute in rush hour), 2nd floor and garage makes it worth it, and it really feels like a home to me now.

When it comes to buy I will get a townhouse as long as I can afford one - and as long as its an end unit.

[meme405]

Wood is being used for a lot more these days:

Prince George centre opens as towering presence in all-wood construction sector

Seriously the use of new stuff like LVL and Paralam means that we can go to great extents with wood. There is even 15+ story buildings being proposed of wood frame.

From a fire protection standpoint it's downright frightening. But since one of my biggest clients is a fire protection specialist, it's just going to keep me in the money for years to come...

[Hondaracer]

Building code only recently allowed 6 storey wood frame and almost right after that was passed there was a massive fire of a 6 storey in either Cali or NY, can't remember but since it's been passed I've yet to see a 6. I beleive I've seen a few 5 storey though

[Lomac]

Originally Posted by VR6GTI

I don't think it really matters if its wood or concrete its more of the people around you that is the big picture. You can live in a detached house and still want to shoot yourself in the face if you have shitty people around you

My house in Salmon Arm is twenty-two fucking acres away from my neighbour and they still complain about noise coming from my property. And about the fire pit smoke. And the sound of my (girlfriend's) kids jumping on their trampoline.

There's just no winning when it comes to certain people.

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by Lomac

My house in Salmon Arm is twenty-two fucking acres away from my neighbour and they still complain about noise coming from my property. And about the fire pit smoke. And the sound of my (girlfriend's) kids jumping on their trampoline.

There's just no winning when it comes to certain people.

Bwahaha!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!?


Tell them you're filming a music video, and to chill out and support artists. What a bunch of dicks.

[J-Chow]

Bought our condo 2 years ago in Richmond. Mayfair Place by Polgyon. It was a pretty good deal at the time, the developer was paying all the taxes. Its a wood built frame, so far, no problems.







Btw,

I'm on the top floor.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Building code only recently allowed 6 storey wood frame and almost right after that was passed there was a massive fire of a 6 storey in either Cali or NY, can't remember but since it's been passed I've yet to see a 6. I beleive I've seen a few 5 storey though

Actually what's really scary about that is that the NFPA didn't catch up to the building code until almost 2 years later.

So for 2 years people were building 5 (or possibly 6, although your right I havnt seen one either) story buildings with just a regular 4 story wood frame fire protection system. I would never in a million years buy in one of these buildings.

[winson604]

Originally Posted by J-Chow

Bought our condo 2 years ago in Richmond. Mayfair Place by Polgyon. It was a pretty good deal at the time, the developer was paying all the taxes. Its a wood built frame, so far, no problems.

Btw,

I'm on the top floor.

Lol 9388 McKim Way? Friend is also on top floor but selling their place now.

[MindBomber]

The divide between 'East Indian' and 'White' developers isn't as significant as some believe. I would have no trouble naming a number of 'White' developers that deliver workmanship that is beyond terrible, and that turn around and sell 'high end' units starting at $800k+. Late last year, we pulled out of one such 'high end' project by a big name 'White' developer because the quality of the other trades work was too poor for us to do our work to our standards. While on the other hand, we're working with an 'East Indian' developer at the moment that is delivering great workmanship.

[J____]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

Concrete low raise built in 2006.
I can hear upstairs. Always sounds like she is walking about in high heels.
Every now and then you hear them drop something that sounds like a marble or golf ball.
Middle of the night, I can hear the guy use the toilet.
I can hear the neighbour listening to his rave music in the day.
The unit at the end of the hall had a yappy dog. It was as clear as if it was in our unit.

As Tapioca said, noise will always be there, it's just if you have good neighbours or not.

lol same with me, concrete building and I can hear the guy using the toilet next door. Don't have units above or below me though so no comment on that one. I'm living in a concrete highrise here in shanghai atm and find concrete resonate sound more than wood. If someone's drilling into the wall or drops something hard 5-7 floors down, I can feel it in my walls.