Client's goals
In Yorkwood Hills, a Lynn Valley townhouse complex in North Vancouver, the same idea keeps spreading from neighbour to neighbour: convert the primary bedroom's walk-in closet into a private ensuite. Each owner wanted the same things: comfort and convenience directly off the bedroom, smart use of limited space, and modern fixtures and finishes that lift both daily routines and resale value. Roka has now completed this conversion in four units of the complex.
Converting a walk-in closet into a functional ensuite bathroom
Adding privacy and convenience to the primary bedroom
Maximizing limited space with an efficient layout
Modern fixtures and finishes for long-term appeal
Overview
Roka Projects has converted walk-in closets into private ensuite bathrooms in four units of Yorkwood Hills, a Lynn Valley townhouse complex in North Vancouver, one referral after another. The projects range from conversions within the existing footprint to versions where owners added floor area along with the ensuite, today a conversion typically runs around $100,000, give or take, depending on scope and what we encounter once the walls are open, the earliest units were closer to $75,000, years ago. Each includes interior design, new plumbing, ventilation, electrical, and full finishing, and where an exterior wall moved outward, Roka carried the added floor area through the full municipal process: a Development Permit exemption first, then the building permit. There is more to these conversions than the ensuite itself: getting water and drainage to an upstairs bathroom means opening ceilings and walls on the main floor and basement, ventilation and insulation get brought up to requirement, and the fire and acoustic separation between units is reinstated before anything closes up.
Scope of work
Walk-in closets converted into full private ensuites in four units of the complex
Exterior walls moved outward where owners added floor area: patio railings removed, walls extended, new vinyl decking laid, handrails rebuilt
New plumbing routed down through the home: powder room and closet ceilings opened on the main floor, and drywall removed on the main floor and basement, to run supply and drainageLaundry room update
Bathroom fans installed in both bathrooms, a municipal requirement
New attic insulation
Fire separation and acoustic separation between units reinstated
Interior design included: fixtures, tile, and finishes selected with each owner
Municipal approvals handled: Development Permit exemptions, then building permits
Challenges & Solutions
Expanding a Unit's Footprint
Challenge: Expanding a unit's footprint: the first of these conversions, completed a while back, required moving an exterior wall outward, adding roughly 20 square feet. Added floor area triggers municipal oversight.
Solution: We navigated the municipal process on the client's behalf: first securing a Development Permit exemption for the added floor area, then the building permit to construct it. That two-step approval experience now carries through every Yorkwood ensuite that touches an exterior wall.
Doing It Again Next Door
Challenge: Doing it again next door: repeating a renovation in the same complex raises the bar, because every neighbour has seen the last one.
Solution: Each unit got its own layout, fixture, and finish decisions rather than a copy-paste of the previous ensuite, and each project has finished in roughly three months.
Rot From a Neighbour's Leak
Challenge: Rot from next door: in one unit, opening the structure revealed rot, traced to a leak from a neighbouring unit's skylight.
Solution: We repaired the rotted structure as part of the project, so the new ensuite went in over sound, dry framing rather than sealing a problem behind new finishes.
Result
Four Yorkwood Hills primary bedrooms now have private ensuites where walk-in closets used to be. The first project sold the second, the second sold the third: when neighbours keep handing over their keys, that says more than any ad. Each owner got their own version, from an efficient in-footprint conversion to a full addition, not a copy of the one next door.
BEFORE photos
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