Criterium Engineers was founded in the days when building plans were meticulously designed and drawn by hand. The dedicated engineer’s talisman—the plastic drafting triangle—could once be found on almost every drawing table in our offices. And while a clear plastic triangle might easily be lost on piles of white paper, bright orange drafting triangles always stood out brilliantly from the rest.

Yes, computers have replaced some of our tools, but the orange drafting triangle still serves as our logo today. It symbolizes knowledge built up over generations. A true passion for helping people better live and work in buildings they know and love. An unrelenting determination to bring value and to be the very best. These are still the elements of quality engineering consulting—and still the reasons why Criterium Engineers stands out from the rest.

Winter is approaching much of North America. This season plagues even the sturdiest among us—as with winter comes the inevitable storms of the season.

Here are a few winter tips to help you prepare for and deal with the season:

• Insulate the attic to keep roof surface cold and help avoid ice dams.
• Maintain emergency generator’s fuel supply.
• Insulate pipes in basement and unheated spaces.
• Check battery-powered equipment, replace any weak or questionable batteries.
• Confirm operation of an alternative power source for any life support medical equipment in use.
• Fill the gas tank in your cars.
• Store drinking water in jugs, bottles, and bathtubs, in case you lose your source of water.
• Secure outdoor objects.
• Cautiously proceed with storm cleanup!

When you finish your winter tips preparations and tasks, be sure to get out and enjoy the season. Go for a nature walk, snowshoe, cross country ski, ice skate, or sledding with the kids or grandkids. Embracing the season makes it much more tolerable and enjoyable!

The Surfside collapse and the resulting loss of life is tragic. In addition to dealing with the far-reaching impact of that collapse, many occupants, owners, and managers of most buildings are now asking whether something similar could happen to their building. The answer is that the structural health and future of any building depends on many variables including age, climate, maintenance, structural materials used, renovations that have occurred, quality of construction, original design, and much more. No building will last forever.

The Surfside collapse has shined a bright light on building inspections, maintenance, reserve funding, and management. CAI task forces created in the wake of the condominium collapse—there were two that I served on including the Building Inspections Task Force and the Reserve Studies and Funding Task Force—will release public policy statements and best practice guidelines. Among the objectives for the CAI task forces efforts was to help guide public policy and legislative action toward reasonable and responsible standards since we should all expect widespread legislative action—no one wants a repeat of Surfside. (See side bar article on the Task Forces work on page 40.)

PLANNING FOR THE DEMANDS OF AN AGING BUILDING

In what I call Stage 2 aging, which takes into account the long-term deterioration of a building, when a building reaches 25 to 30 years old, there are more things to consider than those that are common to most reserve studies.

Many components such as roofs, paint, and HVAC equipment have predicable useful lives; their condition is visible, and they fall within the minimum 20-year (we use 30) study period recommended in the CAI Reserve Fund Guidelines. However, some expensive components such as underground piping and structural components (balconies, exposed framing, water intrusion related corrosion, or rot) have a longer expected useful life but will still need attention. What do you do about those conditions?

IDENTIFY AREAS OF CONCERN

First, the board should identify the areas of concern, then investigate, then plan for addressing the information revealed by the investigation; out of sight, out of mind does not mean those conditions can be ignored—aging and deterioration is inevitable.

For structures, deterioration is typically a slow process; severe weather events or seismic activity can accelerate the deterioration, but it still may take many years before a healthy building starts to show evidence of structural illness. In my opinion, all buildings of more than five stories should be thoroughly inspected by well-qualified individuals for structural soundness regularly: every 10 years for buildings less than 50 years old and every 5 years for buildings more than 50 years old.

CONDUCT STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS

The structural health of most buildings must be determined by a structural engineer with the right combination of experience and expertise, and the qualifications to be accountable for their work. The presence of cracks in concrete, for example, does not mean much until you consider the location, pattern, size, and character of those cracks. Even structurally healthy buildings often have cracks. Age almost always matters, however, being young doesn’t mean that building is structurally sound. Every building is unique, and the structural inspection of that building should respond to that uniqueness. Age, location, and structural materials are big factors in guiding inspection priorities and procedures.

For inspection protocol, we recommend a two-phase approach:

• Phase one is a visual examination for evidence of significant structural distress, and then, depending on the results of phase one,
• proceed with phase two, a more in-depth investigation, possibly including destructive testing.

When possible, the original construction drawings would be reviewed as part of phase one.

INCLUDE FINDINGS IN RESERVE FUND STUDY

The structural inspection report (or other in-depth investigation such as elevators or video examination of underground piping) should then be provided to the Reserve Specialist who would include it in the Reserve Fund Study done for that building, including estimated costs. Reserve Studies should be done (or updated) at least every five years. Reserve Fund Studies are projections for repair or replacement of existing assets. They are a budgeting tool; they are not an in-depth building evaluation.

All of this means more work for the board or management company that should identify systems or components that deserve in-depth investigations and then retain appropriately qualified experts to conduct those investigations. Consultants familiar with buildings and building systems (such as some engineering companies and Reserve Specialists) can assist the board or management company with identifying the investigations that are needed. The resulting reports should be shared with the Reserve Specialist to include in the Reserve Fund Study to assure that the recommended reserve contributions include the results of those investigations. That may mean a significant increase in reserve contributions.

