Kitchen Remodels in Condos, Townhomes and HOA Communities

The kitchen in a condo or townhome is yours, but the walls, floors, pipes and rules around it are often shared. That changes who has to approve the project, which permit the city issues, and how the work is carried out day to day. This page covers the differences from a detached house. Rules below are the City of Vancouver's unless noted.

Two approvals, not one

A remodel in a managed community answers to two bodies that do not coordinate with each other:

• Your association, under its declaration, bylaws and rules. This is a private contract matter.
• The permitting jurisdiction, under the building codes.

Get the association's answer first. Its conditions can change the design, and a city permit is no defense if the work breaks the governing documents.

What associations usually want to see

Every association writes its own rules, so read yours before you sign a contract. These are the items to look for, and to ask about in writing if the documents are silent:

• An application for alterations, often with drawings and a scope description, and a review period before any work.
• The line between unit and common elements. In many condos the owner controls finishes and cabinets, while structure, shared pipes and the building exterior belong to the association. Your declaration defines the line for your building.
• Contractor paperwork, such as proof of Washington contractor registration and a certificate of insurance naming the association. You can check registration yourself: see how to verify a contractor.
• Work hours and noise limits.
• Elevator, hallway and parking rules: reserving an elevator, protecting floors and walls on the route, where a dumpster or delivery truck may sit.
• Water shutoffs. Shutting a shared riser affects neighbors and usually needs notice.
• Flooring. Upper-floor units may have sound-control requirements for hard flooring. Check before choosing a kitchen floor.
• Deposits or fees for review or for damage to common areas.

A detached house in an HOA subdivision has a shorter list. The association's interest is usually the exterior (a new window, a hood vent cap, a dumpster in the driveway) and working hours.

Which city permit applies

The building type decides the permit type, and the permit type decides which code the plans are reviewed under.

So a kitchen remodel in a unit of a larger condo building is a commercial permit, and the city has a separate multi-family remodel checklist for it. Whether the International Building Code adds requirements for unit kitchens in those buildings, for example for accessibility, was not confirmed for this guide. Raise it with the plans examiner at 360-487-7828.

What needs a permit in the first place is the same as in a house: new circuits, moved plumbing, gas piping, hood ducts and wall changes do, and finish work generally does not. Do you need a permit has the full table, and the City of Vancouver permit process covers the residential application.

Shared walls and floors

The wall between two townhomes, and the floors and walls between condo units, are fire-rated assemblies. The city identifies townhouse separations as either a common two-hour fire-resistant wall (IRC R302.2.2) or a double one-hour wall (R302.2.1). That has direct consequences in a kitchen:

• Plans must show them. The city's remodel checklist asks plans to "locate all fire-resistance rated wall assemblies if utilized" and to give a tested assembly detail where a fire or sound rating is required.
• Penetrations get inspected. Under VMC 17.08.140(H)(8), "Protection of joints and penetrations in fire-resistive-rated assemblies shall not be concealed from view until inspected and approved." A new outlet box, pipe or duct through a rated wall or ceiling has to be sealed with the right material and seen by the inspector before it is covered.
• Avoid the party wall where you can. Recessing anything into a shared wall, or running a new duct through it, is far harder to approve than keeping services on your own interior walls.
• Utilities stay on your lot. For zero lot line townhouses the city states: "Utilities are required to be located on the property served and may not cross property lines."

Plumbing stacks and ventilation

In a stacked building the kitchen sink usually drains into a vertical pipe shared with the units above and below. That fixes the practical location of the sink more firmly than in a house, and work on the shared pipe itself is normally the association's to authorize. Keeping the sink and dishwasher where they are is the lowest-risk plan. If you want to move them, find out where the stack is and what your documents allow before paying for design. General plumbing choices are in sinks, faucets and plumbing.

Ventilation is the other constraint. A ducted hood must discharge outdoors, and in a condo the route to the outside may cross common elements or need a new opening in an exterior wall the association controls. Find out how the existing hood is ducted, if it is, before choosing a new one. The code limits on recirculating hoods are in range hoods and ventilation.

Running the job

Attached housing changes the logistics more than the construction. Plan for:

• Deliveries sized for the elevator or stairs. Long countertop slabs and tall pantry cabinets may need to come in sections.
• Debris carried out daily, since a dumpster may not be allowed on site.
• Dust containment that protects shared hallways as well as your own rooms. See living through a kitchen remodel.
• Shorter working days if the rules limit hours, which lengthens the schedule.
• Notice to neighbors before noisy work and water shutoffs.

Before you start

1. Read the governing documents and ask the manager for the alteration application.
2. Confirm the unit boundary and who owns the pipes, ducts and walls involved.
3. Find out the building's unit count and height to know whether the permit is RES or CMI.
4. Have your contractor see the site, the access route and the existing plumbing and vent runs before pricing.
5. Get association approval in writing, then apply for the permit.

JDI Construction handles permits and project management for its clients and provides an itemized plan and 3D design layout you can submit to an association for review. To talk through a condo or townhome project, see our Vancouver kitchen remodeling page or get in touch.