Managing Water in a Strata/Condo

If you want to manage risk, you have to figure out what risks (or perils, as they say in the insurance business) you have. You might think that fire, or general liability risks (e.g. the slips, trips and falls type of claim) are the biggest risks but water escape is a frequency risk that can happen often and sometimes with high severity. Water can do a lot of surface damage, but it also causes long term issues mold and structural damage. If several units are affected, the disruption can last for weeks or months as claims are sorted out and work proceeds but it also causes long term issues such as mold and structural damage.

Water losses can be broken into two basic areas. The first is water from the outside – e.g. rain leakage, sewage backups (this can be from stormwater or sanitary backups), or floods from rivers overflowing their banks. The second is water from inside. This may be within a unit (e.g. a toilet or overflowing tub), or outside (e.g. water lines failing in walls) or both. For some buildings, external flood damage from rivers or sewage backups can be a serious issue. It’s very hard to deal with floods in low-lying areas, but there are some things such as the installation of a sewer backup valve that may help a lot. There may sometimes be subsidies for installation of a valve, though these subsidies usually only apply to individual homeowners.

Starting from the top, the first area where water can enter is from the roof. All roofs can leak and will eventually when the roof system fails. This is true for pitched roofs, but ‘flat’ roofs are particularly prone to leaks. I put ‘flat’ in quotations because there’s typically a small amount of slope built into a flat roof, and water is supposed to drain to roof drains and scuppers. Commonly, leaves and other debris can build up around a drain, and water can pool. Over time, some roofs sag on spots and water tends to pool. Pooled water is bad news for a roof, it can damage the roof, lead to mold and moss growth and create an opportunity for a lot of water to leak quickly if a hole appears. This can happen on any type of roof from built up roofs (i.e. tar and gravel) to EPDM roofs. How do you maintain your roofs? Here are some pointers:

· Ensure that you have a current property condition report. This should indicate in general terms how old your roof is, and the estimated lifespan of the roof.

· Hire a roofing specialist to inspect and maintain the roof annually. Simple repairs on flashing, caulking or spot patches will reduce the risk of leaks and extend the roof life

· Conduct in-house inspections on the roof. You don’t have to be a roofing expert to spot obvious damage or issues such as pooled water. The more often you do a check the better. Semi-annual is good. Quarterly is better and a check after a major storm is also an excellent idea.

· Keep trees trimmed near the building to reduce the risk of branches snapping on the roof or leaving buildup of materials.

· Roof cleaning may be required, but power washing may damage the roof coating. Roof cleaning is best left to specialists.

· Look for potential puncture sources such as screws or nails and ensure that they are picked up. It’s surprising how often this type of thing can be spotted on a roof.

·Consider adding paving stones…to preserve the roof membrane and Engage engineering firms to assure there is adequate structural support.

· Be safe! Stay at least 2 m from the roof edge, don’t go up alone without notifying others, and don’t go onto a pitched roof unless you have worked out a fall protection plan first.

While roofs are the biggest concern, water leaks can happen in other places, particularly around the soffits, flashings around windows and doors, and balconies. Regular inspections – at least annually and ideally quarterly or even monthly – can go a long way to repairing damage such as failing caulking or storm damage, which may cause a subsequent leak.

Basement and parkade water damage may occur for several reasons from piping breaks, water fountain leaks and membrane failures over parkades. If a leak is spotted in these areas, it’s best to seek the advice of experts to determine the source of the leak, and strategies to repair the leak. These leaks, if left unresolved, can cause extensive damage to the concrete and the reinforcing steel embedded in the concrete, and repairs can be extremely expensive. Even newer buildings can leak due to shrinkage of the concrete as it cures and other factors. Even if repairs are not needed immediately, leaks should be documented as soon as they are noted because delaying this process may mean that the warranty period passes, and the claim must be paid for by the Strata. There are several ways to repair leaks such as membrane repairs and epoxy injection. A specialist such as a structural engineering firm may be required to investigate and make recommendations.

