Insights
Our blog on how community owners and operators can protect value and resident health with pipe replacement.
Spring Into Savings
When you think of springtime, traditional thoughts of warmer weather, flowers, and sunshine often come to mind. It’s a time of renewal, a time of opportunity. But you probably don’t think about your pipes much. Afterall, what do your pipes have to do with the changing seasons?
The truth is,...
What’s a Forensic Piping Test and Why Do It? Here Are the Benefits
Managing a multifamily property often involves navigating a myriad of maintenance issues, but few are as pervasive and hidden as the problems posed by aging piping systems. Frequent leaks can cause a lot of problems for communities, ranging from disruptive water shutoffs and escalating operating costs to emergency service...
Waiting to Repipe Your Condo Community? There Could Be Horrors Ahead.
Picture it: An older building, nightfall. A foul smell wafts from an unknown source in the hallways. In the stairwells, residents see pipe stacks seeping. Last month, motley-colored spots crept across the lobby walls. This month, several ceilings in the south corner are starting to sag and the heat...
Three Helpful Tools for Capital Improvement Planning
You don’t have to manage an apartment or condominium community for very long to know that all building components eventually need to be replaced—roofs, siding, windows, and even pipes.
Maybe you’ve never considered that you may one day have to replace a whole piping system in your community. The fact...
Hydronic Upgrades Part 2: The Advantages of Water Source Heat Pump Systems
From the 1960s through the 1980s, two-pipe hydronic heating and cooling systems were the standard in new construction for high-rise multifamily climate control. If you’ve ever lived in or managed one of these communities, you know they aren’t aging well.
The Power of Hydronic System Upgrades
In many parts of the country, multifamily apartment and condominium communities have switched from winter heating to summer cooling and discovered that their hydronic HVAC systems are in jeopardy. Systems that have kept building climates steady and residents comfortable for 30+ years are breaking down or leaking under the...
When A Design-Build Solution May Be Best for Your Community Renovation
When looking to complete a capital improvement project like a community-wide piping system replacement or upgrade, you have several contracting model options. We’ve previously written about why one model—hiring your service or maintenance provider for a large capital improvement project—is often not the best choice. Even among the qualified...
Stop chasing leaks. It’s a race you can’t win.
When apartment community owners and condo boards face repeated piping leaks, they may start “chasing leaks,” which means treating each incident as an isolated event instead of committing to a systemic solution. It’s so much easier to call a plumber or HVAC service technician for a quick repair than...
Diagnosing Defects: Understanding plumbing problems in your newly constructed building
It’s a terrible feeling for every property owner and manager. Your brand new condo or apartment community has finally opened. The finishes are beautiful, the paint is perfect. But then, a spot emerges on a unit’s pristine new wall. There’s moisture seeping through.
Your maintenance team cuts the drywall and...
UPDATED: Planning Capital Improvements? Evaluate Contractors with These 10 Questions.
Earlier this year we published our most “liked” blog post, which listed 10 questions you can use to select the right contractor for a capital improvement project. Since the only constant is change, it’s already time for an update! We’ve updated the list with a new question about how...