So many questions and so little time. 

For your convience, we have complied a list of the most frequent questions we get asked on a daily basis.  Please remember, if you need more details just go to the specific subject heading on our website.  Also please know that we are just a phone call or email away and would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

An oil tank scan is when a company scans your property for the existence of an Underground Storage Tank.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Locating” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

For examples, please visit our gallery and check out some pictures of searches.

The main reasons that people obtain an oil tank certificate is usually to:

  • Sell or purchase a property
  • Renewal of mortgage
  • Renewal of home insurance
  • Local municipality requirements
  • Be pro active

Please visit the “Oil Tank Locating” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

An oil tank scan can be as fast as 15 minutes to upwards of an hour, this would be determined by the amount of obstructions and anomalies that are present on the property.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Locating” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

After the payment is processed, the office sends the report to you by fax, email or regular mail.   Usually the certificate is sent out the same day, however this does depend on the time of the day that the scan was preformed and when payment was processed.  To receive your oil tank certificate quicker, it is suggested that payment is made before your scan.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Locating” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Most times it is not necessary for a client or a representative of the property to be present during the scan; however, there are few situations that would require someone’s presence:

  • Known additions, extensions or enclosures.
  • Limited access around the perimeter, for example locked gates.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Locating” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Tank Removal

Oil tanks were regularly used as a fuel source for heating homes or as back up generators in larger commercial buildings.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Removal” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject. For examples, please visit our gallery and check out our many pictures of oil tank removals “with a shovel” or “with an excavator.”

According to the BC Fire code section 4.10.3, it states that “Property owners are required to remove underground storage tanks, and all associated pipe connectors, that have been out of service for at least two years”.

Some other common reasons to remove an oil tank are:

  • Property is for sale
  • Renewing mortgage
  • Renewing home insurance
  • Complying with local government regulations
  • Preparing for a renovation, eg. Building a new deck, coach house or addition.
  • Being pro active
  • Reducing, preventing, or mitigating any risk of potential leakage from your oil tank.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Removal” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Chronologically, the most at risk properties are truly any home that was built before 1975.  The further you migrate from Vancouver, the later natural gas was implement within the cities infrastructure.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Removal” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

A standard tank removal with no contamination on the property typically ranges from $1275 – $1675.  Many times there is no access to the tank itself, so it is usually hard to determine the exact amount of contents in the tank. Dependent on your local cities regulations there may be additional costs to consider, such as: permit, and sampling.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Removal” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

We can expose, pump, flush, extract and have samples taken for most oil tanks in 1 day.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Removal” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

We understand that timing is important in our industry and we do everything we can to get to your property within 1-2 days of submission of a signed quotation.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Removal” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Unfortunately this question is not as simple as it may seem.  Some companies may try to give you a percentage of tanks that leak; however, they are purely throwing out numbers, as it is impossible to truly give an accurate answer.

Please visit the “Oil Tank Removal” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Yes, we happily offer no tax to our valued senior customers on our residential tank removal cost.

Decommissioned or Abandoned Tanks

An abandonment/decommissioning of an oil tank involves rendering a tank inoperable, clean, structurally stable and eliminates or documents the possibility of contamination risk to the surrounding environment.

Please visit the Oil Tank Removal heading on our website and navigate to the “Abandoned/Decommissioned tanks” topic to get a more in depth answer on this topic and subject.

For examples, please visit our gallery and check out our pictures of abandoned/decommissioned tanks.

In most cities, it is still mandatory to remove a decommissioned/abandoned oil tank if it does not pose a risk to the structure of any buildings.

Please visit the Oil Tank Removal heading on our website and navigate to the “Abandoned/Decommissioned tanks” topic to get a more in depth answer on this topic and this subject.

The answer to this question can vary dependent on many factors:

  • Would removing your tank affect the structure of your building?
  • What does your city require?
  • Does your insurance company, mortgage broker, or perspective buyer, have certain expectations that need to be meet?

Please visit the Oil Tank Removal heading on our website and navigate to the “Abandoned/Decommissioned tanks” topic to get a more in depth answer on this topic and this subject.

Contamination

When involving storage tanks, contamination can be described as the introduction and/or presence of an undesired foreign substance into the environment.

Please visit the “Soil Remediation” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

For examples, please visit our gallery and check out our pictures of contamination.

There are many reasons to remediate your property:

  • To keep the environment clean, and free from pollutants introduced into the ecosystem.
  • To remove the potential of legal liabilities pertaining to the cross migration of contamination to your neighboring and/or city property.
  • To remove the risk of pollutant exposure to your family and pets.
  • To stop the chance of consuming hydro carbons, if your property is supplied by well water.
  • To adhere to your local cities and/or the Ministry of Environmental guidelines.
  • To make your property more marketable when selling your house in the future.
  • To renew your insurance, or mortgage (dependent on their internal policies).

Please visit the “Soil Remediation” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to assess if contamination is on the property before a tank is removed, and if an oil tank company tells you it is, be very cautious of there intentions.

Please visit the “Soil Remediation” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Every property is unique and should be assessed on an individual bases, since there are so many factors that contribute to the presence and spread of contamination:

  • When did the tank start to leak?
  • How much oil was in the tank?
  • Is the yard slopped?
  • Does your property have a high water table?
  • What types of native tills surround your tank?

