Emergency Response Plan You don’t have to be a weatherman to notice storms are more frequent and fierce. Nor do you have to be a news broadcaster to recall all of the reported residential damage from fire, floods, and wind. Nor do you have to be an accountant to recognize the cost of building repairs….
Homeowner Associations News
Pickleball: One Way to Repurpose Underutilized Assets
Is your HOA looking repurpose underutilized assets? Here’s is an engineer’s perspective on one way to utilize the tennis courts on your property and once again make them an asset for residents. The article takes a fun look at a fast-growing sport that may be a good fit for your community association. An Addictive Phenomenon….
Repairs & Reserves
Liabilities and Risks of Ignoring Issues: An Engineer’s Perspective Question: A recent reserve study identified a number of repairs/replacements that should be addressed in the community. However, while the reserve is being funded on a monthly basis, there isn’t enough in the current reserve fund for the repairs/replacements. With inflation and knowing that owners won’t….
Moisture: The Root of all Maintenance
One of the primary issues in building science is the study of how moisture damages buildings and reduces the quality of life of its inhabitants. Moisture penetration can cause mold, rot, and interior damage. Serious moisture problems and their cure are often hard to solve as the physics of air flow, dew points, and vapor….
Hidden Structural Flaws
Like people, no two condos are the same. Establishing methods of managing all types of condos by the same rules and standards is fruitless. A 40-year-old high-rise condo on the beach in York County needs a different maintenance plan than a community of new wood-framed duplexes in Franklin County. Following the collapse of the Champion….
Innovations Transform the Building Inspection Process
Emerging technology and innovation are continually transforming the building construction inspection process. Criterium Engineers evaluates and adopts appropriate new technologies to provide additional knowledge and information for our clients. Two inspection innovations in particular—the use of drones and thermal imaging—have been change drivers for Criterium Engineers in recent years, reaching areas that were previously unattainable….
Masonry Myths
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….
The Orange Triangle in Our Logo
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….
Seeing Clearly with Window Replacement
Challenges Associated with Window Replacement Window replacement can be one of a condominium board’s greatest challenges. This is due to elements of mystery, timing, and high cost. For a variety of reasons a unit owner may want to replace one or more of her unit’s windows. After following the condo’s guidelines for obtaining approval from….
Are You a Condo Leader?
With the dust of the election campaigns starting to settle, how often did we ask ourselves why would anyone put themselves through all that? Why risk personal reputation and consumption of precious time for such unguaranteed rewards? Or to the point of this article, why should you join the condo board? The answer(s) will be….