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This blog post is part of the transfer of information to the new Strata Committee in reference to the Capital Works Fund Analysis component of the Master Plan. Over the past year, I had engaged with a number of interested owners and a broad range of professional advisors to establish a comprehensive list of remedial, maintenance and improvement elements for our building. Many of the steps taken to establish the Capital Works Fund Analysis are recorded on various blog posts which are consolidated below:
The Capital Works Fund Analysis has been crafted using the Google Suite documents and sheets with numerous active links which makes the analysis readily updateable. The document and sheets are a little complex, but I am happy to assist the strata committee to update as necessary. It would be prudent to do at least annual updates of the Capital Works Fund Analysis. Attached below is the Capital Works Fund Analysis v210408. 
Section 2.1 Main Entry Improvements & Remedial Work Section 2.1 of the Capital Works Fund Analysis is of particular interest as it presents engineered and tendered work to address garden bed and other leaks as well as major improvements to the main entry walkway. The analysis presents the work comprehensively, but a number of the elements may be segregated for deferral or elimination. Some parts of the work could be re-tendered, but have been used in the analysis as budgetary reference. The separation of elements is a bit complex, but my familiarity with the tender process allows me to help the strata committee in preparation for representing alternatives to the Owners Corporation. Some possible modifications to the tendered work could include:
Evolving Conditions As discussed during the 8 April 2021 Strata Committee Meeting, the conditions at our building continuously evolve. Since the preparation of the above attached Capital Works Fund Analysis, significant condition changes have occurred or have been brought to light including:
Roof Leak After the extreme weather of early April 2021, leaks through the ceilings of the Level 4 hallway and of Unit 19 appeared. The blog post "Roof Leak" dated 2 May 2021 provides information on this matter and has been updated since the initial post. Please use this link to go to the blog post: Roof Leak At the bottom of this post is a quote for repairing the roof in the former BBQ area including a synthetic membrane and new cavity flashing. Unit 2 Terrace I was unaware of any issues with the Unit 2 Terrace, and the 2016 Capital Works Fund Analysis made no mention of the Unit 2 Terrace. However as water seals in many common areas have been failing, I added to the current Capital Works Fund Analysis a provisional sum for addressing the Unit 2 Terrace resurfacing. When the Unit owner read the current Capital Works Fund Analysis, she drew to my attention that the matter had been presented to a number of previous strata committees, but no action had been taken. The owner reported to me in April 2021 that:
My initial observation is that it appears that the Unit 2 Terrace does not have proper drainage. It appear that the terrace drainage is configured as shown in the following cross-section view.  It appears that the drain opening is well above the concrete slab with water accumulating in the brick paver and sand bed area. It would be prudent to inspect the garage ceiling under the Unit 2 Terrace to identify any other drains that may drain from the concrete slab level; and to inspect the underside of the slab of any water penetration. I am willing to assist the strata committee in such an inspection. I arranged for a remedial builder and water sealant specialist to make observations of the terrace. A brick paver was removed and the underlying sand bed was saturated with water although it was at a time of an extended dry period. The photos below are of the removed brick paver.   At the bottom of this post is a quote for sealing the Unit 2 Terrace slab with a synthetic membrane and resurfacing the area with a new paver system. Garden Bed 7 During the heavy rains of early April 2021, Garden Bed 7 had extreme evidence of possible hydrostatic pressure causing water to leak through the sealant on the sides of the garden bed. Garden Beds 6-9 are in the existing Capital Works Fund Analysis, but were differed for consideration in later years. However, the evidence shown in the photos below may warrant advancing remedial work of these garden beds to a much sooner time. Footpath & Driveway Early last year, I had contacted Council regarding our footpath and driveway that was damaged with the installation of the powerline underground. The Council advised that the footpath and driveway would be repaired in November 2020, but that obviously did not occur. When speaking with the Council engineer onsite, he made the commitment to coordinate with our strata to coordinate works so that our pavers could be adjusted concurrent with the driveway reinstatement to allow us to reduce the crowning in that area. The photo below was taken on 10 May 2021 and shows some numbers that are equivalent to the length and width of the footpath/driveway area; hopefully the work will commence soon.  It is recommended that the strata committee contact Council to coordinate work in this area. Remedial Builder Quotes During the inspections of the Roof and the Unit 2 Terrace, I asked a builder to provide some quotes for work to address the issues. These quotes help assess our potential exposure to costs, but may not be the desired solutions. However, the quotes do also provide a basis to begin discussing remedial solutions. The document with the quotes are attached below. The flood testing is for testing various areas of the former BBQ area aiming to identify the possible area(s) of water egress through surface penetration. The former BBQ area has an extensively crackled surface; and has some fissures which may align with active cracks in the concrete substrate. It would not be necessary to do such a flood test if the quote for the synthetic membrane is awarded as a flood test of the installed membrane would be included. It is presumed that the responsibility of Hydex for the roof condition has not yet been agreed. The Unit 2 quote is for removing/disposing existing pavers and sand bed, sealing the terrace slab with a synthetic membrane, and installing a system that suspends and levels new pavers. The system is demonstrated on the following link elmich.com.au/products/versipave-2/. As noted above, more immediate investigation is warranted for the Unit 2 Terrace drainage. The ultimate solution may be a more scaled back solution such as removing the pavers and sand bed, screeding the area with falls to the drains. lowering drains to screed/tile level, water sealing with an appropriate sealant, and tiling the entire terrace. During the design consideration, evaluation and plans for the cavity and door flashing must also be considered. I am available to assist the strata committee to begin the evaluations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8 July 2021 Update Our new strata committee received a quotation from Hydex to address the deleterious conditions at the Unit 2 terrace. I crafted the following email to help the Unit 2 owner and the strata committee evaluate the Hydex quote which is attached below. Thank you for sharing the quote, and I am pleased that there is some action related to your terrace. However, I will highlight a few concerns. Planning You may recall that I provided a handover of materials related to potential works at SP34151 on the 42VP blog. The SC has not acknowledged receipt of the handover materials and has not contacted me for discussion. The blog post regarding your terrace had the following:
Tendering The tender from RFRB that I arranged was intended to help us in the budget planning. As the issue came to my attention just before the AGM, I asked for a solution and price from one contractor. However based on Owners Corporation agreed priority, I had planned to prepare a scope of works and request for tender with a pricing schedule to submit to 3 or 4 contractors. For this type of work and cost, it is very prudent to conduct a thorough, clear, fair and competitive tender process. It seems odd to me for the process to be exclusive to Hydex and without a thorough scope of works provided by the SC. In my opinion, we should not engage Hydex until all outstanding issues with the prior roof works have been reconciled to the satisfaction of the majority of the Owners Corporation. My recommendation is to:
Hydex Tender The scope of work in the Hydex tender appears broadly aligned to my brief on the blog: "The ultimate solution may be a more scaled back solution such as removing the pavers and sand bed, screeding the area with falls to the drains.", except some key aspects were not included such as drainage and cavity flashing. Note the following comparison of the Hydex quote with the RFRB quote:  The above are just some quick thoughts to help evaluate the Hydex submission; and more inclusive consideration is prudent. As always, I am willing to help facilitate this process. Attached below is the Hydex quote, and attached just above this 8 July 2021 update is the RFRB quote [42vp_quote_roof_and_unit_2.pdf].
1 Comment
Edward
1/6/2021 13:04:00
Hurray! Our footpath and driveway has finally been repaired. Leave a Reply. |
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