The “Vancouver Special” — that boxy, low-pitched-roof, full-front-windowed house built across East Vancouver between roughly 1965 and 1985 — is the most renovation-friendly housing type in the city. Three reasons: simple structure (easy to modify), generous floor area (lots to work with), and a typical legal secondary suite already framed in below (rental income with minimal additional cost). This post is the renovation playbook for a Vancouver Special.
What a Vancouver Special is, structurally
Most Vancouver Specials follow a similar template:
- Two-storey, sometimes 2.5
- ~2,200-3,200 sq ft total floor area
- Low-pitched roof, often with overhanging eaves
- Decorative iron railing on a small front balcony
- Brick or stone veneer on the front face
- Main living floor (kitchen, dining, living, bedrooms) on the upper level
- Garage, recreation room, and often a secondary suite on the lower level
- Standard 2×4 wood-frame construction, fairly easy to modify
The dropped soffit running across the main floor — usually hiding ductwork and original lighting — is the signature interior feature that most renovations target for removal.
What works in a Vancouver Special renovation
1. Removing the dropped soffit
The single highest-impact change you can make. Most Vancouver Specials have a soffit dropping the ceiling from ~8 ft to ~7 ft across the kitchen-dining-living area. Removing it opens the space dramatically. Typical cost: $4,500-$9,000 depending on what’s inside (ductwork relocation often needed). Returns ROI in resale value and daily livability.
2. Opening the kitchen to the dining/living
Most Vancouver Specials have a closed kitchen separated from the dining room by a wall (sometimes load-bearing, sometimes not). Removing this wall to create open-concept is one of the most-requested changes. Cost depends on whether the wall is load-bearing:
- Non-load-bearing wall removal: $1,500-$3,500
- Load-bearing wall with engineered beam: $8,000-$18,000
3. Adding or legalizing a secondary suite
If your Vancouver Special already has an unauthorized suite below (most do), the City of Vancouver Secondary Suite Bylaw is your friend. Making it legal involves:
- Egress windows in sleeping rooms (specific size, often $4,000-$8,000 per window for concrete cutting)
- 45-minute fire separation between suite and main dwelling ($3,000-$6,000)
- Interconnected hardwired smoke alarms ($800-$1,500)
- Independent kitchen and full bathroom
- Separate heating zone or proven adequate ventilation
Total cost to legalize an existing Vancouver Special secondary suite: typically $30,000-$70,000. Returns ROI in 2-4 years via legal rental income ($1,800-$2,800/month in current Vancouver rental market).
4. Upper-floor primary suite addition
Many Vancouver Specials have small bedrooms by modern standards. Combining two bedrooms into a primary suite with ensuite and walk-in closet is a common upgrade. Cost: $35,000-$80,000 depending on whether you’re adding plumbing for the ensuite.
What doesn’t work
Pitched-roof additions
The low-pitched roof is a defining feature, and adding a higher-pitched roof (or extending the existing roof at a different pitch) often looks awkward. Better strategies: stay within the existing roof line, add dormers carefully, or fully redesign the roof if budget allows.
Removing the front balcony
The iron-railed front balcony is structurally tied to the front wall. Removing it requires patching the front face, often badly. Better strategy: replace the railing with something modern (steel cable, glass) and keep the balcony.
Stripping the brick veneer
The front brick or stone veneer is part of what makes the Vancouver Special’s look (love it or not). Stripping it and re-cladding is expensive ($12,000-$25,000) and rarely looks better. Better strategy: paint the existing brick if you want to modernize, or leave it.
Typical full-renovation cost
A complete renovation of a Vancouver Special — opening the soffit, opening to the dining room, kitchen and bathroom renovations, legalizing the suite, finish updates throughout — typically runs $250,000-$420,000 in 2026 depending on finish level. The house is worth $1.6-$2.4M+ after the work in most East Van neighbourhoods (compared to $1.2-$1.7M in unrenovated condition).
How Renew Co handles Vancouver Special renovations
We’ve renovated dozens of Vancouver Specials across Renfrew-Collingwood, Killarney, Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Riley Park, and Sunset. The playbook is well-understood, and our quotes reflect what works for this housing type specifically. See our home renovation overview for full scope, or Vancouver renovation contractors for what we do across the city. Ready for a free in-home consultation? Request a free estimate.
