Spring 2021

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Hard to believe it is mid march 2021 already! It was a fairly mild winter, just one deep nasty cold stretch. At a certain level of cold, usually below -25c, there is a tendency of the intake pipe of hot water tank to collect humidity, possibly from exhaust of the water tank, and given just the right wind condition, frost itself shut. This then triggers an alarm on the water tank and it shuts down. The solution? Manually cleaning out the frost, or, if severe, use a hair dryer and melt it out. Seems to work every time. Sean

apartment vacancy

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We are currently advertising to fill a vacancy at the unit 2 city apartment #3435. This is an excellent opportunity for a single person to live in a great community with many transportation options. Applications are being accepted now with preference given to an August move in and an individual compatible with the current mix of great tenants. See Rentfaster for more info!

Spring Vacancy for dual ensuite townhome

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It has been a while since I have updated the live33st blog page. Winter is over and we are getting ready to turn on the sprinkler system and green up the lawn, and hopefully get some planting done in front. An excellent opportunity has come up for a new resident to join live33st, the east townhome unit is available. It is a great sunny space, nice deck, single garage, and flexible loft space upstairs to customize to whatever you want it to be. Contact me for more info.

Before move in requirements

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This is an update to discuss the pre move in requirements for the lucky first residents of the Live33st project.  I’ve been neglecting some of these details but I do have a good excuse, I’ve been super busy finishing the houses and that has left me less time to deal with the paperwork and logistics.   

So here are a few items to consider before the move in when I will be handing you the keys;

1.  Lease - we will need to have the full lease package signed. I will provide a copy and circulate it.  

2.  Utilities - each resident must take over the utility component of the unit.  Sometimes Enmax or direct energy asks for security payments.  This usually applies to those without a current history with a provider.  At one point this year I had over ten utility accounts for my various projects and direct energy was still trying to get me to pay a $200 fee to them for a house I am demolishing in August (and had all utilities cut off).  Very stubborn those companies are.  

3.  Security deposit.  You must also arrange funding of your security deposit to the landlord integer holding Ltd.  This can be done through various means, mostly email is working for everyone to date.  

4.  Canada post - I have heard that postal codes have not been created for some of the units even though the addresses have been assigned for almost a year.  Not sure what to do here but we can call Canada post and complain.  Hold off on amazon purchases for a while and see if local mail delivery works for letters first.  Mail boxes have yet to be installed (on the to do list).

5.  Garage security.  The good news is the garages will be available to park in but won’t have motorized doors until a few more weeks have passed.  Custom garage doors have proven to be a fiasco.  White doors were available but the builder insisted on silver which is not commonly done.  Expect the doors in at least three weeks from today.  for now it won’t be advisable to store valuable items in the garage.  Perhaps some accommodation can be made as the third bay is not yet reserved and we could nail plywood over the door. 

6. Internet connection - on a new building it can take some effort to get the units connected.  Once Telus or whatever provider is selected, they will need to hook up to the overhead lines in the alley and then enter the mechanical rooms to make the connection.  After that some wall plates will need to be changed over from what they are now to what they are desired to be.  All this will take some time and effort to sort out.   

7.  Orientation - I will have to meet with you individually to go over some operations of the houses.   

8.  Washers and dryers - these haven’t been run yet so we will have to run a cycle and make sure it is functioning and all hose fittings are sealed properly. Note that with these front load machines the inner gaskets can get moldy if the door is closed when not in use.   

9.  Exterior work - some minor exterior Touchup work and landscaping will continue into August.  Exterior doors for sure need a cleaning and coat of paint.  We will attempt to get most of this work done so our residents can enjoy their new homes with minimal disturbances.   

10. Tenants insurance package - Please provide proof of insurance of your own tenants policy.  These are very reasonable cost policies and easily available from many providers.  I don't have a provider to suggest, but will look into this further.

Thanks, Sean.

Preparing for occupancy

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We are now just days away from the first occupants moving in to the Live33st project.  The inspection process has moved along nicely.  To date we have passed the electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections along with one of the big ones, the exterior and landscaping work and preparation of survey documents.  What remains now is the building occupancy inspection.  I feel like I am in good shape on this because I have made a serious compliance effort over the past two weeks to complete important safety work like hand rails, mechanical room fire code details and decks.   

More garage progress- eaves trough

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the garage is a good news and bad news tale.  My custom garage doors which never actually existed have been re-ordered and will arrive in a few more weeks. What did arrive is my final eaves trough and downspout extensions.  This concludes the exterior work on the building and allows control over rainfall and snow melt by directing the downspout leads into the underground catch basins.  

 

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Passing the development completion permit

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passing the inspection for the development completion permit is perhaps the second biggest project milestone.  The city rigorously inspects the exterior and landscaping for compliance with permit conditions. The idea is that these are complex projects permitted under rigourous regulatory conditions and at project end the builder must actually have complied with what he agreed to initially.  I’ve run into some hardship in the past with these inspections and had to undertake drastic and unspeakably horrid efforts to gain approval.  Fortunately the rowhouse was approved today. My relief with passing this one is enormous. So on to the next inspection and hopefully the good news continues.  

 

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Exterior and landscaping nearly complete

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The landscape crew will wrap up tomorrow and that will be another project milestone.  It is always a relief to be able to actually finish a landscape project in the summer. Often the work drags on until winter and snow makes getting landscaping finished impossible.  The city intensively inspects exterior work so it is essential to complete the job according to the plan with as little deviation as possible.  Of course every project requires some sensible changes and this can create a big problem for the builder.  Let's see how this one goes ... 

 

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More rowhouse progress

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I was able to sneak away to BC for a few days and construction continued as I was gone. We had painters, the plumber, landscapers, kitchen cabinet installer, electrician, flooring installer and finisher all do some work from Sunday to Tuesday, followed by another big trip to the recycle depot by me.  Still lots more work to do but the end is really close now.   

 

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