Page 12 - New York Cooperator March 2019

12 THE COOPERATOR
— MARCH 2019
COOPERATOR.COM
EXTERIOR MAINTENANCE
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. Wa-
ter causes rust and salt can accelerate the
process. Whether in a cold or warm cli-
mate, these two basic building blocks of
life can combine to erode structures. Alan
Gaynor, Founding Principal at Boddewyn
Gaynor Architects in New York City, ex-
plains: “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 construction.
Michele Boddewyn, President of Bod-
dewyn Gaynor Architects, adds that “snow
melts, and the salt greatly reduces the
freezing 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
incident 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 as-
sociation notified the resident in writing
that the hot tub had to be removed imme-
diately.
In terms of terraces, weight issues can is the best option,” says Boddewyn. “This most associations—in Florida and else-
be a subtler threat. The downstairs neigh-
bor may in fact be the ‘canary in the coal sary repairs.” Gaynor urges that, “inspec-
mine’ who raises the alarm when some-
thing is amiss overhead. Damage caused untrained owners might not know what to vit explains, some associations will permit
by water infiltrating the floor of a terrace, look for. Most buildings have a building grills, but they must be kept at a specified
or by excessive weight, may be more no-
ticeable on the ceiling of a downstairs tion. If not, hire a building envelope con-
neighbor than on the terrace itself. With sultant to do the job.” Building envelope ments.
roof decks, the question may be even more consultants are engineers who are experts
complicated and may depend on whether in all the elements of a building shell that
the deck was part of the original design of keep the structure dry, heated or cooled, damp climates, but of concern in any com-
the property or added later.
“The big difference between a building mate control.
designed with the intention of including
a roof deck, or a building where one is rules compliance for storage issues,” Kravit longer even permit tile—which can hold
added later, is that most roofs are designed says. She explains that most associations in water in and damage concrete.” AKAM
for a certain amount of snow load based Florida have very specific and strict rules manages a building in Hallandale Beach,
on building code relative to your climate relative to what can and can’t be placed on Florida, which recently undertook a large
zone,” says Boddewyn. “The first big balconies and terraces, particularly when
question is to determine what the original it comes to hurricane season. Generally,
weight capacity for the roof was, because when a hurricane is predicted, only patio
it’s very easy to exceed the load capacity furniture can be left on balconies, terrac-
when you’re adding pavers, planters with es, decks and patios; everything else must
large bushes or trees, furniture and peo-
ple. Are you working within the building’s drawn down. Anything and everything
physical capacity?”
Monitoring for Safety
To maintain the integrity of exterior for protecting both property and physical
spaces, inspections should be made on a safety.
regular basis. “Once a year in the spring
gives you the summer to make any neces-
tions should be done by professionals – some patios. In the case of patios, Kra-
architect, and they should do the inspec-
and maintain and facilitate a building’s cli-
“We also do periodic inspections for cause of this issue,” says Kravit. “Some no
be brought inside, and hurricane shutters
can turn into a projectile during a hurri-
cane, so securing outdoor spaces is crucial
In addition, because of the fire risk,
where—prohibit keeping grills of any kind
on balconies, terraces, roof decks – even
distance from the building, which is why
some owners seek out ground floor apart-
Mold
Another problem more common in
munity, is mold. “Carpet on balconies has
been outlawed in many communities be-
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
Maintaining Exterior Spaces
Safety, Longevity, and Aesthetics
BY A J SIDRANSKY