*A hair salon van laid out for Halifax, with the shampoo bowl and its plumbing inside the heated room so washes stay warm through a wet Nova Scotia winter.* # Mobile salon vans for Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford ProVanWorks builds mobile salon vans in Langley, BC, and delivers them to stylists, nail technicians and lash artists in Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford. What sets Halifax apart is the sea: salt air off the harbour all year, and winters that swing above and below freezing so often that snow, rain and ice can all arrive in the same week. ## How does Halifax weather shape a salon van? Halifax winters are damp more than bitter. Temperatures hover around freezing for weeks, a nor'easter can bring snow, rain and gale-force wind in one day, and a flash freeze afterward turns every doorstep to ice. Spring stays cool and foggy, and August can be muggy. A ProVanWorks salon van for Halifax gets much thicker insulation in the walls, roof and floor than the 16 mm (5/8 inch) we use around Vancouver, with heat in the floor and walls from a small diesel, gas or electric heater under the seat. A thermostat holds the temperature, and the heater keeps running with the engine off, so the room is warm before the first client of the day climbs in. A warm floor matters to a pedicure client who has just pulled off wet boots. In August, the front fan runs the air conditioning and takes the damp out of the air, which helps a blowout hold. Salt is the other Halifax problem. Rinse the underside of the van on mild winter days and have it checked each spring. Inside, the waterproof floor wipes clean of the salty slush that comes in on boots. ## Where do mobile salons work around Halifax? Halifax Regional Municipality takes in the dense peninsula, the suburbs of Dartmouth, Bedford, Clayton Park and Sackville, and a long stretch of rural coast. A salon van can serve: - Apartment and condo residents downtown and in the North End, where a salon at the curb spares a client the search for parking. - Families in the suburbs who would rather book a cut or a pedicure at home than cross the harbour. - Seniors' residences and home-care clients who can't easily get to a salon. - Wedding parties at venues along the South Shore and in the Annapolis Valley, where the bride and her party need hair and nails done on site. The Macdonald and MacKay bridges are the main links across the harbour, so it pays to book Dartmouth clients on one day and peninsula clients on another. Downtown streets climb steeply from the waterfront and many are narrow, so plan where the van will stop before you confirm an address. Check with Halifax Regional Municipality about parking and setting up on the street, and about the overnight winter parking ban if the van sleeps on the street at home. For a full day at one market or event, a [mobile beauty salon trailer](/custom-work-trailers/beauty-salon-trailer/) is another option. ## What water and power setup works for a Halifax salon van? A [mobile hair salon van](/mobile-salon-vans/hair-salon-van/) uses the most water: a shampoo bowl with hot water and a reclining wash chair, plus a hand-wash sink. A nail van adds a pedicure basin. The fresh water reservoir and the grey water tank are sized for each build around how many washes and pedicures you do, so tell us about your busiest day. The hot water keeps working in winter because the plumbing stays inside the heated room. Dryers and hot tools run from the auxiliary battery bank through high-amp inverters, which are an add-on. The batteries charge at Level 2 EV chargers (J1772), or from shore power through the 50 A inlet (30 A available) or the 20 A, 120 V inlet. For a day at a South Shore wedding venue far from an outlet, a generator is worth adding, and solar panels are available too. ## Do I need a permit to run a mobile salon in Halifax? Check with your local health authority about the rules for personal services such as hair, nails and lashes before you take bookings, and with Halifax Regional Municipality about parking and street use. Tell us anything that affects the layout, such as a separate hand-wash sink. ## How does a salon van get from Langley to Halifax? By road, our Langley shop is close to 6,000 km from Halifax. The usual route follows the Trans-Canada across the Prairies and northern Ontario, through Quebec and New Brunswick, and into Nova Scotia at Amherst. There are three ways to get the van there: ProVanWorks drives it, we ship it on a vehicle transport carrier, or you pick it up in Langley. Delivery is quoted for each build, and the [delivery across Canada](/delivery-across-canada/) page explains the process. You can have the van built to your own specifications, or start from one of ProVanWorks' already designed systems and change what you need. Every layout is on the [mobile salon vans](/mobile-salon-vans/) page, and the [Nova Scotia](/mobile-salon-vans/nova-scotia/) page covers the rest of the province. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is a van built in BC suited to a Halifax winter? Yes. A ProVanWorks salon van is insulated and heated for the climate where it will work, and a Halifax build gets far more insulation than a Lower Mainland one. Halifax tests a van with wet, salt and freeze-thaw more than deep cold, which the heated, waterproof floor and the thermostat handle. ### Can a Halifax salon van work the South Shore and the Valley? Yes. A salon van carries its own water, heat and battery power, so it can work at a cottage, a farm or a wedding venue as easily as in the city. On long days far from an outlet, add a generator or a larger battery bank.