Condo Media - January 2014 - 43

by Fred Schernecker

Planning for
Long-Term Savings
Are You Wasting Money on These Exterior
Maintenance and Improvement Choices?

hen it comes to decisions
about exterior maintenance,
one of the most difficult
challenges a board faces is
choosing between short- and long-term
cost savings.
The heart of the dilemma is balancing the savings appeal of a short-term
fix against the board's responsibility to
make the correct long-term decisions
for their association. And thanks to lingering uncertainty about the economy,
pressure from owners to go with the
short-term fix can be significant.
But more often than not, choosing the quick fix is a mistake. Take it
from a contractor who has been helping associations evaluate their property
maintenance and improvement options
for more than 25 years - short-term
thinking usually leads to greater longterm costs. But a short-term investment
in planning typically leads to significant
long-term savings.
Let's take a closer look at how this
principle applies to three common
exterior maintenance and improvement
decisions.

Siding and
1SpotReplacement
Trim Repair Vs.
Full

The next time a contractor recommends
spot or partial siding and trim replacement, think twice.
Although there are instances when
spot replacement makes sense, most of

the time this patchwork approach to
building maintenance is just a superficial
fix for a much deeper problem. Rotted or warped siding and trim is usually

a sign of water penetration caused by
inadequate flashing. Until this underlying problem is corrected, your owners will continue to pay for repeated

The 10 Percent Tipping Point
As siding and trim failures increase, there comes a time when the cost of making spot repairs
no longer makes sense compared to the long-term cost savings of full siding replacement.
The key is to know when your property has reached that point. Many property managers and
owners believe full replacement only makes sense when you need to replace more than 50
percent of a building's siding, but that conventional wisdom is mistaken.
When you run the numbers, the actual tipping point for full replacement is only 10 percent.
If you're replacing less than 10 percent of the total amount of siding, spot replacement may
be justified. More than 10 percent, the long-term cost savings of full replacement exceed the
short-term savings of spot replacement.
There are three reasons why the decision threshold for full replacement is so low:
First, spot replacement costs more per square foot than full replacement. For example, let's
assume that the spot replacement cost for cedar clapboard siding with a 4-inch exposure is
approximately $3 per linear foot. Although the actual price will vary, this cost assumption for
spot replacement equates to $9 per square foot. But thanks to operational efficiencies, the
cost of full replacement is approximately $2.50 per linear foot or $7.50 per square foot.
Second, spot replacement only treats the symptoms of a failing siding system - rotting,
cracked, and warped clapboard or shingles. It does not correct the underlying causes for the
failures. Spot replacement is just a temporary bandage, not a cure. It's only a matter of time
before more siding will need to be replaced.
Finally, as your association's original wood siding reaches the end of its natural lifecycle,
full replacement is the only viable option. At this point, all existing siding will be stripped
down to the sheathing and trashed - along with every dollar spent on temporary spot
replacement work.
Choosing spot replacement versus full replacement isn't a guessing game. Ask an experienced contractor for an initial assessment of the cause and extent of the damage. Then, ask
your contractor (or pay an engineer) to perform a detailed lifecycle analysis and cost comparison for your property. Making the right decision becomes easier when you run the numbers.

Condo Media * January 2014

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Condo Media - January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - January 2014