Monthly Archives: March 2015

Are You a B.C. Property Manager? Here’s What You Need to Know About Depreciation Reporting

HYDRO-EXCAV-BC-forestMore than half a million people in British Columbia live in Strata homes– a type of condominium development in which individuals own their homes, but there are shared facilities owned by a corporation.

If you’re a property manager or strata council member (or even a homeowner) of a strata property, it’s important that you understand the Strata Property Act, particularly the sections regarding repair and maintenance, and depreciation reporting.

Strata corporations must repair and renew all common property and assets of the corporation, ensure that maintenance, repair, and renovation work is planned appropriately, and that strata corporations with five or more units have a current depreciation report. Depreciation reports are a complex document that must be prepared by an individual or company having knowledge of all of the strata corporation’s common (shared) property. They include an inventory of the physical components of the shared property, and an estimate of each components service life over 30 years.

The depreciation report must be completed every three years, and must be provided to a potential buyer when a unit is sold.

It’s nearly impossible to find a single individual or business who can give you information on all of the systems in a multi-residential unit that constitute common property. For expert inspection of your strata corporation’s sewer, septic, or grease trap systems, contact Edenflo Pump Truck services. Our technicians are certified by the Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program (the PACP is the industry standard system for assessment of pipes and sewers) and can use state-of-the-art Video Line Inspection cameras to inspect your plumbing from the inside.

For more information about the services offered by Edenflo, and how they can help you keep the property you manage compliant with Strata reporting requirements, call 604-575-1414 or fill out our online request for service.

You Don’t Appreciate Perimeter Drainage Until it Fails

If you’ve got a building with a basement, keeping water out of it is a considerable challenge. The number one hero in the fight to maintain a dry basement is the weeping tile – a porous pipe buried around the footings of the building foundation designed to route groundwater away from the walls. This water is taken either to a catch basin or to a sump pit in the basement, where it is sent on its way by a mechanical pump.

Flood-surrounds-houseIn older buildings, clay weeping tiles were used, while newer construction employs corrugated polyethylene piping, called “Big O” and perforated PVC piping. Clay tiles can degrade over time, while silt and other solids can clog all types of perimeter drainage. When this happens, the tiles no longer remove groundwater from around the foundation, and water is allowed to stand outside the footings of the home. Leaks will form, generally at the seam where the basement walls meet the slab of the floor, though water might also seep up from underneath (due to the hydrostatic pressure that’s increased when the normal “escape” is blocked) and come through cracks in the floor.

Common fixes for this problem involve weeping tile excavation and replacement, which is quite expensive, or digging up the floor next to the walls and installing new tiles, which costs less but can be less effective.

Modern Video Line Inspection and Hydro-jetting technology can be used to examine the weeping tiles around your foundation, and remove many clogs in your perimeter drainage system. Edenflo has trucks with equipment that can open your weeping tiles with water jets, while simultaneously removing the water and debris released by the jetting action.

If your basement is leaking, or if you’re interested in preventing problems with your perimeter drainage system, call Edenflo at 604-575-1414 or fill out our online request for service.

Video Line Inspection – Find Out What’s REALLY Going On Underground

Video Line Inspection is a relatively new technology that’s been rapidly embraced by Edenflo as best way to diagnose a problem with a sewer system.

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Our technicians are certified by Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program, which is widely accepted as the industry standard system for coding defects and construction features in pipes and sewers. They are able to determine exactly what, and where, the problem is in your septic or sewer drain with the use of a specially designed CCTV (closed circuit TV) camera. The camera is fed into the system, and can pinpoint problems, large and small, in the waste drains in your home or commercial premises.

Our expertise in the business of sewer and septic systems comes into play in interpreting the information the video provides. It’s dark down there, and everything tends to look kind of the same. Our experienced technicians can tell the subtle differences between a dirty pipe (and they’re all dirty) and a clog, or a weakened sidewall that’s leaking. Armed with the information that the video reconnaissance gives them, we can propose the most economical fix. In most cases, we can use our hydro-jet equipment to clear a clogged system quickly and efficiently, so you can get back to the things that are important to you.

In addition to diagnosing problems, Video Line Inspection can be used to evaluate the overall condition of your septic and sewer lines, a great idea as part of general preventive maintenance, and helpful when considering purchase of a resale property.

For more information about Video Line Inspection and other services offered by Edenflo, call 604-575-1414 or fill out our online request for service.