As a property manager, searching the weather is just part of the job. A few days ago it was wind that I worried about, and today we have rain in the forecast. One way or another mother nature always finds a way to affect the world of property management. I'll list a few topics that come to mind when I think of rain, but will focus on the topic of concrete walls leaking water into a building.
1)Window leaks
2)Leaks through slabs of concrete buildings
3)Water intrusion through roll up doors and building entrance doors
4)Sump pumps breaking down
5)Bio-swales turning into rivers and lakes
6)Retaining walls starting to fail
7)Roof leaks
8)Leaks through vent pipes
9)Storm drain filters falling apart due to over-fill of trash
10)Landscape lights shorting
11)Dirt lots flooding into parking lots
12)Unsealed roof penetrations appearing after a tenant improvement
13)Landscape flooding due to lack of drainage
When thinking about concrete tilt up walls, the first thing you need to remember is that concrete is porous, permeable and needs waterproofing. During the huge rains we experienced last year in Southern California, I received calls from buildings in Irvine, Ontario, Murrieta, Temecula, and Rancho Cucamonga about water intrusion coming miraculously through the exterior wall and damaging carpet and drywall. The problem usually occurred where landscape and dirt sit right against the concrete surface of the building. The thought process for this common problem goes something like this:
1)Is the water coming through a window that is not properly sealed?
2)Are there any small cracks on the exterior wall of the building that are allowing water to come through?
3)Is the landscape being property drained or is the water pooling and sitting against the wall?
4)Was the waterproofing properly applied to the concrete surface of the tilt-up that the landscape sits against?
5)How much money do I have to address this problem without issuing a special assessment?
6)Is this an association problem or an owner problem?
7)Is a pipe leaking (let's rule this out since we're focusing on tilt up wall water intrusion)
Just for the sake of fixing this wall, and assuming we have plenty of money in the association's bank account; I'll address how to solve the phone call below.
Phone call: Luke, you'll never believe it, I have water all over my carpet and soaking my drywall, and the problem looks to be coming in from the landscape straight into the building.
As an association manager the first step would be determining if this is an owner issue or association. Let's assume there is no gray area, this is a condo building that the association is responsible for the exterior walls, and every bit of the problem is for the property manager to handle. The best way to handle this would be to take the following steps:
1)Look for cracks in the wall. If you notice any cracks then have a water-proofer grind them down, fill in with an epoxy, and re-paint the area to the original color.
2)Remove the dirt that sits against building about 2' down. Apply a waterproof membrane along the foundation of the building. Infill the area with gravel and top off with dirt.
3)Make sure the landscape drainage is working properly, and/or install landscape drainage to properly drain the landscape.
4)If a window sits on the ground near the landscape, have a window leak specialist re-caulk and address any problems where water could potentially seep through.
The four-step process above has fixed the problem 100% of the time in my experience. However, this expense can easily get over a couple grand in the blink of an eye.
1)Window leaks
2)Leaks through slabs of concrete buildings
3)Water intrusion through roll up doors and building entrance doors
4)Sump pumps breaking down
5)Bio-swales turning into rivers and lakes
6)Retaining walls starting to fail
7)Roof leaks
8)Leaks through vent pipes
9)Storm drain filters falling apart due to over-fill of trash
10)Landscape lights shorting
11)Dirt lots flooding into parking lots
12)Unsealed roof penetrations appearing after a tenant improvement
13)Landscape flooding due to lack of drainage
When thinking about concrete tilt up walls, the first thing you need to remember is that concrete is porous, permeable and needs waterproofing. During the huge rains we experienced last year in Southern California, I received calls from buildings in Irvine, Ontario, Murrieta, Temecula, and Rancho Cucamonga about water intrusion coming miraculously through the exterior wall and damaging carpet and drywall. The problem usually occurred where landscape and dirt sit right against the concrete surface of the building. The thought process for this common problem goes something like this:
1)Is the water coming through a window that is not properly sealed?
2)Are there any small cracks on the exterior wall of the building that are allowing water to come through?
3)Is the landscape being property drained or is the water pooling and sitting against the wall?
4)Was the waterproofing properly applied to the concrete surface of the tilt-up that the landscape sits against?
5)How much money do I have to address this problem without issuing a special assessment?
6)Is this an association problem or an owner problem?
7)Is a pipe leaking (let's rule this out since we're focusing on tilt up wall water intrusion)
Just for the sake of fixing this wall, and assuming we have plenty of money in the association's bank account; I'll address how to solve the phone call below.
Phone call: Luke, you'll never believe it, I have water all over my carpet and soaking my drywall, and the problem looks to be coming in from the landscape straight into the building.
As an association manager the first step would be determining if this is an owner issue or association. Let's assume there is no gray area, this is a condo building that the association is responsible for the exterior walls, and every bit of the problem is for the property manager to handle. The best way to handle this would be to take the following steps:
1)Look for cracks in the wall. If you notice any cracks then have a water-proofer grind them down, fill in with an epoxy, and re-paint the area to the original color.
2)Remove the dirt that sits against building about 2' down. Apply a waterproof membrane along the foundation of the building. Infill the area with gravel and top off with dirt.
3)Make sure the landscape drainage is working properly, and/or install landscape drainage to properly drain the landscape.
4)If a window sits on the ground near the landscape, have a window leak specialist re-caulk and address any problems where water could potentially seep through.
The four-step process above has fixed the problem 100% of the time in my experience. However, this expense can easily get over a couple grand in the blink of an eye.
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