Latest "Common Foundations" Article
Water Inside Your Building Means Something Is Wrong on the Outside - Nov, 2016
“Water, water everywhere” is not what you want to be thinking as you’re standing in the living room of a townhouse condominium unit or peering into the lobby of a high rise.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
How Can My Association Go Solar?
How Can My Association Go Solar?
It’s no surprise that solar panels have started popping up all over the area. Solar can drastically reduce electric bills, protect against the rising cost of energy, boost U.S. energy independence, protect the environment and more.
The cost of solar panels has decreased significantly over the years and continues to drop.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Failing Facades
What's a Board to Do?
It is Inevitable
No matter what type of building you live in, one day, the facade will begin to fail. Whether it is water infiltration, cracking wood, spalling concrete or crumbling brick, it’s only a matter of time before you have failing facade.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Red Flags that Signal Structural Defects
Although the housing market has slowed, approximately 80 percent of new construction is still being built as a community association. The recent boom in the housing market has led more people to purchase condominiums and townhouses on impulse, without the benefit of several walk-throughs or an inspection by a Professional Engineer. More than likely, this has happened in your community as well. But what does it mean for the association and its residents?
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Defer, Replace, Improve
Those involved in providing reserve studies (engineers and accounting managers) perform a valuable function. They can tell you how much to put aside today for tomorrow's capital expenditures, as they have it down to a science.
There is also an art to reserve studies that is rarely discussed.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Let's Caulk
Perhaps by now the March wind-driven weather has convinced the Board it has water infiltration problems, not to mention air infiltration issues. Interior gypsum board ceilings and walls are starting to stain; floors are beginning to get wet and warp; and unit owners are complaining of mold formation. Often the answer is not façade re-siding or a new roof surface but rather a need for new caulk.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Road Weary
If you have a major paving job for your condo complex, it is best not to wait till the last minute. Now is the time to plan and get your best prices before spring has sprung.
When it comes to paving projects, often the Board needs an education on the paving issues and options available. There is a lot of misinformation out there. There is no better way to have a meeting’s agenda go astray than when no one knows the difference between or benefits of seal coating and a binder top.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
The Inflation Dilemma
Inflation is something we’ve not paid much attention to for many years. Since the 1980s, inflation has averaged almost negligible amounts in most years. Furthermore, we’ve grown used to making investments that approximate or at least keep us ahead of inflation based on our rate of return. Those days may be over.
Divergence of Indices
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Specifications - Key to a Successful Job
Managing a capital budget and expenditures for a community association involves greater responsibility and risk than it does for one’s own home. This edition of Common Foundations addresses some of those differences and ways to control the process to assure a positive outcome.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Energy Conservation in Community Associations
With existing buildings consuming 40 percent of our energy supply, they represent a logical and necessary target for energy conservation measures. In this issue of Common Foundations,our goal is not to convince you that energy conservation makes sense. Most of us can agree that it does. However, community associations represent an ownership class with a wide range of needs, opportunities, and responsibilities. In this issue, we try to address what a prudent board might do with regard to energy conservation, depending on the type of associ
Categories: Criterium Engineers
How Much is Enough?
How much should our association keep in our reserve fund? is a question we are often asked. At first blush, the answer seems simple – enough to cover all anticipated expenditures over the reserve period. Upon further analysis, the answer is not so simple at all. A number of inter-related factors may affect this decision dramatically.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
You Can Meet the Challenges
Recently, we spoke with about two dozen community association professionals – property managers, association managers, lawyers, and engineers. Our objective was to learn how they dealt with the real challenges that we must face every day. In this issue of Common Foundations, we would like to share what we learned in the hope that this collective wisdom will be of some help to you as well.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Managing an Association?
In the last two years, FannieMae has amended its guidelines for selling and serving mortgages on condominiums, cooperatives, and planned unit developments three times. Why should we, as service providers to and managers of community associations, care?
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Municipal and Association Responsibility
Where does the Town End and the Community Begin?
Homeowners new and old to association living question why they have to pay monthly dues or assessments, particularly for items such as trash removal and sidewalk repair. Aren’t those covered by the local municipal government? In reality, these services are quickly becoming the sole responsibility of community associations across the country.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
When a Critical Component Fails Early
It happens to even the most prepared of associations. The roof that was supposed to last 25 years starts leaking after only 15. A harsh winter takes its toll on the parking lot and you’re suddenly faced with a large re-paving project 5 years before anticipated. The elevators in a high-rise are constantly out of order, despite their being only 20 years old. These items will need to be immediately replaced or extensively renovated – which means unexpectedly using a significant portion of your reserve budget.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Winter 2006 - Red Flags that Signal Structural Defects
Although the housing market has slowed, approximately 80 percent of new construction is still being built as a community association. The recent boom in the housing market has led more people to purchase condominiums and townhouses on impulse, without the benefit of several walk-throughs or an inspection by a Professional Engineer. More than likely, this has happened in your community as well. But what does it mean for the association and its residents?
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Is Your Community Dressed For Success?
Have you ever driven by a community and instinctively known its residents take great pride in where they live? The homes are all in excellent shape, with attractive landscaping and complementary exterior finishes on every one. The roads are free of litter and freshly paved, and the common grassy areas are neatly mowed with bright flowers dotting the perimeter.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Outdoor Safety in Associations
Summer is the peak season for homeowners—barbecues, swimming, ultimate Frisbee tournaments, and relaxing on the front porch. Unfortunately, it’s also a time for increased accidents and personal injuries. Most accidents occur at home, including outdoor and association common areas, and too many of them are preventable.
Categories: Criterium Engineers
Community Essentials: Are you Reserving for Siding?
As associations continue to discover the benefit of reserve studies and the long-range planning options they provide, some Boards also unearth some less-pleasant realities about their current funding—especially where siding is concerned. The idea that siding should last “as long as the building” or at least in the 40-year range has been a common misconception of Board members and property managers. The truth is, your building’s siding takes the brunt of the elements and can deteriorate more quickly than expected.
Categories: Criterium Engineers