Looking Beyond the Aesthetics
…and Putting Preventive Maintenance in Your Plan
By Wendy Benner Miller, CAM
This article fist appeared in The Communicator, Spring 2023 Edition.
Why is it that there is often a substantially greater demand, more community involvement, and increased interest in the timeline for new pool equipment or annual plantings in a common area space than a community-wide roof, balcony, or dry-rot inspection?
While that may seem like a silly question, it is often the one that gets the most attention when a problem arises and preventive maintenance is Beyond the Aesthetics Looking long past possible. You see, living in a common interest development often allows for residents to focus on the amenities that drew them to a homeowners’ association in the first place, be it the pool area, a clubhouse, a park or tot-lot, and, seemingly most often, the landscaping that is magically groomed by an outside source. The focus on these items, while important, often takes precedence over less exciting items that are easily taken for granted and fall into the background. This, combined with very real budget constraints stemming from the desire to keep the property pristine versus keeping assessments low, is a recipe for deferred maintenance and unexpected escalating construction costs in the long run.
To better understand and avoid this pitfall, we should look at the rarely achieved goal of preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is described as routine, systematic, and planned building and facilities maintenance that is performed to prevent problems before they occur. Benefits include maximizing the building components lifespan, reducing product failure, increased efficiency, and cost savings. While the benefits and practicality of preventive maintenance are seemingly obvious, the expenses associated are often assumed to be prohibitive. The long-term financial devastation is often misunderstood and overlooked.
Let’s study a couple of all-too-common examples that are likely relatable to everyone. How often do any of us pull into our home, look up, and wonder how our roof is faring? Unless a leak occurs, roofing systems are rarely, if ever, considered because they are simply not in our everyday purview and so easily overlooked. Yet, roof inspections and tune-ups prevent countless leaks, reduce the risk of interior damage (and those pesky insurance claims), and allow the useful life to meet or exceed expectations.
The same goes for a painting schedule. Whether or not a building’s color is still aesthetically pleasing, paint has a useful life for substrate protection. By the time paint is chipping, peeling, or worn thin, there is likely significant damage to wood components, such as siding and trim, water intrusion into stucco cracks, missing sealant, or rust and degradation to wrought iron that can no longer be scraped, cleaned, and covered.
Overlooking the easily ignored items takes maintenance budgets into astronomical replacement costs more often than not. These two items (roofing and painting) make up more large-scale routine projects and unnecessary special assessments than anything else, and they are so easily preventable. Let’s look at a couple of ways to incorporate these into our peripheral vision, while understanding that the condition of those coveted chaise lounges or colorful annuals will still take center stage for most residents.
Whether you are a community manager or sit on your community’s board of directors, take the time to look up at all visible areas of your communities’ roofs and building exteriors when walking around outside or pulling into your home. For roofs, missing shingles are often the most simple to spot, followed by cracked tiles, if you have a tile roofing system. These items should be inspected for replacement or repair as soon as they are noticed. If shingles have shifted, but are still partially intact, you may simply need new fasteners. Look for debris in the valleys between your roof peaks, as buildup of leaves, branches, etc. can be problematic for your roof. If a roof inspection is required, hire a construction manager, licensed general contractor, or professional roofer to provide a condition assessment and write a specific scope of repairs, as needed. While most will charge an inspection fee for this, having detailed information that allows for comparable competitive bids will likely save your HOA hidden costs and change orders down the line.
Whether your community is comprised of wood or composite siding, stucco, brick, or some combination thereof, you will want to look for areas of damage on your building exterior. Check under the eaves and near downspouts, look for exposed siding/trim where some sort of damage may have occurred (like a car hitting the garage frame), or dry rotted wood pieces that might be splitting, crumbling, or "spongy" to the touch. Check your stucco for cracking or bubbling, as this can be a red flag for potential problems lurking under the surface. Look for paint that is faded, chalky to the touch, cracking, peeling, or just appears thin; all of these items are signs that your paint may be in need for a recoat, regardless of what your reserve study may say. Practical inspections prove far more prudent than estimated studies. Call a trusted general contractor or paint representative and have them walk the property if you have any concerns; this is a no cost way to have them investigated. Typically, if a repaint is needed, paint color consultations are included and an area of excitement and interest for residents.
Some additional items to keep your eye on that can save you in expensive replacement costs and create an opportunity for a visually appealing upgrade are common walkways, sidewalks, and pool decks. Check for large cracks and/or trip hazards that might be a liability for injuries within your community. Contact a concrete specialist, if need be, to discuss options for repair or replacement. If you have damaged deck coating around your pool, contact specialists that can perform an assessment or recommend deck repairs. If you have a concrete pool deck, there are several products available to refresh the appearance of your community pool, like concrete stains, exterior paints, and manufactured specialty products meant to upgrade the appearance and extend life, without the association investing in complex multi-layer systems.
One area that is under more scrutiny than ever, due to recent legislation following the Berkeley balcony collapse, are entryways, decks, and patios. These are prime areas for deferred maintenance, potential problems, and safety concerns. Separately, most deck coating systems are the initial area of failure that can cause catastrophic resulting damage; ironically, most require annual inspections to maintain product warranties. For integrated systems, look for puddling or ponding on your decks, lack of proper drainage, cracking and/or peeling, or anything that looks suspicious. Also, check the manufacturer’s warranty on annual requirements for inspections. For concrete entryways, check for cracking. For wood systems, look for warped, loose, or splintered boards and check for debris build-up between boards. Check the finish, as spring is often the time to clean, stain (or paint), and reseal. If you have a composite decking system, like Trex, check the manufacturer’s warranty on yearly inspection requirements.
Finally, let’s talk about the most obvious source of leaks, and the area most contested with regard to homeowner versus homeowner association responsibility: windows. After a wet winter, windows are one of the easiest building components to check for visible problems.
Rain, especially wind-driven rain, is a powerful element that often reveals issues with caulking, weather stripping, flashing issues, and the window seal itself. Water droplets, small puddles, and staining are good indications that something is amiss, whereas wet and bubbled drywall or staining in your paint are prominent indicators of some potentially larger issues. Often, condensation inside the glass of a double or triple glazed window indicates that the seal around the window is compromised and often means that a window replacement, or at least glass replacement, is needed.
While windows are most often considered an individual homeowner issue and not a common area item, this is a hotly contested situation of late and a very sensitive issue. The window is often a case of "what came first, the chicken or the egg," given the flashing system and caulking are usually considered to be the association’s responsibility. Therefore, it is recommended that managers, boards, and/or maintenance supervisors take note when conducting property inspections. Should questions arise, call a trusted general contractor to come out and provide a proposal to inspect the situation, which may or may not include a water test
Homeowners associations have so many issues to deal with throughout the year just to stay compliant with governance obligations. This, combined with budget constraints, are the main reasons why deferred maintenance, postponed inspections, and delayed repairs occur. But taking small measures to ensure your building components are performing properly extends the life of both the individual substrate and your reserve funding balance. In doing so, you allow your residents to focus on what matters most – enjoying the common area spaces that bring them joy, including those spring flowers and summertime pool lounges.
Wendy Benner Miller has spent the majority of her life within the occupied building space, serving boards of directors, homeowners, property owners, and tenants. She is active within multiple trade organizations (CACM, CAI, Westcon & HIF) and is currently serving on the CAI-Bay Cen Board of Directors, was recently elected to the CAI National Business Partner Council, and is the vice president of Westcon Construction Consultants. Miller was a past president for the CAI California North Chapter and continues to chair and serve on several committees in both Northern California CAI chapters, as well as committees for CACM, HIF, and Westcon.