Addressing the Reality

Since brick masonry exterior facades are supposed to have useful lives of 100 years or more, a prevalent myth is masonry facades are virtually maintenance free, needing little discussion by the condo board, and a rare cost item in reserve fund studies. In reality, masonry maintenance is discussed often with a great deal of misinformation and misunderstanding of the key issues.

Inspection and Maintenance

A condominium’s brick facade is one of its most important common elements. As such, its condition should be well-known. This can only be accomplished if it is inspected on an annual basis with full documentation including written comments, photographs, and sketches as needed. This facade report can be done by the building committee with proper training and consistent reporting protocols in place. The report should comment on the presence of structural and maintenance issues but does not have to suggest methods of repair.

Maintenance issues could include the presence of plant or vine materials on exterior walls; blocked weep holes; surface efflorescence; damaged brick; and mortar decay. Structural issues could include the presence of mortar/brick cracks >0.075 inches (2mm) in width in multiple brick units; stepped or diagonal cracking; heavy rust on window/door opening lintels; out of plane wall movement; and negative slopes on masonry sills. The scope of the exterior wall inspection should include the viewing of interior walls where water infiltration or wall staining has been reported.

Structure Matters

Equally important in a facade investigation is understanding what structure makes up the facade, as it is a myth all brick buildings are the same. Most of the old brick buildings in major cities use the exterior brick to support the interior floor framing and are thus called “bearing wall masonry.” These heavy walls were designed to prevent moisture from entering into the building’s interior spaces by the brick absorbing water in its multi-layers (wythes) of brick and drying out when the weather improved.

Over a hundred years ago, steel framing was introduced, allowing the building designer to hang the exterior facade skin using steel anchors on the perimeter of the building’s steel frame to produce more lightweight and cost-effective buildings. Today’s brick buildings use brick as a veneer in which the brick is only the first line of defense against water infiltration. The brick actually provides mechanical protection to the true water barrier, namely, sheathing behind a cavity space. This cavity acts as a drainage plane with weep holes at the bottom of the brickwork. It is also a myth to assume all brick veneer facades are the same. Brick veneers systems built before the mid-1980s did not have the robust framing members designed into today’s buildings, thus older exterior walls are subject to more flexibility from wind and other forces causing more cracking in both mortar and brick units.

Water Considerations

Many absorptive facade materials (concrete, sandstone, mortar, fired-clay masonry) can be seriously damaged by cyclical freezing and thawing of water entering the material through natural porosity or surface hairline cracks. These pockets of moisture can be trapped in facade walls whose freezing can expand, causing further cracking, spalling, or displacing adjacent masonry by a phenomenon called ice lensing. It should always be kept in mind, though, bricks can last 100 years, the sealants and caulks used around window/door openings and expansion joints only have useful lives of less than ten years and thus require replacement every ten years or so.

Another myth is all brick buildings need to have water repellant sealant applied periodically. Older buildings having load-bearing exterior walls with the original lime-based self-healing mortars typically do not need to be sealed. If a modern building with an anchored brick veneer system is deemed to need water repellant sealant, only siloxane-based products should be used to maintain breathability in the masonry wall. Never use sealants with acrylics or silicone that trap moisture in the masonry.

Therefore, the lesson to be learned about brick facade maintenance is even though masonry appears to be maintenance free, in reality, maintenance decisions should be based on knowledge and technical understanding. In older buildings, boards should seek advice from those with historic masonry experience who have worked with ‘limey’ mortars while veneer brick contractor applicants should know the advantages of re-pointing versus face grouting. With some research and planning, boards can make myth-busting maintenance decisions.

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

A Proactive Approach is Best

If you are responsible for your condo or HOA’s physical condition, this is no time to relax. Planning now can pay big dividends in being able to hire a repair contractor before the spring/summer crunch arrives. With that in mind, the following list can provide a guide to issues for you to consider.

