Roofing Repair, Building 40

A Letter From BOD Member Paulette Watson: Roofing repairs

Building Captains:

The following letter is from the Office of TAJ. Please read and give us a hand in getting this accomplished. It is very important to the unit owners with roof problems that we have the insurance adjuster see everything when he is out here so we can get these problems corrected without costing us more money.

If you can’t do it, please try to get someone else in your building to give a hand or let us know so we can make other arrangements for your neighbors to get the info.

Paulette Watson

Dear unit owners at Townhouses At Jacaranda,

An adjuster from Mercury Insurance, who represents Needham Roofing, will be on site to assess the damages [su]stained from the failure of Needham to address our roofing issues in a timely manner.

We would like for you to contact the office by email (admin.jacaranda@comcast.net or assist.jacaranda@comcast.net) or phone to immediately take pictures of the damages in order to have on file.

I will try desperately to schedule the appointment for a Saturday not to disrupt your schedules. If I’m unable to have the appointment set for a Saturday you will be notified by the office within a reasonable time frame to suit your schedule. We do apologize for the inconvenience; however, we would like to include you on the claim due to the contractor’s negligence. It is important that you try to make your selves available or schedule someone trustworthy to be in your unit.

Building captains, if able to assist the board of directors and the office in notifying your neighbors that suffered damages due to Needham Roofing it would be very helpful.

If there are vacant units in your building please notify the office – it is the unit owner’s responsibility for keys to be available to the office for your unit, in order to take pictures for the claim.

Please, let us collaborate as a team to get your roofs repaired efficiently and correctly.

Thank you so much for all your efforts and cooperation.

Construction Nightmares

This story was first published in the TAJ Newsletter
Una traducción española está disponible en Web site: www.TAJWatchSpanish.blogspot.com
by Steve Frahm

The story of Building 14 is fraught with trouble. There is trouble in the work that was done, and more accurately there is trouble in the work that was not done. And there is also trouble in getting the whole story of what happened and why it happened that way. In writing this story I have spoken with several first-hand sources. I give to you what I can decipher from what they have told me.

Refurbishment of Bldg 14 was well underway and going without a major hitch when the question arose, why are we waiting to replace the roof? The roofer was done with the other jobs in the community. He was ready and waiting to do this one. Some unit owners had leaks from the old roof and were anxious to have it replaced. The Property Manager used what she thought was sound judgment and asked the two contractors (refurbisher IPQ and roofer Needham) if there would be any difficulty with them working simultaneously. They agreed that they could work at the same time.

Exterior wall refurbishment work and roofing work are largely independent of each other, apparently, except for one very important area: the drip-edge (the metal flashing that folds over the edges of the roof top). When the roofing job progressed to the point of inspection, the city inspector shut down the roofer due to problems with the drip-edge. That drip-edge was Needham’s responsibility but it sat on top of, and was greatly affected by, the sub-fascia and fascia boards that were IPQ’s responsibility. Somehow they were unable to reach a workable solution other than to do a complete fascia/drip-edge replacement at an additional cost to Bldg 14 of approximately $8,800.00.

There were many long discussions about who should pay the extra expense. In the end, three vendors agreed to shoulder some financial responsibility: IPQ for their involvement with the fascia; Needham for their involvement with the drip-edge; and Crain for their stewardship over construction in general (even though they had been specifically excluded by the BOD from consulting on roofing on that job). They each agreed to pay $1500.00, leaving unit owners with an additional bill of about $400.00/unit (there are 11 units in Bldg 14). Needless to say, Bldg 14 unit owners were not happy and wanted to negotiate a better price for themselves.

While the involved parties have argued, the sun, wind, and rain have worked tirelessly on the tar-papered roof. Water damage has plagued several homes. The new BOD has expressed the fear that even the newly refurbished walls may have suffered water intrusion (which can lead to mold, mildew, and rot) from lack of proper fascia and drip-edges.

On Saturday some patch-work was done to help stave off the roof leaks. It is a necessary measure. But that, too, adds to the overall expense of the job.

Unit Owner Questions, Propery Manager Responds

Dec 5th, 2007
Good evening,
I would like to inform you that once again the street light on NW 8^th Court is not working.

I also would like to know what’s the status of the roof replacement and painting of our building (27) which has been finished 3 weeks ago by JM Construction.

We are unable to place our plants back, nor cleaning the front and back of the units because we are waiting for another big mess to occur again before all constructions is totally finalized. Please inform me when will the remaining construction happen.

Thank you for your prompt response.

Vera Biro Bldg. 27 Unit 6


Dec 6th, 2007
The street light will be checked by our in-house maintenance staff.

Regarding the construction on 27; you should have received a notice on your door yesterday that JM was returning today to work on the back area above the sliding doors, installing more hardie panel.

Roofing schedule is in progress and all unit owners will be advised in advance when the work will start.

Bette Ann DiSalvo, C.A.M.
Property Manager


(This letter was posted with the permission of the unit owner)

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The Property Manager's email address is: manager.jacaranda@comcast.net

Building 14: rooftop and all around

Building 14 is getting a nearly complete overhaul as a new roof and new siding is being installed from the south end of the building to the north.

In the picture above can be seen a lift that is used to move workers to the upper levels of the job.

Workers pictured above are stripping the old stucco siding away from the underlying plywood sheathing. The stucco will be replaced with hardi-panel, and rain gutters will be added to prevent rain-water intrusion.

September 5 BOD Meeting: Multiple Special Assessments

Board Meeting, 15 August 2007

The BOD met last night. Board members Manny, Ben, Prentis, and John were there on time. Bryan came late, Scott and Theresa didn't attend at all. Bette Ann (Property Manager) was there, of course, as always. Two residents attended for the first hour. By the end of the meeting there were eight residents in the audience.

The BOD addressed replacement of old and damaged roofs on multiple buildings. This is the roof replacement project that was initiated more than a year ago (following hurricane Wilma).

Another focus of the Board's attention was landscaping. Realizing that the landscaping improvements are still many months in the future (maybe even years away, depending on the timing of building renovations), the Board has appropriately begun the process of developing a plan. Their first step has been to interview landscaping engineers. Having selected one, they are now in the process of negotiating a contract.

The SBA loan was addressed. Apparently the time for us to be able to benefit from this government-sponsored low-interest-rate loan has nearly expired. Isn't it ironic that it is difficult to get unit owners to vote for something that can only help them and not hurt them.