Moisture problems haven't dried up in multifamily market

(This article originally ran in Finance and Commerce, Minneapolis, MN, another Dolan Media publication.)

With multifamily development hot in markets across the United States, home and office builders with little experience constructing condo towers or high-rises are building such projects for the first time.

And, according to a national expert on construction defects, they're bringing an increased risk of moisture problems to these developments.

Don Neff, president of Irvine, Calif.-based La Jolla Pacific, a provider of quality assurance services for the construction industry, said multifamily projects present a whole new set of construction risks and challenges that many builders have not experienced.

It's really a different animal, said Neff, who met with contractors at the recent International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla. There's a re-ranking of risk.

Not getting a project right the first time can be expensive. Neff cited a client in Southern California whose drywall contractor improperly installed a floor-to-ceiling assembly in a four-story, wood-frame structure.

When one of the unit owners complained about problems, they had to retrofit and reconstruct the floor-to-ceiling assembly, Neff said.

General contractors with high-rise experience probably wouldn't have made those mistakes.

But many general contractors who specialized in office projects are now getting into condominium work because of the general slowdown in office construction, Neff said. That move into unfamiliar territory brings risks, he said.

Those (condo towers) have owners that live in the units day in and day out, Neff said. It's not like an office tenant that goes home at the end of the day.

Partnerships between builders with diverse experience are one way to tackle urban projects, Neff said.

Another approach, he said, is to build a team around an experienced construction manager.

Variety of new concerns

An increased risk of mold isn't the only issue that arises when builders who haven't done condo projects attempt multifamily construction. According to Neff, there exists a whole spate of additional risks.

Another notable difference: Most single-family home builders rely on mechanical trade contractors to install heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, but high-rise projects require the design and installation services of a professional engineer because HVAC systems are much more complicated in those buildings, Neff said.

Neff urges builders and developers to have acoustical testing done on their complexes before selling units as proof that the facilities meet proper standards for sound transmission.

Paul Ellringer, president of Air Tamarack, a St. Paul, Minn.- based consulting company that specializes in indoor air-quality issues, said one of the challenges related to multifamily projects is the sheer number of homeowners involved.

For example, he once consulted on a project that encompassed 18 buildings with eight owner-occupied condos in each building.

We were the go-between between the owner and the contractor, said Ellringer, a certified industrial hygienist and registered engineer. My wife worked almost full time - answering calls from the owners, trying to work out problems that were coming about.

Some of the problems relate to air quality. In his consulting work, Ellringer has dealt with at least four situations in which there was conflict between smokers and non-smokers living next to each other in multifamily units.

That's been a real problem, he said. A lot of these haven't been horribly expensive, but we've had to work with them to change the air flow within the building.

Tuck-under garages, with a bedroom on top and other living quarters on the sides, have presented similar challenges. Ellringer recalled a situation in which homeowners complained of black stains near the baseboard of their units.

It was car exhaust from the garage, going through the wall, Ellringer said.

Neff said multifamily projects should be commissioned before they are turned over to a homeowners association. The goal is to make sure that everything from fire protection equipment to HVAC systems is working properly.

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