Keeping in mind all of the above variables, we find that on average most properties clean up within 1-4 bins, which equates to approximately 10 – 40 tonnes.   Some properties may clean up in less than a bin, and in some extreme cases the total may go over 5 bins.  Throughout the process our clients have control of how many bins go out each day and are kept fully updated throughout the process so that the project does not get out of control.

Please visit the “Soil Remediation” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

The most present indications of contamination on site are usually hydrocarbons odor in the soil and/or the surrounding affected soils around the tank exhibiting a blue color.

Please visit the “Soil Remediation” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

There are signs of contamination that may or may not be present when removing an oil tank; however, the only conclusive way to make an assessment would be to take samples and to test them for the appropriate suspect contaminates.

Please visit the “Soil Remediation” heading on our website to get a more information about this topic and this subject.

Environmental Consultants

All cities have their own bylaws regulating whether you need to engage an independent environmental consultant to take samples at your property.  If your property is zoned as commercial, or is in a riparian zone, then it is usually required to get an environmental consultant. We will help you determine if an environmental consultant is needed, give you tips on how to select one, and give you a list of recommendations.

Please visit the Soil Remediation heading on our website to get more information on this subject or navigate directly to the “Do I need an environmental consultant?”  for more details on this specific topic. [Soil Remediation> Do I need an environmental consultant?]

Environmental consultants are certified professionals that have many

  • They take samples from the excavation after an oil tank is removed
  • They monitor the contamination removal, and take samples as needed.
  • They provide direction during contaminated soil removal
  • They take the final samples for the project and create a site profile.
  • They prepare and send full environmental reports to the appropriate destinations upon completion of the job.

Please visit the Soil Remediation heading on our website to get more information on this subject or navigate directly to the “What does an envrionmental consultant do ?”  for more details on this specific topic. [Soil Remediation> What does a environmental consultant do?]

No, we do not employ an environmental consultant on staff as we feel it is a MAJOR conflict of interest.  After all, the consultant is the one who says if a job is contaminated and tells the oil tank removal company when to stop removing contamination.  This important task should be left to an independent third party who does not directly benefit from the contamination removal and has a totally unbiased professional point of view.

Please visit the Soil Remediation heading on our website to get more information on this subject or navigate directly to the “Do you have your own environmental consultants on staff ?”  for more details on this specific topic. [Soil Remediation> Do you have your own environmental consultants on staff?]

Dependent on the city most environmental consultants charge around $1350-$1450 for most cities in metro Vancouver.  This price will usually include 5 samples (North, South, East, West and Base), 1-2 site visits, and your final environmental report that many cities require.

Please visit the Soil Remediation heading on our website to get more information on this subject or navigate directly to the “How much do environmental consultants cost on average ?”  for more details on this specific topic. [Soil Remediation> How much do enviromental consultants cost on average?]

As part of our quotation process we always include a list of environmental consultants; however, we are happy to work with anyone as long as they have the proper credentials, insurance coverage and are able to provide you with your full environmental report at the end of the job.

Please visit the Soil Remediation heading on our website to get more information on this subject or navigate directly to the “Do you recommend any environmental consultants ?”  for more details on this specific topic. [Soil Remediation> Do you recommend any environmental consultants?]

Important Questions to Ask Your Tank Removal Company

There are some companies that do not include backfill, landscaping or even labour, as part of their pricing.  If this is important to you, we suggest you ask them to be transparent and include all foreseen cost associated with the project from the beginning.  By not including these costs as part of there initial quotation it makes their prices seem low; however, these charges (backfilling, labour, and finishing costs) are an integral part of the process and will add a substantial cost at the end of your job.  If your property is contaminated, these charges will add up quickly and will not be a pleasant surprise at the end of your project. If they are not factored in (budgeted for) from the beginning of the quotation your costs will be considerably higher and you will get stuck paying whatever they want to charge you.

We understand that in the rare occasion backfill or landscaping is not necessary due to upcoming demolition or construction. In these cases if you do not want backfill or landscaping (finishing) please advise us from the beginning of the quotation, so we can give you the appropriate discount.

We are proud to service the entire lower mainland. We offer great prices from greater Vancouver to the Fraser valley.  We have employees with trucks from Vancouver to surrey and that helps us keep a competitive edge on pricing.

Tri-City Tank Tech specializes in Residential and Commercial heating oil tank removal in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, Ladner, Tsawwassen, Langley, Abbotsford, Aldergrove, Chilliwack, Mission, Surrey, White Rock, Belcarra, and Anmore.

There are a lot of new companies in the industry over the years and many of them do not have much experience.  They may say they have a “combined experience” of over a certain amount of years, but how many employees’ experiences are they combining?  You can always check on the BBB website to see how long a company has truly been in business.

As in every industry there are “good and bad companies”, and “ethical and unethical practices”.  Make sure you do your research, check out reviews and ask the right questions.  If these types of questions offend the representative of the company you may want to consider why?

It is important to figure out if the company you are dealing with is trustworthy, and established.

We carry home liability insurance, ensuring that whether your own a residential or a commercial property, you can be confident that your are covered.

We are fully covered by Worksafe BC.

We are proud of our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and welcome you to check out our standing by clicking on the B.B.B icon on the bottom of the home page.