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Buying condo: wood or concrete? Safe age?

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Sr. Member
Sep 21, 2009
517 posts
261 upvotes

Buying condo: wood or concrete? Safe age?

I'm wanting to purchase a 1 br condo in Vancouver and I got couple of questions:

1 Wood or Concrete?

I've heard that wood is a risky buy and concrete would last longer, but all the concrete builds are either out of my price range or not to my liking. Are wood builds that bad? and are they that difficult to resale without taking a loss?

2. Safe age?

I've heard from a colleague that condo older than 10 years are headache to buy. Is this true?

I appreciate any input, thanks.
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18 replies
Deal Addict
User avatar
Nov 9, 2003
1528 posts
325 upvotes
Grimsby
Re item 2. After 10 years certain maintenance task will gradually come into effect. Shingles for starters plus other things through fair wear and tear. Once you see a place you like request the financial statements for the previous couple of years along with minutes from at least 2 AGMs. Also ask if major renos are planned that require a special assessment (payment) by owners because funds are not there.

However so much depends on the condo board of directors. If they have done due diligence over the years the older place should be fine.

In Ontario for instance the law changed many years ago legislating a certain percentage of condo fees were to be saved for major repairs (back to those shingles). Over the years that ratio of savings to day to day expenses has no doubt changed so we can await a newer condo owners remarks on that.
Member
Aug 5, 2012
263 posts
68 upvotes
timeiscoffee wrote: I'm wanting to purchase a 1 br condo in Vancouver and I got couple of questions:

1 Wood or Concrete?

I've heard that wood is a risky buy and concrete would last longer, but all the concrete builds are either out of my price range or not to my liking. Are wood builds that bad? and are they that difficult to resale without taking a loss?

2. Safe age?

I've heard from a colleague that condo older than 10 years are headache to buy. Is this true?

I appreciate any input, thanks.
Wood condos do get sold. It is the location and amenities that counts. It will be harder to sell a concrete condo in the middle of nowhere compared to a wood condo in a easily accessible location with transit and amenities.
Newbie
Apr 16, 2010
72 posts
18 upvotes
Vancouver
rollei wrote: Wood condos do get sold. It is the location and amenities that counts. It will be harder to sell a concrete condo in the middle of nowhere compared to a wood condo in a easily accessible location with transit and amenities.
I think he is referring to the leaking wooden condos that runs from the late 80's till the early 00's. It was a design flaw that was popular and cost effective in the US but was not suited for Vancouver weather. There is a discount for most condo's during that time so it seems cheap due to the risk of a massive repair.
Sr. Member
Sep 21, 2009
517 posts
261 upvotes
gabe22400 wrote: I think he is referring to the leaking wooden condos that runs from the late 80's till the early 00's. It was a design flaw that was popular and cost effective in the US but was not suited for Vancouver weather. There is a discount for most condo's during that time so it seems cheap due to the risk of a massive repair.
What if its not a leaky condo? I heard there is still a regular roof repair around 15, 30 year marks.
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Sr. Member
Sep 21, 2009
517 posts
261 upvotes
Owbist wrote: Re item 2. After 10 years certain maintenance task will gradually come into effect. Shingles for starters plus other things through fair wear and tear. Once you see a place you like request the financial statements for the previous couple of years along with minutes from at least 2 AGMs. Also ask if major renos are planned that require a special assessment (payment) by owners because funds are not there.

However so much depends on the condo board of directors. If they have done due diligence over the years the older place should be fine.
Thanks, I'll be reading the minutes and depreciation reports down to the letters if I'm making an offer.
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Deal Addict
Jul 9, 2005
1082 posts
44 upvotes
Vancouver
gabe22400 wrote: I think he is referring to the leaking wooden condos that runs from the late 80's till the early 00's. It was a design flaw that was popular and cost effective in the US but was not suited for Vancouver weather. There is a discount for most condo's during that time so it seems cheap due to the risk of a massive repair.
The leaky condo's were actually concrete with stucco facades. Even full concrete without proper rain shields are showing problems.
It's still a major problem. Here's an article from the vancouver sun a couple of months back.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/ ... story.html
Newbie
Apr 16, 2010
72 posts
18 upvotes
Vancouver
lonelydriver wrote: The leaky condo's were actually concrete with stucco facades. Even full concrete without proper rain shields are showing problems.
It's still a major problem. Here's an article from the vancouver sun a couple of months back.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/ ... story.html
No, all buildings were affected, its just far worse for wood buildings because the water damages the inside which requires massive repairs. Concrete buildings only needs to replace outside and walls on the inside, the concrete does not rot like wood does. Also, which part of the article mention it was only concrete?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_condo_crisis
Sr. Member
User avatar
Dec 25, 2004
699 posts
6 upvotes
Edmonton
The problem with wood-frame condominium buildings (aside from noise) is fire protection. Just about every new condo development around Edmonton is wood-framed and at least 2-3 times a year a single unattended candle or cigarette butt leads to the loss of 60-80 units in a building. They're total matchboxes and I could never convince myself to buy one.

The problem with concrete buildings is that, due to their higher construction costs, very few new developments are built this way aside from high-rises.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 26, 2010
1736 posts
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Calgary
timeiscoffee wrote: I'm wanting to purchase a 1 br condo in Vancouver and I got couple of questions:

1 Wood or Concrete?

I've heard that wood is a risky buy and concrete would last longer, but all the concrete builds are either out of my price range or not to my liking. Are wood builds that bad? and are they that difficult to resale without taking a loss?

2. Safe age?

I've heard from a colleague that condo older than 10 years are headache to buy. Is this true?

