The first time we realized the real implication of its significance, we were well into our design stage. Since we were on a high side of the Cambie dip and we weren't building a basement, we thought our lot should be okay. First off, the city requires a geotechnical report as part of our permit application for projects in peat bog area.
From March to May of 2011, with slight apprehension, we were waiting for the results from our geotechnical engineer of soil sample to confirm the subsurface condition of our lot. Although we were pretty confident that our lot should be on dry ground, there is always a chance that it's on peat. As part of the investigation, a total of four 8 ft deep holes were drilled to extract soil samples for analysis. To our relief, our report came back clean with some relatively minor excavation and backfilling recommendations. The cost of construction will be impacted but we soon learned that it's no big deal compared to what it could have been.
During this time, there were a few other construction projects around the bottom of the Cambie dip that were slightly ahead of ours, right on top of the peat bog. One project had to excavate all the soil out of the entire foot print of the house to the depth of a very deep basement. At first we were thinking "Boy! That's a deep basement.". Then we watched with horror how it was heavily braced against both sides of the neighbouring homes and completely backfilled with gravel. The house is slab on grade!! Talk about pouring money into the ground!!
Then there is another project directly across from Douglas Park (some of the most prized lots in the hood), it has completely come to a standstill and it's filled with water. YIKES!! Here's a picture....
If we knew then what we know now, I wonder if we'd have bought our lot... Huummmmmm...
I think at the very least we would have gone to talk to the City of Vancouver, it's a treasure trove of information for the biggest investment of one's life.
