Post date: May 11, 2015 5:41:07 PM
3) What is the role of the architecture company? They were hired to diagnose problems and suggest solutions, correct? The north-wall contractor was hired to do the actual work suggested by the architect? Is the architect also managing and monitoring the contractor's construction and progress?
The architect reviews all building defects determined in the litigation process, develops a resolution plan for each defect, and designs and specifies (with detailed drawings) how each defect will be repaired. They then put those projects out to bid to qualified engineering contractors, collect and analyze the bids, and work with the Board and management company to choose a single contractor to implement the repairs. They will oversee contractor progress, and, at completion of repairs, they will review the repairs for completeness and accuracy, conditionally providing their approval to pay the contractor.
The building defects addressed in this project have largely been diagnosed by expert witnesses during litigation (the HOA spent around $250K in expert witness costs during litigation, largely for that purpose).
4) I heard there were repairs to the north wall of 73 Sumner. Are each of the building walls going to be worked on separately?
The north wall is a special case- minimal, non-openable windows, no decks, no French doors, minimal accessible spalled concrete, no scaffolding requirements, and some serious leaks into the units below caused by lack of caulking and flashing. Our architect was able to spec a set of repairs and enhancements that became the permanent set of repairs, versus temporary sealing with plastic sheeting. North wall repairs were substantially complete at the end of March, with a few details finished the first week of April. Further repairs require scaffolding and setup, where order of completion depends on the most efficient process to complete all work.
5) The architects said that decks were to be re-laminated, but my deck was not included in the work. What's up with that?
None of the decks will be completely re-laminated (all old decking scraped off, new layers applied, new final sealant coat). All decks will be patched as necessary, with some floor drain replacement, and all decks will be resurfaced. None of the decks are showing sufficient deterioration to justify complete replacement.
6) One of the architects was surprised to discover that there was internal damage to my unit. That's been brought up several times; I was surprised in turn that they didn't know about it?
The architects are focusing on the building shell and structure and mechanicals within the building, not so much on damage to drywall and such within individual units. That said, it's unclear why at least one of them was not familiar with water damage in your particular unit.
7) When is this project going to be done? It seems to be taking a long time. Is it going to drag on like this for years? Shouldn't we have a timeline?
The project has moved more slowly than expected up to this point, though there were some interruptions caused by short-term, high-priority water leaks. The pace is picking up now- north-wall repairs are complete, the window repair mock-up and testing is complete, and bid packages will be complete in a week. We won’t have a usable timeline until a contractor is chosen and they provide a start date. The architect can make estimates, but it’s the contractors doing the work that will provide the bulk of the schedule.
In place of a timeline, at least in the near term, weekly status updates will be posted here.