1. Home
  2. Sectors
  3. Student housing

Residences that open on move-in day.

Residences open when the academic year starts, with no room for slippage. We deliver electrical, mechanical and fire protection on mid- and high-rise student housing with that date in mind from day one.

Modern multi-storey residence building lit at dusk
Residential

Student housing

Student housing is one of the few building types where the opening date is fixed by the calendar. If a residence isn’t ready in late August, hundreds of students need somewhere else to live.

These buildings are also highly repetitive: hundreds of near-identical suites, each with its own electrical, plumbing, ventilation and sprinkler work. Done well, that repetition is an advantage. Done poorly, the same mistake is repeated on every floor.

What makes it hard

The challenges we plan for.

Every sector has its own risks. These are the ones we plan around from the first meeting.

  • A fixed opening date

    We build the schedule backwards from occupancy, including the inspections and testing that have to happen before permits are issued.

  • Repetition at scale

    We prove out the first suites in detail, then repeat that standard floor by floor, using prefabrication where it helps.

  • Life safety sign-off

    Sprinkler, fire alarm and emergency power testing are sequenced together, so life-safety systems are ready for the authority having jurisdiction.

Red grooved pipe coupling on a fire protection main
Residential
Our approach

First suite right, then every suite the same.

We build and review a mock-up suite with the general contractor and design team before production starts, so questions are answered once rather than on every floor.

From there, each trade works to a floor-by-floor sequence. Fire protection and electrical testing are planned alongside the general contractor’s schedule, so the building is ready for inspection on time.

Typical scope
  • Suite-by-suite electrical and plumbing
  • Central heating, cooling and ventilation
  • Sprinkler and standpipe systems
  • Fire pumps and backflow prevention
  • Emergency power and lighting
  • Testing sequenced for occupancy permits
Related news

Student housing insights.

Industry updates that affect student housing projects.

All news

EPA removes the R-410A installation deadline for existing equipment

A May 2026 final rule lets residential and light-commercial systems built before 2025 be installed until inventory runs out. The 2025 manufacturing cutoff still stands.

Canada’s 2025 National Model Codes are out

The 2025 editions of the National Building, Fire, Plumbing and Energy codes were released in December 2025. Provinces will now decide when and how to adopt them.

Planning fire protection testing for move-in day

In student housing, the sprinkler system is often one of the last things standing between a finished building and an occupancy permit. How to keep it off the critical path.

Start a project

Planning something technical? Bring us in early.

Tell us about the scope, location and schedule. We'll come back with how we'd approach it and which of our trades it needs.