Building Maintenance Check list

• Inspect the roofs.
  Too often, missing shingles and other storm related damage to roofs goes unnoticed during the winter. Now is the time for each roof surface to be scanned by eye, or better yet, by binoculars. Avoid going up on the roof unless it has a very low slope. Leave that to the pros. Other damage comes from removing ice dams and snow.  Snow removal can be the cause of more damage than the actual snowfall itself. Most buildings are designed to handle snow, and it is very rare that even a large storm will dump enough snow to cause damage that will seriously harm your homes’ roofs. Let the snow melt naturally with the rain and warmer temperatures.
• Gutter, downspout, and roof drain repairs.
  Frozen gutters and downspouts can cause ice dams, but the most likely cause is building heat escaping due to poor insulation and/or inadequate venting of the air below the roof. Nonetheless, ensuring gutters run free to remove snow melt and spring rains is very important. Those condos with low-slope roofs and internal roof drains need to ensure those drains are clear of winter debris block water and causing surface ponding.
• Ground surface drainage pathways.
  Clearing out your drains on a regular basis will ensure they are free of debris for the summer thunderstorms. April and May are notorious for high quantities of rain no matter where you live. For communities located in snowy areas of New England, the additional water from the snow runoff can equal a great stress on the community’s drainage system. Avoid the potential of blocked drainage systems by habitually cleaning them every other month. Subsurface drainage culverts need periodic cleaning to ensure the winter sanding operation and other debris runoff has not prevented the proper storm drainage.
• If you have a basement, check your sump pump regularly to ensure its operation throughout the rainy season.
  The snow run off (or rain in warmer climates) can create an overload of moisture your sump pump may not be able to handle. Perform monthly inspections of the pump by opening the sump pit’s cover to clear any debris out of the bottom of the pit.
• Replace snow stakes.
  It’s a common mistake to replace the snow stakes only once a year, usually at the beginning of winter. The stakes can be the first thing to be damaged after a heavy snowfall, particularly if the snowplow knocks it over!
• Landscaping plans.  Landscaping can often take a hit during the cooler months. Recover quickly by bringing in your local specialist and discussing the various shrubs and flowers needing planting in spring.
• Send out paint bids for summer work. The major advantage to getting your bid requests out early is the extra time and accessibility your vendors are likely to have. Outside work requests often drop during cold weather and getting a head start will ensure your association is at the top of their list during the summer rush!
• Security enhancements. Now is the ideal time for associations to make the security enhancements they’ve been thinking about all winter. Security fencing and an alarm system are two timely projects for the post-winter months.
• Equipment rechecks. Even if pre-winter checks have been done, halfway through the winter is a good idea to do it again. Test emergency generators, keep batteries fully charged, check outside light fixtures are operational, ensure outside utility meters and hydrants are accessible, confirm clearance for both outside vents and exhausts, and change quarterly air filters.

Of course, this list focuses mainly on operating issues. When was the last time you took a hard look at your Reserve Fund Plan for capital repairs? Is your condo on schedule? Have things changed? Does the Reserve Study need a major update? Perhaps it is time a for a building condition survey to be conducted. This top to bottom review can be performed in-house or by a professional building inspector engaged to provide an informed, unbiased assessment of the physical condition of the various common building and site elements including siding, roof surface, structural framing, foundation, water infiltration, electrical, plumbing, HVAC systems, flooring, light fixtures, paving, and more. Providing a questionnaire to the unit owners during this process not only engages them in this important work but also may reveal common defects not readily known

Many maintenance projects have a double bonus—they will improve the appearance of your association while preventing costly repairs or replacements down the road. By undertaking some maintenance tasks now, you can lessen the costs many associations rack up in the rush to recover from winter.

Building Maintenance Check List – Article written by Jack Carr, P.E., R.S., LEED-AP, Criterium Engineers
Published in Condo Media
Download a PDF Version of this Condo Media article