Moving into a Vancouver Special means joining a piece of the city’s history that never left. More than 10,000 of these boxy, front-gabled houses went up between 1965 and 1985, and they still line the streets of Fraserview, Killarney, Sunset, Renfrew, and Hastings-Sunrise. The Special is the only house style Vancouver ever invented for itself, and it moves differently than any other home in the region. Our crews know its floor plan by heart. Here is what that knowledge is worth on move day.
The House the Zoning Code Built
The Special was reverse-engineered from the rulebook. Basements did not count toward maximum floor area at the time, so builders put a full-height “basement” at ground level and stacked the official living space on top. The Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s profile of the style covers the whole story: brick below, stucco above, a shallow balcony with sliding glass doors, and a front door set to one side so the downstairs could become a suite. Every one of those features changes how a move runs.
The Living Room Is Always Upstairs
Here is the defining fact: the kitchen, living room, and main bedrooms sit on the upper floor. So every sofa, fridge, and king mattress in a Special climbs at least one full flight, usually starting on exterior front stairs. Crews plan for it with more hands per piece, stair-savvy pacing, and rain-day traction, because those concrete steps get slick for half the year. Our post on moving in the rain in Vancouver covers that half.
One House, Two Households
Most Specials hold a suite downstairs, which means many Special moves involve two sets of people: a family heading up and a tenant staying down, or grandparents settling into the ground floor while the kids take the top. We schedule around both doors, keep the suite’s entrance clear, and treat the shared laundry corridor like the neutral territory it is. If a tenant is moving out at the same time, our guide to getting your damage deposit back applies just as well to a Special’s suite.
Thirty-Three Feet Wide and Not an Inch More
Specials sit on Vancouver’s classic narrow lots, shoulder to shoulder with their neighbours. Side access is a squeeze, the stucco corners forgive nothing, and the real loading decision is front curb versus the lane behind, where the carport lives. We scout that choice before the truck arrives, because a lane-loaded move in East Van often saves an hour of carrying. The same lots spread into western Burnaby, so our Burnaby crews run the identical playbook there.
Sometimes the Balcony Is the Best Door
Those sliding glass doors on the second storey occasionally beat the staircase entirely. A sectional that refuses the interior stairs can sometimes pass over the balcony railing with enough hands and proper strapping, and an experienced crew knows when that is the smart play versus a stunt. We measure first, decide with you, and never force a 60-year-old railing to prove anything.
East Van Fluency, Included
A mover that knows the Special respects what it represents: the house that welcomed generations of new Canadians and still holds families the same way. Our W-2 crews move Specials weekly across the east side and out through Surrey and Coquitlam. Get a free estimate, browse our Vancouver moving services, or call the local team at (604) 262-2075. Upstairs living, downstairs suite, one smooth day. That is the Special, done specially.