Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Badhobz]

My hot water on demand system had numerous issues and the house is less than 3 years old. It was one of those European systems too. Weissman ? Viessman? Something like that.

Stick with the traditional hot water boiler.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by ntan

I’m curious what people’s opinions are on instant hot vs hot water tank? And what a good brand is? Same question for the AC. I’ve never been overly familiar with HVAC systems but I’ve heard it’s one thing where it’s worth investing in.

I went through the hot water tank vs. tankless system when we bought our place in 2025, so take my experience with a grain of salt. For a frame of reference, we have no kids.

We have a dedicated utility room at our place where the hot water tank and furnace live in one space. The hot water tank was a rental unit from an HVAC company (common practice here in Ontario) and it was nearing end-of-life. Because we also needed to replace the furnace and AC unit, we both felt it was time to upgrade based on size, efficiency, and maintenance requirements.

After completing an analysis and comparison of our HVAC requirements and getting about five quotes from various contractors, we decided to go with a Rinnai tankless water system and a Carrier air conditioning unit.

Pros of tankless system: Small footprint and provides enough hot water for our needs. We don't take a bath/shower and do dishes and laundry all at once since we are mindful of consumption. When we hosted my parents, we stress tested the hot water system and it performed well and met everyone's requirements. I appreciate that there is a long warranty for our Rinnai unit and maintenance is simple.

Cons of tankless system: Take a short bit to get hot water. I don't know if newer systems are more efficient or not but it's not a deal breaker for me. When I visit my parents in Vancouver, they have a hot water tank, and it's instant hot water. No waiting or anything like that. There are some models that have an app where you can set a timer for your hot water to be available, but because it's just me and my wife, we don't really mind the short wait, and it's not a big deal for us.

For air conditioning/HVAC, LG was not an option for us, and we had learned of horror stories for long lead times for parts and service. We went with a common, well known brand and model that had plenty of parts and support. Hope that helps!

[Hehe]

You want the Asian stuff when it comes to tankless.

Navien or Rinnai are the good stuff.

[Harvey Specter]

Originally Posted by unit

are you sure the skylight was actually leaking? normally it's much more common that its condensation buildup on the skylight due to insufficient insulation in the attic space, and the condensation builds up and runs down the skylight and causes rot. ask me how i know!

No, it was leaking and the water from that leak damaged the drywall. After the leak and skylight replacement, I used bleach and painted the surrounding area with mould resistant paint. However, because the mould was in and behind the drywall it kept coming back every autumn.