Vancouver Townhouse Shear Wall Repair
Client's goals
The client had previously renovated their bathroom, but the former contractor had cut into a structural shear wall, a critical part of the building's seismic system. Nobody knew until a leak from that contractor's bathtub installation spread into the unit below and the strata's structural engineer investigated. His warning was blunt: "The lack of shear wall at the 2nd floor, coupled with the shear wall remaining at the 1st and 3rd floor, is the worst-case scenario for the seismic capacity of this portion of the building... There is risk of collapse during an earthquake as a result." Roka was hired to restore the shear wall to engineered specifications and rebuild the bathtub area properly, inside an existing, finished unit.
Restore the cut shear wall to the structural engineer's exact specifications
Rebuild the bathtub/shower area properly this time
Keep disruption to the finished unit and neighbouring units to a minimum
Leave the home safe, compliant, and structurally sound
Overview
A previous contractor's bathroom renovation had cut into a structural shear wall of this Vancouver townhouse, a defect the strata's engineer called the worst-case scenario for the building's seismic capacity, with risk of collapse in an earthquake. Roka Projects restored the wall to the engineer's exact specifications inside the finished unit, rebuilt the bathtub area properly, and completed the whole repair in one month with minimal disruption to the neighbours.
Scope of work
Compromised shear wall fully reinstated to the structural engineer's specifications
Work method planned and sequenced with the engineer for a confined, finished space4.5 bathrooms fully renovated
Bathtub/shower area rebuilt correctly
Leak damage from the previous installation addressed
Minimal disruption maintained for adjacent rooms and neighbouring units
Challenges & Solutions
Rebuilding a shear wall inside a finished unit
Challenge: Reinstating a structural wall in a tight, finished space, without major disruption to adjacent rooms or neighbouring units, demanded precision against the engineer's exact specifications.
Solution: We worked step by step with the structural engineer on a method to rebuild the wall safely within the confined space. It was detailed, sequenced work, and the wall was fully reinstated to engineered requirements with minimal impact on the surrounding areas.
Result
The building's seismic system is whole again, verified against the engineer's specifications, and the bathroom that caused it all is rebuilt the way it should have been the first time. For the client, a month of precise, contained work turned a collapse-risk warning into a closed file.
BEFORE photos
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