TAKING ACTION

Unfortunately, condo boards are often the roadblock in the process. They get important information from qualified professionals and don’t act on it. My personal experience includes many similar situations.

Why? When the studies and investigations reveal needed work that will require increased funding from the owners, that information may not get past the board to be shared with the owners, or, if it does reach the owners, it may get defeated by a vote of the owners. In some states, associations can even choose not to fund a reserve. CAI is aware of some state and federal legislation that is being considered to mandate structural inspections, assure adequate reserve funding, and mandate action to address the issues revealed.

Being a board member is tough! It involves fiduciary responsibility, accountability, and liability. It means answering to your constituents and it’s a “highly paid” volunteer position. A good management company will make good recommendations, but the board must make the decisions, and that may mean being unpopular with the owners, some of whom may be your friends and neighbors. I have been a president of an HOA board, so I understand the challenge.

Full disclosure and good communication are best. Our buildings are getting older, and we are being challenged to plan for that effectively. A better understanding of your building is the best place to start.

Article written by H. Alan Mooney, P.E., R.S., Criterium Engineers Founding President
Published in Condo Media October 2021 edition
Download a PDF version of this Condo Media Article

Addressing Building Issues With Caution

Have you ever noticed how fashion and entertainment trends seem to start on the “Left Coast” and work their way across the country before finally arriving in Maine? I call this the “End of Route 95 Syndrome.” Of course, YouTube and other digital social media has sped things up a bit, but the general premise holds true. The same may be true for residential/commercial construction codes and building science. This can make it difficult for condo boards to make an informed choice regarding building maintenance issues, not to mention prospective condo buyers assessing the condition of the unit and the community in general. Who do you call?

Maine Building Code Questions

It often takes a Surfside, FL, disaster for building codes and maintenance practices to change. Elevated deck and balcony structures must now be structurally inspected in California every five years following the horrific collapse of the raised deck on a multi-family building on the UC Berkeley campus in 2015. Exterior building façade failures in cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and Boston have resulted in those cities enacting mandatory structural evaluations of building exterior façades depending on the inspection cycle dictated in the ordinance and the height of the building.

I am often asked by out-of-state buyers of Maine condo units or condo boards of whether the building meets “code.” After a Maine history of a patchwork of building codes throughout the state, a Maine Unified Building Code and Unified Energy Code was adopted in 2015 following a suite of model international codes. As most buildings in Maine’s real estate inventory were built under a variety of building codes over the years, the question should be: “Does the building meet suitable standards of safety, health, resiliency, and energy efficiency while keeping to a reasonable maintenance schedule.” But who sets those standards, especially for existing buildings?

Licenses and Certifications

Maine does not license or certify its residential or commercial general contractors. Some of the skilled trades are licensed but not the general contractor who is ultimately responsible for the quality and safety of Maine’s homes. Legislative measures to license Maine’s contractors have been successfully defeated by various construction industry lobbying efforts in the recent past. Undoubtedly, someday, this situation will change, but Maine’s self-reliance traditions can be difficult to overcome.

Maine does not license or certify its home inspectors. This fact is often confusing for out-of-state buyers as the inspectors in their state are all licensed by the state. In addition, the home inspection brochures they pick up at a local Maine real estate office or web site have words such as “licensed” or “certified.” Under closer review it will be found the referred licenses are for radon or pest inspections, but not the home inspection itself. Maine does not have the “lemon laws” protecting home buyers in neighboring states, such as Massachusetts, with regard to undisclosed issues affecting the quality of a condominium. Maine’s real estate motto should be Caveat Emptor.

The term “certified” is even more misunderstood. The state certainly does not certify home inspectors, so a good question to ask is, “Certified by whom?” There are many home inspection associations across the country that “certifies” their dues paying members. They are not all equal. The joke in the industry is that in Maine one can be a hairdresser one week and a home inspector the next. The joke, of course, is that a hairdresser needs a license.

So, condo buyers in Maine, as well as condo boards, are typically advised to hire professional engineers (PE) or registered architects (RA or AIA) when they have concerns about structural integrity or other serious building science matters. Similarly, the Community Association Institute (CAI) recognizes the importance of professional competency in preparing reserve studies with the designation of “Reserve Specialist” (RS) for some members.

The greatest advantage of the board having a licensed engineer or architect is the condo board does not have to wait for an ordinance or new code to be approved to make an informed maintenance decisions for its community. A Maine board can utilize their engineer’s or architect’s experience and research done in other parts of the country to make informed maintenance decisions.

Taking Action

If a high-rise condo board thinks it is a good idea for its building façade or elevated balconies to be structurally evaluated every five years, the board does not have to wait for Maine to pass legislation. The board can budget for it in the association’s reserve study as a line item budget where replacement costs are allowed to include related expenses such as structural studies. This is also true for the evaluation of other major systems such as underground infrastructure, plumbing, or other long life common elements. The adage holds true for buildings too in that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Article written by Jack Carr, P.E., R.S., LEED-AP, Criterium Engineers
Published in Condo Media October 2021 edition
Download a PDF Version of this Condo Media article