Some building hazards—things like cracked sidewalks, broken windows or crumbling masonry—are obvious to even an untrained eye, making it easy to conduct repairs and prevent further deterioration and potential injury. Other buildi…
Budget time has come and gone, the area has had rain and snow, your maintenance budget has already been exhausted due to roof leaks. What do you do? You scramble to get quotes for roof replacements, have an association meeting to try to …
Building a successful enterprise from the ground up requires dedication and commitment from dozens, if not hundreds, of people. That’s certainly the case with the creation of a new co-op or condo community, entities that are just as much…
The co-op we owned was a huge brick pre-war building. Three of its sides were either attached to other buildings or sealed off by high barbed-wire fencing. The only way into the building was the front door, and that meant going through …
Common areas are among the most heavily trafficked places in your building or community, so it’s no surprise that these areas are prone to a great deal of damage and wear-and-tear over time. But regular upkeep, scheduled maintenance and…
We’ve all heard the expression about the importance of “putting your best face forward.” It holds true for the building industry as well—though in that case, “putting your best façade forward” might be more accurate. All puns aside,…
Few things illustrate the fragility of modern civilization more clearly than plumbing problems. A broken pipe, a backed-up toilet, a flooded bathroom—any one of these can quickly go from annoyance to emergency, and the longer a plumbing…
Technological applications to residential building life are becoming more prevalent, and in some cases, they’ve even become more affordable than in the past. An “intelligent” building is able to monitor its environmental, mechanical, and…
First impressions last—especially when it comes to real estate. Beyond its architecture, construction and natural setting, nothing is as critical to a property’s image from the outside as its landscaping. As a result, owners and managers…
Building owners are charged with the constant battle of keeping water out of the building envelope, but sometimes the water that causes stains, mold and decay comes from within the building envelope. Consideration to design, materials a…