Balcony & Deck Membrane Inspection for Strata Buildings — Greater Vancouver
The low-commitment first step: a per-balcony condition report with photographs, repair scope, and budget numbers your council can actually plan around — before committing to a repair program. Licensed BC general contractor, 5.0★ (34 reviews).
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Eurohouse Construction inspects and tests balcony and deck membranes for strata corporations across Greater Vancouver. The inspection is a paid, fixed-fee professional service with a concrete deliverable: balcony-by-balcony condition findings with photographs, a ranking of which balconies are urgent and which can wait, the recommended repair scope, and budget figures a council can take into planning. For a strata whose depreciation report has flagged membranes — or whose balconies are simply reaching the age where original membranes fail — it is the lowest-commitment way to replace guesswork with evidence.
Why inspect before budgeting
A depreciation report projects when membranes will need renewal and reserves a planning figure — it doesn’t tell you the condition of your balconies this year. Two buildings of the same age can be a decade apart in real membrane life depending on exposure, drainage, and original workmanship. An inspection converts the report’s projection into building-specific facts: which balconies are failing now, which have years left, and whether water has already reached the structure. Councils that inspect before budget season set levies and contingency contributions from evidence — and avoid both over-collecting and emergency assessments.
What we look at
Membrane surface: blisters, splits, open seams, UV chalking, ponding patterns. Details: edge metal, door thresholds, post penetrations, deck-to-wall interfaces — the places membranes actually fail. Drainage: drain and scupper function, slope adequacy. Structure: moisture scanning of the substrate, soft-spot probing, and where warranted (and approved by the council) a small test opening to confirm the condition of the plywood beneath, closed and sealed the same day. Guardrails: attachment and base flashing condition, since railing work is often the hidden half of a membrane project’s cost.
The natural next step — if there is one
If the findings show your membranes have life left, the report simply becomes the documented baseline for your records and next depreciation-report cycle — that is a good outcome, and it is yours to keep regardless of who ever does repair work. If repairs are warranted, the inspection flows directly into a scoped, fixed-price balcony repair program: the test results become the pricing basis, which is exactly what lets us fix the number a council takes to its owners.
The membrane is the visible 20%
On a recent North Vancouver project, decks that looked serviceable from above were feeding water into wall framing through failed drainage details — found only when assemblies were opened. Inspection and testing exist to find that before it becomes structural. See the project →
Membrane Inspection — FAQ
What does a balcony membrane inspection include?
A physical, balcony-by-balcony assessment: membrane surface condition (blisters, splits, seam failures, ponding), drain and scupper function, edge and door-threshold flashing details, guardrail attachment points, moisture scanning of the substrate, and — where warranted and approved — a small test opening to confirm what the plywood beneath actually looks like. Every balcony gets photographed findings and a condition grade, so the council sees which balconies are urgent, which can wait, and why.
What does the strata receive at the end of the inspection?
A written condition report designed for council use: per-balcony findings with photographs, a condition ranking across the building, the recommended repair scope, and realistic budget figures for planning — whether that means immediate repairs, a phased program, or simply a documented baseline for your next depreciation report. The report is yours regardless of who does any eventual repair work.
How much does a membrane inspection cost?
It depends on the number of balconies and access, but it is a modest, fixed fee agreed before we attend — typically a small fraction of one balcony's repair cost. It is priced as a professional service, not a free sales visit: the deliverable is an objective condition report your council can act on, and if repairs do proceed with Eurohouse, the inspection findings become the basis of a fixed-price program.
When should a strata inspect its balcony membranes?
Three common triggers: the depreciation report has flagged balcony or deck membranes within its 30-year projection and the council wants real numbers before budget season; visible symptoms have appeared on some balconies (blisters, soft spots, staining below decks); or membranes are approaching the typical 20–25 year end of service life for original 1990s installations. Inspecting before failure is what keeps the repair a program instead of an emergency.
Is an inspection required before getting a repair quote?
Not formally — but a quote without an inspection is an allowance, not a price. Testing a representative sample of balconies is what lets us contract building-wide membrane programs at a fixed price with defined unit rates for concealed conditions, instead of an estimate that grows after owners have voted. For councils taking a number to an AGM, that difference is the whole game.
Want real numbers before budget season?
Email info@eurohouse.ca with your building’s address, age, and number of balconies. We’ll confirm the fixed inspection fee and typical turnaround for the condition report.
Email info@eurohouse.ca → Strata Balcony Repair →