Building Management Hawaii April/May 2014 - (Page 26)

ConCrete Should You Weighing the real cost of cosmetic By Damien J. Enright T A Honolulu high-rise faces its issues. 26 April-May 2014 BMH aking care of a property is arduous, tiresome work. Whether you're an owner, a manager or even a voluntary board member, it always seems like once one project is put to bed, another will immediately pop up. Issue after issue will require your careful attention and planning, a fair level of diplomacy and worst of all, funding. For these reasons, it's no wonder that decision-makers will immediately begin to ask themselves, "Is there any way we can get another three, four or five years of life out of our ?" Funds are frequently limited and reserves have often already been tapped for that snazzy lobby upgrade or renovation, so any other large capital expenditures will have to wait. So what happens next is as understandable as it is harmful, and we see it all over Hawaii. A big Band-Aid gets pulled out as the only viable solution. Undeniably, minor cosmetic repairs sometimes do make sense. But when the repairs have to deal with the structural integrity of your building, or the safety of the residents, it's in the best interest of all parties to not only address the concerns, but to also carefully consider a permanent solution. Let's take a look at two projects. They were completed on opposite sides of the island-and although the buildings look nothing like each other, the owners were faced with exactly the same dilemma. The maintenance fees had not provided sufficient reserves to deal with the corrosion that had spread throughout the concrete structures. The resulting deterioration compromised not only the building's slabs and walls, but also the guardrail system. In fact, in most cases, the guardrail system was so badly deteriorated that it accelerated corrosion and spalling of www.buildingmanagementhawaii.com http://www.buildingmanagementhawaii.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Building Management Hawaii April/May 2014

Editor’s Note By Stacy Pope
Hawaiiana Hits The Big Five-0
CONCRETE Restoration and Repairs: Maintaining A Strong Foundation
Concrete Spalls, Cracks And Leaks
Should You Repair Or Replace?
Restoring Exposed Aggregate Surfaces
Preserving A Historic Treasure
ELEVATOR Modernization: Are You Losing Energy?
Greening Your Elevators
Upgrading On A Budget
INSURANCE: Locking Down The Leaks
Navigating Property Insurance
COOLING TOWERS: HVAC Chemical Feed Pumps
Waikiki’s Oldest Hotel Keeps It Cool
Industry News or Movers & Shakers
On Site: Self-Management 101

Building Management Hawaii April/May 2014