I appreciate any input, thanks.
If I was to give you advice, stay away from condos that are three-four stories. Depending on the jurisdiction this is where construction between wood and concrete changes happen.

The smaller ones are made by the slimiest, scummiest, cheapest, cut corner developers you'll ever run into. Structural design will have to be good because there's no way around that. But the corners are inevitably in the mechanical/electrical in the building. Don't even go near it.
Indexer, non-yield chasing, low cost, broad based, as simple as possible investor.
Sr. Member
Nov 8, 2009
534 posts
277 upvotes
wm009 wrote: If I was to give you advice, stay away from condos that are three-four stories. Depending on the jurisdiction this is where construction between wood and concrete changes happen.

The smaller ones are made by the slimiest, scummiest, cheapest, cut corner developers you'll ever run into. Structural design will have to be good because there's no way around that. But the corners are inevitably in the mechanical/electrical in the building. Don't even go near it.
We lived on the 2nd floor of a 4 story wooden condo. My wife hated the noise from the upstairs. If the person above you has a kid be prepared, you can hear every single footstep. The other issue is that a lot of these condos are built for on the fly companies that you've never heard of and disappear just like that. You can't even reach them after the place is built for repairs or anything like that because they are gone. Our condo was only 2 years old when there was leak from the unit above us and it affected both our unit and the unit below. Apparently the plumber must've forgotten to put the o-ring on so instead of taking everything apart he cut the oring in half and stuck it on. This could be an issue with any condo though but I still recommend concrete personally.
Sr. Member
May 13, 2014
765 posts
450 upvotes
Vancouver
timeiscoffee wrote: I'm wanting to purchase a 1 br condo in Vancouver and I got couple of questions:

1 Wood or Concrete?

I've heard that wood is a risky buy and concrete would last longer, but all the concrete builds are either out of my price range or not to my liking. Are wood builds that bad? and are they that difficult to resale without taking a loss?

2. Safe age?

I've heard from a colleague that condo older than 10 years are headache to buy. Is this true?

I appreciate any input, thanks.
1. One thing to keep in mind with wood condos is that the soundproofing is generally not as good. With wood condos, you'll hear more of your neighbors, and your neighbors will hear more (and possibly complain more) of you. It's like living in a house, except that you can't (directly) tell your neighbors to shut up and stop walking around the way you can with your family.

2. The 10 year rule is there because of the risk of special assessments. While the cost of an older building may be lower up front, you could potentially be hit with a $50,000 special assessment a couple years down the road if the strata votes to, say, replace the pipes. Or it might not happen because the pipes were already replaced 2 years ago, the roof was replaced last year, etc. etc. Anyways, as Owbist said, you'll need to calculate the risk yourself by reading the minutes, and then deciding if the risk is something you're OK with.
soulflare wrote: The problem with concrete buildings is that, due to their higher construction costs, very few new developments are built this way aside from high-rises.
Indeed - I came across exactly one low-rise building that was built using concrete during my search. As a general rule, low-rise = wood, mid/high-rise = concrete.
wm009 wrote: The smaller ones are made by the slimiest, scummiest, cheapest, cut corner developers you'll ever run into. Structural design will have to be good because there's no way around that. But the corners are inevitably in the mechanical/electrical in the building. Don't even go near it.
Not that the big, well-renowned developers are all that much better here in Vancouver. For instance, one of my coworkers lives in an 8 year old condo built by "BP", widely considered the best developer in Vancouver. His strata is currently in the process of having all of the windows replaced, because the sealing has either already failed and condensation is getting in between the glazing, or is in the process of failing. For every single window in the building. After only 8 years.

And for the mother of all examples, there's the Olympic Village. Despite being located in a posh and trendy part of Vancouver, many units remain unsold even today, 4 and a half years after the Olympics, due to well-known problems like water coming out of lighting fixtures (videos of this were uploaded to Youtube, but I don't know if they're still around).
Member
Mar 9, 2014
457 posts
216 upvotes
Raident wrote: As a general rule, low-rise = wood, mid/high-rise = concrete.
As per most provincial building codes, anything greater than 4 stories must be concrete.
Banned
Sep 12, 2014
349 posts
48 upvotes
Mississauga, ON
timeiscoffee wrote: What if its not a leaky condo? I heard there is still a regular roof repair around 15, 30 year marks.
every structure be it home/condos/Industrial/commercial/institutional etc.. will need a roof replacement around the 15 year mark or minimum repairs.but like with all items, there is a lifespan regardless of whether it goes into a house, condo or whatever
Member
Sep 2, 2012
209 posts
24 upvotes
If you have issues with wood structure, you will not be able to upgrade to a townhouse or house in the future since most, if not all, townhomes and houses are wood construction.

Some and newer wood condos have construction features such as R20 insulation, concrete topping between floors and rainscreen technology protection system.

Some wood condo developers are so confident that their construction will have minimum noise from tenants above that they have hardwood/laminates throughout the entire suite as a standard feature. No carpets in the suite. Examples are Boheme Condos @ East Hastings.
Member
Oct 31, 2009
404 posts
156 upvotes
Vancouver
Wigglepuppy wrote: As per most provincial building codes, anything greater than 4 stories must be concrete.
Since 2009, in Vancouver/BC it's six 6 stories.
Newbie
Jan 13, 2021
1 posts
This wouldn’t be an issue now. They would all have been properly repaired.
Deal Addict
Jan 19, 2006
4624 posts
1064 upvotes
Vancouver, BC
DenaW30128 wrote: This wouldn’t be an issue now. They would all have been properly repaired.
1st post is to revival a thread from 2014...

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