The Problem With Deferring Maintenance and Repairs in Condominiums

The Problem with Deferring Maintenance and Repairs in Condominiums

Owners and directors of condominium buildings are more aware of the various maintenance requirements and costs associated with their properties than those of their counterparts who are living in a traditional townhouse or condominium. This is because of legislation requiring that reserve fund studies be conducted regularly.

Like the owners of a traditional townhouse or condominium, they also have the option of postponing their maintenance obligations. This is usually due to financial constraints. However, it can also expose them to potential problems.

One of the advantages of deferring maintenance is that it can provide a short-term boost to the building's cash flow. It can also help meet budgetary expectations and improve the project's non-financial impact. However, it can also expose them to potential problems. In this article, I will discuss four potential issues that can affect the deferring maintenance project.

Problem 1: Lack of consideration of the risks associated with unexpected (and unplanned for) failure.

The design and construction of both planned and replacement projects for condominium complexes are usually influenced by various factors such as the availability of materials and the urgency of the project. In the event of an unexpected failure, the system can affect the entire community. While it is possible to defer the maintenance project, a corporation should consider the various risks associated with this process.

A deferred main breaker switch replacement can be considered as a solution to address immediate budgetary issues. This can be done by consulting the building's management and ensuring that the scheduled shutdown of the power is addressed.

Besides the availability of emergency power, the lack of emergency power can also expose a community to additional expenses and stress. This is why it is important that the building's budget is re-evaluated on the importance of aging equipment.

Problem 2: Ongoing degradation that is uncontrolled or concealed in some manner

The various building elements are interconnected and have the proper functionality and integrity to meet the needs of the community. If a window's water infiltration can cause damage to the drywall and saturate the insulation, then the wall assembly might experience heat loss.

In addition, deferring maintenance on certain building elements can also expose a community to additional expenses and stress. Not taking into account the costs associated with repairing the secondary elements can lead to a significantly higher repair bill.

For instance, if a multi-level parking garage has been continuously experiencing water infiltration, then the structural repairs on its membrane have been deferred. This issue has been caused by the complexity of the repairs, which involve extensive work to the various areas of membrane failure. To prevent water from dripping onto the cars below, the ceiling has been covered with tarps and have proper eavestroughing throughout.

Large cracks in the concrete slabs of the parking garage have been caused by the presence of chemicals and chlorides. Although temporary measures can be implemented to address these issues, the concrete will eventually degrade at an accelerated rate due to the presence of chemicals and chlorides.

The cost of concrete repairs is typically the biggest factor that affects the length of a parking garage's temporary or fully closed status. The time it takes to cure and execute the repairs is also the most important factor that affects the garage's operation.

Many minor repairs and maintenance projects have been deferred, which has resulted in costly and disruptive projects that are usually carried out over a long period of time.

Problem 3: Material Cost volatility and cost of labor.

Condominium budgets and reserve fund plans generally expect costs to increase over time, in line with inflation. When it comes to assessing future deferred maintenance expenses, condominium owners usually rely on the construction price indices to provide a comprehensive understanding of the costs. However, certain equipment and materials, such as aluminum in windows and petroleum in asphalt, can see significant price increases within a short time.

For instance, if a window frame replacement project was deferred from 2013 to 2015, it would have been expected that the construction price would increase by 2.3 percent. However, aluminum prices significantly changed during this period, increasing by 17 percent.

Aluminum is not included in the total projects, but the changes in the cost of materials during this period affected the overall construction cost. The estimated cost of the project increased by six percent.

Problem 4: Not considering the cost to benefit of life-extending repairs

Sometimes, minor repairs can be performed to extend the useful service life of aging elements, which can be reasonably deferring the major overhaul or replacement needed. The cost and scale of these life-enhancing repairs must be considered in order to determine their savings or benefit. The cost of these repairs may not be reasonable if the project is deferred for a long time.

The typical life of most aging elements is about 35 to 50 years. As they age, their various components, such as the seals and mechanisms, start to fail. These failures can lead to decreased performance, such as air exfiltration, water penetration, and heat loss. Besides replacing the frames, other minor repairs can also be performed to extend the life of these components.

Although these repairs can be significantly cheaper than a window frame replacement, they should still be considered as a part of the overall project. If the value of the refurbishment is only 35% of the value of the eventual replacement, and it extends the window's service life by 25 percent, then this should be considered as a whole.

How to Manage Risk

One of the most important factors that condominium owners and managers consider when it comes to assessing and planning for their building's maintenance and repairs is the availability of funds. This is because the money may not be available every year. However, with a well-defined reserve fund plan and a reasonable contingency, the need for deferral can be minimized.

The risk associated with a project's deferral is evaluated based on the likelihood of failure. This is why it is important that the management and planning of the project are focused on the prevention of failure. In the examples shown above, the owners and managers failed to properly manage the risks. Before considering a project's deferral, it is important that the building's preventive maintenance is thoroughly reviewed.

Sources: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, Price indexes of apartment and non-residential building construction, by type of building and major sub-trade group, 2016- 11-08

One Life-extending repair every property manager MUST know about!

Recently a development in concrete restoration has become available in Canada that is revolutionizing concrete in aging buildings. This technology literally restores concrete back to like new status! In the united states, there are buildings and foundations that have been treated with this restoration system that are still showing no signs of degradation!

The system is called OXOCRETE, and it works in a way that is completely different than any other product/system on the market. What’s unique about this system is that it penetrates deep into the concrete (up to 10”) - something no other product even comes too - and literally pushes out all the chlorides, grease, salts, and pollutants that are responsible for causing the concrete to degrade in the first place. What's more, is that its environmentally safe! There is no need to screen off the area being worked on, no need to shut down a site due to harmful dust in the air. The product is misted onto the concrete, and from there, it goes into the concrete and undergoes a chemical process that restores the ph level, restores the hardness, coats the rebar and stops further rusting, and dramatically improves the freeze thaw performance of the concrete - something Calgary is certainly known for with its extreme temperature changes over short amounts of time (Chinooks!) 

To learn more about this amazing system, or to book a demonstration, check out www.solidform.org or email [email protected]

We hope you enjoyed our blog about solutions to help extend the life of your condominium building and also how to extend the life of your building's concrete. We are excited to share with you our company's solution for restorative concrete. Oxocrete is a product that we feel can help improve the aesthetic and functional value of your concrete. We hope you will contact us anytime if you have any further questions or concerns by visiting www.solidform.org. Thank you for reading, we are always excited when one of our posts is able to provide useful information on a topic like this!

Written by Ryan Orser