FAQ
The Questions Boards Ask
Written for people who did not choose to become experts in structural repair.
We will turn it into a buildable scope, a phasing plan and a realistic range — so the board can decide with numbers rather than adjectives.
FAQ
Milestone and recertification repairs
- Do you perform milestone inspections?
- No, deliberately. A licensed engineer or architect must, and a contractor doing both has a conflict.
- When is our milestone inspection due?
- 30 years from the certificate of occupancy, or 25 within three miles of the coastline, then every 10. Confirm with your attorney.
- Does it apply to our building?
- Condominium and co-op buildings three stories or taller. Your attorney should confirm.
- What does Phase 2 mean?
- Further investigation is needed to characterize what Phase 1 saw. It usually does not mean the building is unsafe.
- Why will you not fix the price on concrete?
- The quantity is not knowable until it is opened. Unit rates with engineer-verified quantities is honest; a fixed price is padded or thin.
- Can quantities double?
- Occasionally, yes. That is why the engineer sounds the structure and the board holds contingency.
- What is a SIRS?
- A structural integrity reserve study identifying major components and their funding requirement. Reserves for those items can no longer be waived.
- Why is our assessment so big?
- Usually years of waived reserves. The deferral ended; the cost had been accumulating.
- Should we phase the work?
- Often. Let the engineer set the priority order, not the board.
- Do residents have to move out?
- No. These projects are planned around people staying in their homes.
- Do residents have to clear balconies?
- Yes, with written notice and a date. Enforcement is an association matter for your attorney.
- Where do cars go during garage work?
- The first thing to solve, and an association decision. Projects stall here more than anywhere.
- Should we do envelope work too?
- Yes. Concrete without envelope means repeating the concrete.
- Can one firm inspect and repair?
- Some offer it. Ask how the board is protected from scope inflation.
- Is this page legal advice?
- No. General information only. Your association attorney and engineer decide what applies.
Still not answered?
Call (954) 807-3208 or send the engineer's report. We will turn it into something the board can actually decide on.
What we repair
Concrete Restoration
Salt reaches the reinforcement, the steel rusts, rust expands, and the concrete cracks off. It is the single most common finding in coastal Florida recertification and the hardest to price honestly.
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Balcony Repairs
Balconies are the most common structural finding and the most disruptive repair, because every one belongs to somebody who is living behind it.
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Building Envelope
The envelope is what stops water reaching the structure. Most concrete deterioration began as an envelope failure years earlier.
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Waterproofing & Decks
Elevated decks, walkways and pool surrounds sit on structure, and when their waterproofing fails the structure below is what pays for it.
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Railings & Guardrails
Railings are usually found deteriorated at their embedments, and replacing them frequently triggers current code requirements the original did not meet.
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Parking Structures
Garage repairs are structurally routine and logistically miserable, because every space belongs to somebody with nowhere else to put a car.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.