Condo Media - March 2021 - 15

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When you're in the business of maintaining and restoring condominiums,
what you see is not always what you get.
A condominium - even if it was built
50 years ago - may look fine on the
outside, but beauty is often only skin
deep. Behind the façade, the cavity wall
may not be functioning properly. Brick
may need to be repointed. Doors and
windows may be leaking.
In the case of 16 Addington Road
in Brookline, Mass., a 23-unit condominium built in 1969, moisture had been
penetrating the building's roof and façade for decades. Residents on the lower
floors learned that " trickle down " applies
not only to wealth, but to water, as leaks
on the fifth floor reached the first floor,
as well as several areas in-between.
" The balconies, the windows, the
sliders, the parapet walls, everything
on the fifth floor was capturing the
rain, and even units on the first floor
were getting leaks, " describes Annie
Stefanelli, president of The Stefanelli
Company, Inc. in West Roxbury, Mass.,
and manager of the property. " Water
was leaching into the units. "
Initially, the board retained Statewide
Restoration Masonry to try stopping the
leaks with inexpensive methods, such
as flashing the window headers and sills
and tuck pointing. These stopgap measures worked in some cases, but success
was limited. Everyone soon found out
why. In addition to budgeting $60,000
toward Statewide Restoration Masonry's initial efforts, the board granted
permission to remove a small area of the
brick façade to look behind it. Looking
in, it was discovered that the CMU block
backup wall had no waterproofing and
was very porous. In addition, the cavity
wall was not functioning, as there was no
cavity between the outer wythe of brick
and the block backup wall.
REVIEWING THE ALTERNATIVES
The entire team recognized that there
were localized roof and window leaks,
but the fundamental problem was water
infiltration through the brick veneer in
driving rain. The building was not constructed with a satisfactory water barrier
behind the brick veneer, so the best
action would have been to remove and
replace the exterior veneer with a system

that provided an air and moisture barrier
consistent with today's standards.
However, with a cost of over $5 million
dollars, that highly desirable solution was
not practical for the owners. According to
Michael Nee of Gienapp Architects LLC,
who designed the solution, " Consequently, we worked with the board to evaluate
several options that would address the
highest priorities with an affordable and
practical scope of work. "
Ultimately, the design team and the
board collaborated on a solution and was
able to fix the primary sources of water
infiltration, replace the sunrooms, bring
the building up to code, improve energy
efficiency, and make the envelope more
aesthetically pleasing - all for a lesser
cost of $1.5 million.
The project had a happy ending
for everyone involved, but it provided
important lessons that may be useful
to any condominium board or property
manager.

Some projects can be divided into
two or more phases, which helps
stretch the cost over a longer period.
Doing so can help associations
live within an annual maintenance
budget, but there may be a trade-off,
as delay may cause property damage
and ordering materials piecemeal
can cost more than ordering everything at the same time.
● Projects may be adjusted to fit
the budget. There is no doubt the
best technical solution to make the
building watertight was to replace the
entire skin of the building with a new
brick façade, as well as replacement of
all doors and windows. Because of the
costs as they pertained to 16 Addington Road, the board worked on a new
plan, focusing on the fifth floor, which
was the source of most of the leaks.
" It was a long-shot, but one worth
taking, " Stefanelli says.

Typically, cutting corners to save money today
costs more tomorrow, and the building likely
will not look or function at its best.
● Maintenance is cost effective.
Condominium board members are
understandably budget conscious and
sometimes overlook routine maintenance. When repairs are needed, they
are often handled on an ad hoc basis.
Ongoing maintenance costs
significantly less and takes less time
than repairing extensive damage.
It also can keep a building looking its
best and ensure that it is structurally
sound. In addition, maintenance
projects typically require little
regulatory approval. A building
permit will still be needed, but timeconsuming hearings can be avoided.
● Start with a plan. It's important
to have specific goals in mind and
to detail the scope of the project
as thoroughly as possible based on
those goals. Of course, you'll need to
determine what you can realistically
accomplish with the amount of money
allocated for the project.

The $1,497,000 bid covered the
replacement of all five sunrooms,
as well as all windows, sliding doors,
access doors, and the roof on the
fifth-floor balconies; new metal siding
on the fifth floor; replacement of all
railings on the fifth floor; and all associated water-proofing.
" There was old, corrugated metal
siding that was damaged, " Nee says.
" The walking surface of the balconies was a bare, stained membrane
roof that looked dirty and, because
of leaking situations, there were
also messy layers of old sealant
on most of the surfaces. It all had
to be addressed. "
" Aesthetics were not the primary
driving factor, " he adds, " but as part
of the project we unified the colors.
Premium-grade rubber pavers were
put over the roof surface and existing windows on the fifth floor were
replaced with energy-efficient fiberglass frame windows. "
March 2021 CONDOMEDIA

15
Condo Media - March 2021

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