Our Owner’s Representative, Dan Eallonardo, will be on hand to walk us through the findings of Building Technology Consultants. The BTC report is included in this month’s packet. I met with Dan and Chris, the BTC lead engineer, last week to review the report. As we had hoped, they did find the point of vulnerability in the building’s design that needs to be patched or fixed. As we expected, they have identified three potential courses of action. Dan will be able to discuss these in greater detail at the meeting, but here is my general and incomplete understanding:
Option 1 is a superficial approach. It doesn’t address the structural issues at play here, but it would likely seal up the windows for a number of years. Basically, I think this is like doing a thorough re-caulking of the entire area. The structural defects, in terms of surfaces pitched incorrectly and barriers that don’t cover what they probably should, are not addressed with this solution. But it is going to be the least expensive option. The estimate is that this could probably be done for under $25,000 but might be as costly as $40,000.
The second option begins to address the structural issues. This option involves installing some additional flashing and vapor barriers and protecting that exposed wood that you can see in the photos. The goal would be to preserve and re-use the existing metal cladding while bolstering the materials underneath it. This wouldn’t fix the underlying structural issue, but it would likely provide us with a solid barrier that would prevent future leaks. The estimated cost of this work is in the neighborhood of $100,000.
The third option is the most extensive and entails fully replacing the metal panels with a new system that will properly drain water away from the area. The goal would be to retain the existing look of the building while correcting the structural defects. This option also likely includes adding insulation to the area, which appears to have been intended in the original drawings but was never installed. You can see the lack of insulation in photos 12-14, 24 and 25. Adding insulation here would also probably improve the heating and cooling of the building to some extent. The estimated cost of this work is in the neighborhood of $150,000.
There is a lot of good news here! First, they found the source of the leak. Second, the source is not related to the windows themselves, which would be much more expensive to repair or replace. Third, the repairs are unlikely to affect the existing aesthetic of the building. Finally, we’re talking about repairs that are in the five- and lower six-digits. While it will set back our Special Reserves savings, we can immediately afford to do any of these options.
Because we are likely talking about a project that will cost more than $25,000, we will probably have to go through the formal bidding process, as we did with the YTS renovation and parking lot repaving. That adds a few steps to our probable timeline. The first step is to engage an engineering firm to fully illustrate the needed repairs and prepare them for bidding. Dan has asked BTC to prepare a proposal to provide these services for us. Their experience conducting the study puts them in the best position to understand precisely what the engineering costs are likely to be and will reduce the time that a new company would need to familiarize themselves with our building, drawings and proposed solutions. I suspect that engaging BTC is going to be our best option.
If we engage BTC this month and get them started on bid documents right away, it’s possible that we could have this work completed before the end of this year. Whether or not we need to rush to get this work finished is debatable. One the one hand, things are somewhat caulked up and are currently in better shape than they have been for a while. We’re unlikely to see a significant escalation in the existing damage by pushing this project back by a few months or even a year. On the other hand, this problem isn’t going away. Kicking the can down the road might not hurt us, but it certainly isn’t going to help us. The only reason I can see for waiting any significant period of time would be if we needed or wanted some time to save up additional funds. As things currently stand with our budget, even with a bit of a delay in property tax bills, I estimate that the work of even the most expensive repair option could be completed in this fiscal year without our General Fund balance falling below $600,000.
Recommendation: This item is a discussion item, so no action is needed.