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….
News
Building Maintenance Check List
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….
Happy New Year 2022
Part of our mission is to approach each project as an opportunity to establish a new personal best in professionalism, service, and quality. While making a resolution for the New Year is popular, we challenge you to set goals instead. A resolution is simply a statement of intention and can often be extreme and intimidating…..
Water Damage is No Joke
Now more than ever, building managers and condo boards have been reviewing the cost of deferred repairs and their fiduciary responsibilities when it comes to facility safety and maintenance. But where to look first? There are many types of condos: from high-rises to townhouses, to one-story duplexes, buildings with flat roofs or high-sloop roofs, buildings….
Where Does Danger Lurk?
Most Common Areas of Concern As a member of the board or the property manager, what element of the condominium complex poses the greatest risk to the unit owners and liability to the association? Slips and falls during the icy season? Decks collapsing from rot? Electrical fires? Well, if you picked “decks,” you are almost….
How to Avoid Unexpected Property Maintenance Costs
Whether you are a building owner, property manager, or if you are questioning whether a building purchase makes financial sense—it’s important to anticipate how the property will perform over time. For retail, multi-family, office or industrial properties, the best solution is to assess, plan, and budget for the future. A Capital Needs Assessment analyzes the….
Paving: Proper Maintenance is Essential
When was the last time you thought about your parking lot? The honest answer most likely is, not in recent memory. We know it’s not a question of out of sight–out of mind, parking lots are highly visible. However, they aren’t very interesting. As a result, paved areas don’t always get the maintenance attention they….
History of Criterium Engineers’ Name
A company’s name can reveal a lot about the values and interests of a company or its owner and in this case, both. Criterium Engineers’ founder’s passion for biking is part of the history for the basis of our Criterium name. In the 1980s, H. Alan Mooney, P.E., an avid cyclist, then and today, was working….
Why You Should Hire an Engineer Versus a Building Inspector
For every real estate transaction that you are involved in, chances are as part of the due-diligence process, you are hiring a building inspection professional to look at the property prior to closing. This is a helpful and valuable service that is routinely recommended to buyers and may be required by lenders. However, if the….
Pre-Listing Building Inspections
Traditionally, buyers arrange to have a building inspection during the purchasing process. Recently however, there has been an increasing amount of property owners opting to have a building inspection prior to listing their property for sale. There are many advantages to having a pre-listing inspection. A current building inspection will give you a good idea of….