Good maintenance, based on regular inspections and current property condition reports, will help to extend the life of the roof and protect the finances of the Strata/Condo. Insurance claims have risen partially because some Stratas/Condo have tried to defer maintenance, hoping that an insurance claim will pay for the deferred maintenance. A well-documented roof maintenance program will help your Strata/Condo show that proper Due Diligence has been applied, which improves the management of the claim and reduces arguments on causations of loss. If a claim is contested, the Strata will be left paying a higher portion for betterment to the roof, multiple deductibles and potentially no payment for the claim.

Water losses often occur within the building. In older buildings, the water supply or drains may start to fail. Copper pipes can last up to 50 years or more, but corrosive water may shorten this life. There have been many cases of premature pinhole leak failures due to manufacturing defects. Newer buildings use plastic (typically different types of PEX) for water supplies and sprinkler lines. PEX is a good product, but there have been failures due to UV exposure from leaving the PEX exposed to sunlight (outdoors) for excessive periods. Some early types of plastic water supply lines have also been prone to early failure. Also rodents like PEX and failures could occur if left unchecked.

While water supply lines may be a source of failures, it’s the lowly toilet which is by far the biggest single source of floods from within a unit. What can a Strata Council do about toilets – we don’t own the toilets? Very often water and sewer bills are paid for by the Strata, not the unit owners, and unit owners are indirectly paying the bill through their Strata fees. Unit owners have a vested interest in keeping their Strata fees low. An important element of a flooding is that it is leaking before a flood – early failure indication. For example, a toilet might be running (leaking/failing), then it clogs and overflows, causing a flood. Addressing leaking/failing toilets early reduces the frequency of full failures.

Educate your unit owners about where their unit shut-off valve location.

· Encourage unit owners to shut their water valves off if they are on vacation away from their unit. Having trusted neighbors check the unit daily is also a prudent idea.

· Consider retrofitting shut-off valves on all fixtures such as sinks, laundry sinks, toilets and other water lines without shut-off valves.

· Consider doing a water conservation month and provide free dyes to test toilets for leaks.

· Offer a list of preferred plumbers and toilet brands (and consider controls on what toilet brands can be installed to save water and reduce the chance for leaks) so that quality repairs are conducted promptly.

· Consider paying for toilet repairs or at least parts on behalf of the owners.

· Consider offering free leak inspections for toilets and other fixtures.

· Strongly encourage/enforce that unit owners have their own insurance with coverage that handles their deductibles for water and other losses. Deductibles have increased from $10,000 to $250,000 or more, and some individual unit owners may not be aware of this.

· Consider the use of continuous electronic monitoring and water shut-off systems. These are fairly new innovations but as we see more ‘Smart’ building technology this will become common-place. These systems monitor for leaks and may also automatically shut off water lines before a flood can occur.

Water leaks can also occur from tubs and showers overflowing, failing caulking, washing machines overflowing, or washing machine lines bursting. Washing machine lines have a limited life, and unit owners should be advised to change out these lines based on manufacturer’s instructions. Typically, this is about every 5-10 years. Providing a list of repair people and plumbers can greatly help unit owners.

If a leak or flood occurs, speed is essential, and this applies to everyone involved. The unit owners should have clear instructions on who to call in case of an emergency at all hours. For some reason, it seems that the worst issues happen at 2 a.m. on a Sunday or some other inconvenient time. So, a robust call-out service to the Property Management company and the Strata Council is needed. The Strata Council should also have the contact information of at least one good Restoration company. Speed is important. Mold growth can happen after approximately 48 hours, so rapid cleanup and dry-out may avoid expensive mold remediation repairs. Finally, a current asbestos management plan should be available if the building contains asbestos, and any building built before around 1990 should be examined. This is important, because a remediation team may not be able to remove damaged drywall if it contains asbestos in the drywall compound, or HAZMAT precautions, which are expensive, have to be followed. Having asbestos information readily available may help to reduce the cost of the remediation work. This is a short summery of strategies that can be used to manage water in a building regardless if it is a Strata or Condo. This is not a comprehensive assessment of the risk for your individual building – so make sure you speak with experts to help manage your water risk and develop a comprehensive strategy – top to bottom.