As noted in a previous blog “Looking for Unbiased Information” I had some unit owners from a Connecticut condominium community ask me to evaluate the condition of their cedar siding. This request was prompted because the community’s board of directors had hired an out-of-state engineering firm to inspect the siding and provide a report that would strongly recommend removing all the cedar siding from 54 units and replace with vinyl siding. The project had bids ranging from $830,000 to over $1,000,000 so this was no little home improvement project.

This engineering firm had done their inspections and reported that the siding had deteriorated so severely that the only recourse was removal and replacement with vinyl. They asserted that the cedar was of inferior grade, had been installed incorrectly, and would result in moisture and water infiltration problems unless dealt with immediately. When I arrived at the site and walked around the buildings I thought I must be in the wrong place because whatever these engineers were describing was hardly the case here. I had to go back a couple of times to look over the buildings because I could not believe their report could be so wrong or that I could have such an opposite opinion. Questioning myself, I was fortunate to be able to consult with the foremost authority on Western Red Cedar siding in the eastern USA. This expert offered to drive three hours to the site for no charge just to see the buildings for himself. With his experience and authority he insisted that there had to be some ulterior motive for the engineers’ report because he felt it was blatantly and deliberately wrong. He was able to quickly refute every assertion the engineers made.

Now comes the tricky part. The board of directors had hired these engineers, accepted their report, bid out the project, and negotiated a back loan for the project. The only step left was for a vote of the community to accept the loan. So they had invested their time, many thousand of dollars, and their credibility in the work of these engineers. The two unit owners I was serving believed that most of the unit owners were going along with the board. Could this be turned around?

The board scheduled an informational meeting for all unit owners to attend to listen to the board’s engineer, property manager, attorney, preferred contractor and vinyl siding salesman and to ask questions. Three unit owners gave me power of attorney to speak in their behalf and ask pointed questions. It was very awkward and the board’s limited me to only a few questions with which I tried to sow seeks of doubt for other owners. My clients and I came out of that meeting not thinking we had made any great inroads.

Next, my client owners invited all the other owners to their own meeting where I was able to make a full case for not believing the engineers. We reinforced the argument with a report from the cedar expert and an evaluation from a home improvement contractor. About 20 unit owners showed up and the meeting lasted about three hours. They all seemed convinced to vote no to the loan and the project. We encouraged them to spread the word to other owners.

Finally, the board scheduled a day for the vote. My clients called on other owners imploring them to review the facts and turn down the project. But all along it was very difficult to know if we were really having an impact.

Well, the vote was held yesterday. Last night I could stand it no longer and sent an email to my clients asking if they knew the results. Late at night they wrote back to me that the vote was an overwhelming 40 - 18 to reject the loan and the project! Sometimes the truth prevails!

So the project will likely be changing the making the minor repairs to the cedar siding where needed, replace pine trim boards that are in worse shape than the cedar, and putting the buildings on a good rotating painting schedule. But I wonder about those engineers. They market their services to lots of condominium communities and they claim to “investigate roofing and exterior siding systems, of all types, for specific analysis of defects, installation techniques and replacement or repair alternatives.” If their work for other communities is as shoddy as what they did here then there are lots on boards wasting engineering fees and construction costs on unnecessary and ill-advised work. As I wrote in a previous blog about some architects:  How do they get away with it?

I get a great feeling when I run into a former client and find out how they continue to be happy with the work I have done for them.

Just yesterday I was across the street from my office in the local supermarket when I ran into a client. She and her husband live in a neighboring town and hired me to design substantial renovations to their house including a family room and screen porch additions, new entry, new kitchen, new master bath and closet, and other upgrades. In addition, they hired us to build it as general contractor. They were very pleasant people to work with. They appreciated my designs and also gave us some good ideas of their own. The construction went reasonably well but did take longer than I planned so we had our touchy moments to work through. However, it was so satisfying yesterday to hear her say “We love the house and how it come out!”. She told me how pleased they are with the finished project and they are working on an album of before, during and after pictures. You can see our photos of the project here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mggrew/HomeAdditionRemodelBethlehemCT

A few weeks ago I was in a local coffee shop standing in line for the cashier when I realize another client was in line ahead of me who lives here in Woodbury. I had designed an expansion of their second floor to make room for a larger and new master bedroom suite, additional bedroom, new kitchen, and new larger decks. He and his wife were also very enjoyable to work with and we had a good collaborative relationship. They hired their own builder and we heard very little from them during construction. I think the builder called once with a question. I can get a little uneasy when I don’t hear from builders. It can either mean our drawings were very clear and they just breezed through construction or it can mean they are too proud to ask for direction, have messed it all up, but have also blamed the architect so that the owner doesn’t want to call either. So with a little anxiety I asked my client while standing in line, “So, how did the project come out?” You can imagine my relief when he said “Great! We love it! The builder did a great job and everything came out as planned. You should come over and see it.” That I will do. It is one of the projects we do not have in our photo gallery yet, but when I have some time I will visit them and then post the pics.

I have a real feeling of achievement when I am able to see residential or commercial clients enjoy occupying the spaces I design and build. When you get bogged down with the paperwork and the non-design part of owning a practice it is moments like these above the bring you back to why you chose this profession in the first place.

Every once in a while an architect is called upon to research and provide a client with an opinion.  Sometimes it is very hard to find tuly unbiased information on the subject you are researching. In my case I have homeowners in a condominium association looking to me to help settle a controversy. The development is an upscale residential condominium in southern Connecticut that is about 25 years old and has cedar clapboard siding. The association let the exterior maintenance slip and now the buildings really need attention. Some owners want to remove the cedar and replace it with vinyl. Some owners want to repair and restain the existing siding. Others are interested in alternative siding like fiber cement as long as it’s not vinyl. Now they look at me and want some guidance based on facts and not just my opinion or personal preference. They are concerned about longevity, continuous maintenance, initial costs, and the effect on their property appraisals and resale values.

What I have been amazed to find out is how little unbiased information is available on this subject. Siding materials are probably the most popular, highest produced, and greatest income generating products in the residential building industry, yet, I can’t find that anyone has bothered to do real head-to-head comparisons to find out which is the most cost effective, best performing product out there. Sure, the Vinyl Siding Institute will tell me their members’ products are the best thing since sliced bread! Of course, the Western Red Cedar Association will tell me how cedar will stand up, is easy to maintain, refinish, green, and overall the absolutely best thing ever.

As an architect I am left to sift through biased information and distill it to come up with a real comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of these products and arrive at a well reasoned conclusion. How do I do that and feel comfortable that I have given the best recommendation possible to my client? Maybe there isn’t much market for it and not much money to be made doing it, but it seems to me there ought to be some kind of “Consumer Reports” for construction materials and products where owners and professionals can go to get relatively unbiased information so that we can make educated choices on what products are best for what applications. Technology, the proliferation of synthetic and composite materials, and increasingly stringent building, energy and sustainability codes make it rather hard for an architect to give a strong recommendation to a client without knowing that opinion is limited by our own personal experience and preferences.

Who will step up and help us?