Where are the Bogs in Vancouver?
Many parts of Vancouver, both east and west, are sitting on soft soil, which is thanks to the areas history. The city used to be filled with streams running through most of the city, and False Creek extending from the Pacific Ocean past Main St (the area was filled in years ago).
As real estate agents in Vancouver’s Eastside, we have seen a lot of homes, including those that are unfortunately sloping. If you ever see a sloping house, one where the angle of the doors isn’t quite right, or where you can put something on the floor only to watch it roll away – start asking questions!
The answer will likely be that the house is sitting in one of Vancouver’s many bogs – peat bogs, that is – which lead to soft soil that is unfortunate for the house that sits on top. These bogs can lead to structural problems and added city requirements when it comes to doing renovations and builds. The city will require a soil sample, as well as a other potential reports which can require that homeowners perform thorough excavating and backfilling. At the end of the day, Buyers have to be a little more cautious when it comes to buying a property located in a known peat bog area of Vancouver.
The photo above shows the location of Vancouver’s peat bogs. For East Vancouver Buyers, the bigger peat bogs are surrounding Trout Lake (especially on the West and South ends of the Lake) and between Prince Edward and Inverness, from East 16th to East 24th, especially along Kingsway.
Give us a call if you’re interested in a home in this area. If a property for sale looks too good to be true from a pricing perspective, it could be because it’s in the bog.
