Page 10 - New England Condominium March 2019

10 NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM
- MARCH 2019
NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM
W
hether it’s a balcony, terrace,
patio or roof deck, outdoor
space is many an apartment
owner’s dream. Desirable – and valuable
– as they are, these spaces do present spe-
cific maintenance considerations for in-
dividual owners, co-op corporations, and
condo associations, however. Oftentimes,
these considerations are complicated by
the fact that without specific knowledge of
engineering and construction, the signs of
potential problems in these spaces are too
easily missed.
The Main Culprit
Perhaps unsurprisingly, when structur-
al issues afflict outdoor spaces in modern
buildings, the main culprit is water – and
culprit 1A is water mixed with salt. Water
causes rust and salt can accelerate the pro-
cess. Whether in a cold or warm climate,
these two basic building blocks of life can
combine to erode structures. Alan Gaynor,
Founding Principal at Boddewyn Gaynor
Architects in New York City, explains: “If
water gets between concrete and brick and
the structure is not flashed properly, it will
rust out the reinforcement bars,” which are
a critical component in modern construc-
tion.
Michele Boddewyn, President of Bod-
dewyn Gaynor Architects, adds that “snow
melts, and the salt greatly reduces the freez-
ing temperature of water, so the water can
do additional damage.” Gaynor adds that
salt can be the biggest issue, because it’s
corrosive enough to rot steel over time.
“Amenities like balconies and terraces are
vulnerable to weather and wind,” he says.
“They don’t get used continually, so the
problem can go unnoticed for a long time.”
Man-Made Problems
In addition to weather, spaces such as
balconies, terraces, and roof decks can be
damaged by the very people lucky enough
to have them. The biggest and most dan-
gerous of these man-made issues is over-
loading. Too much weight can, in the
extreme, cause the balcony or terrace to
collapse. “Balconies are designed for mod-
erate to average loads,” says Boddewyn.
“We are familiar with a situation where a
contractor was storing building materials
on a balcony. Their weight greatly exceed-
ed what was intended for the balcony, and
began to cause a problem.” The contractor
had to remove the items immediately, and
fortunately no one was injured – or worse.
Marcy Kravit, Managing Director with
AKAM On-Site, a property management
firm in southeast Florida, describes an in-
cident in which a condominium owner
placed a hot tub on a balcony. Nice idea,
but once the tub was filled with hundreds
of gallons of water, it was far too heavy for
the structure. The attorney for the associa-
tion notified the resident in writing that the
hot tub had to be removed immediately.
In terms of terraces, weight issues can be
a subtler threat. The downstairs neighbor
may in fact be the ‘canary in the coal mine’
who raises the alarm when something is
amiss overhead. Damage caused by water
infiltrating the floor of a terrace, or by ex-
cessive weight, may be more noticeable on
the ceiling of a downstairs neighbor than
on the terrace itself. With roof decks, the
question may be even more complicated
and may depend on whether the deck was
part of the original design of the property
or added later.
“The big difference between a build-
ing designed with the intention of includ-
ing a roof deck, or a building where one
is added later is that most roofs are de-
signed for a certain amount of snow load
based on building code relative to your cli-
mate zone,” says Boddewyn. “The first big
question is to determine what the original
weight capacity for the roof was, because it’s
very easy to exceed the load capacity when
you’re adding pavers, planters with large
bushes or trees, furniture and people. Are
you working within the building’s physical
capacity?”
Monitoring for Safety
To maintain the integrity of exterior
spaces, inspections should be made on a
regular basis. “Once a year in the spring
is the best option,” says Boddewyn. “This
gives you the summer to make any neces-
sary repairs.” Gaynor urges that, “inspec-
tions should be done by professionals – un-
trained owners might not know what to
look for. Most buildings have a building
architect, and they should do the inspec-
tion. If not, hire a building envelope con-
sultant to do the job.” Building envelope
consultants are engineers who are experts
in all the elements of a building shell that
keep the structure dry, heated or cooled,
and maintain and facilitate a building’s cli-
mate control.
“We also do periodic inspections for
rules compliance for storage issues,” Kravit
says. She explains that most associations in
Florida have very specific and strict rules
relative to what can and can’t be placed on
balconies and terraces, particularly when
it comes to hurricane season. Generally,
when a hurricane is predicted, only patio
furniture can be left on balconies, terrac-
es, decks and patios; everything else must
be brought inside, and hurricane shutters
drawn down. Anything and everything
can turn into a projectile during a hurri-
cane, so securing outdoor spaces is crucial
for protecting both property and physical
safety.
In addition, because of the fire risk,
most associations—in Florida and else-
where—prohibit keeping grills of any kind
on balconies, terraces, roof decks, and even
some patios. In the case of patios, Kravit
explains, some associations will permit
grills, but they must be kept at a specified
distance from the building, which is why
some owners seek out ground floor apart-
ments.
David J. Levy is President of Sterling
Services, located in Holliston, Massachu-
setts. He manages many large suburban,
townhouse-style condominium communi-
ties, many of which have decks. “We paint
the exteriors of the properties every six
years,” he says. “We also do other exterior
EXTERIOR MAINTENANCE
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
Maintaining Exterior Spaces
Safety, Longevity, and Aesthetics
BY A J SIDRANSKY
continued on page 20