Condo Media - March 2021 - 16

A Tight Budget Produces a

WATER-TIGHT SOLUTION

● Be prepared for the worst. It is
often impossible to know what's
behind the exterior wall until you
begin to demolish it. " There had
been decades of water infiltration
that could not be seen without invasive exploration prior to the onset
of the project, " Stefanelli says.
" When you open a window, you
don't see that you have to rebuild a
new frame to install a new window. "
" The most challenging conditions were uncovered during
demolition, " Nee added. " There
was a lot of poor craftsmanship on
modifications that have taken place
since the late 60s. Doors and windows were not installed properly,
causing water infiltration into wall
cavities and damage to units on the
floors below. Water had worked its
way into the insulation and wood
framing, so there was a significant
amount of wood rot. "
The project included a $100,000
contingency fund. While $73,000
of it was used, it could have easily
cost twice that amount given the
amount of damage found, according to Stefanelli.
● Get owner buy-in. Residents had
to put up with many inconveniences
until the project was completed.
At times, some were without electricity or cable television, which was
especially difficult for them to deal
with during the pandemic. They even
had to give up use of the parking lot.
In addition, much of the parking
lot was taken up by a crane that was
brought in to remove the existing
sunrooms on the fifth floor and
replace them with new ones. There
was also staging around the entire
building, Porta-Potties, worker
vehicles and equipment, and a
COVID-19 station for regular
hand washing and sanitation.
Stefanelli obtained parking permits from the town of Brookline, but
residents had to park on the street
for four months and walk typically
a quarter of a mile to their homes.

16

CONDOMEDIA March 2021

Fortunately, she says, the residents
make 16 Addington Road " one of the
best buildings I ever had the honor
of managing. They are a phenomenal
group of people and were very understanding throughout the project. "
● Regulatory requirements change
over time. Code compliance was a
challenge, according to Stefanelli,
because safety requirements are stricter today than they were in the 1960s,
when the building was constructed.
" You have a unit looking out at the
skyline of Boston and the contractor
is obligated to replace your 36-inch
railing with a 42-inch railing, " Stefanelli says. " Where does your skyline
go? The residents were very upset and
challenged it. There was a great deal
of discussion about what you have to
do and what you don't have to do to
satisfy current code obligations. "
In the end, the owners accepted
that rules are rules and taller,
safer railings had to be installed.
● Do it right. Poor design and shoddy
workmanship contributed to the
problems at 16 Addington Road.
A rubber membrane was installed
over the parapet to keep moisture out,
but it didn't fully cover the exposed
area. Some joints were not chalked.
Old sealant was not removed before
new sealant was applied. Windows
were not fitted properly. All of these
issues, and others, ensured that the
leaks in the building would continue
and would cause further damage that
would be expensive to repair.
Sometimes boards try to ignore
leaks, because of the expense of repairing them properly. And, after
all, buildings only leak when it's raining. But leaks can only be ignored
for so long and, in the interim, they
can cause a great deal of damage.
It costs much less to do the job correctly the first time and to provide
ongoing maintenance.

● Schedule realistically. The goal
was to complete the project before
the end of 2020. Construction was
scheduled to begin in April 2020,
but the pandemic delayed the start
until mid-May. We weren't sure
we'd be able to complete the entire
project that quickly, so we tentatively
planned to delay work on the southern elevation.
" Navigating around the ownership
and keeping everyone safe during
a global pandemic was difficult, "
Stefanelli says. " The project was held
back by late delivery of materials and
there were eight subcontractors standing on the streets saying, 'Let's roll.' "
Eventually, though, materials
were delivered, the subcontractors
came through, and the project moved
forward. The entire project, including the southern elevation, was
completed on time. The staging
came down in mid-December.
● Hire experienced, reputable
contractors. It is important that
contractors don't cut corners, that
they bring your building up to current code standards, and don't use
inferior materials or otherwise make
compromises to save money.
Typically, cutting corners to save
money today costs more tomorrow,
and the building likely will not look
or function at its best.
While the approach initially favored
was unaffordable, Statewide Restoration Masonry was still able to restore
16 Addington Road, bringing it up to
code, improving its appearance and,
most important, making it water-tight.
There have been several major storms
since the project was completed. No
leaks have been reported to date.
■ KIERAN FITZGIBBON IS
CO-OWNER OF STATEWIDE
RESTORATION MASONRY OF
BRIGHTON, MASS.
Condo Media - March 2021

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