The leaking condo crisis , also known as leaky condo syndrome and rotten condominium crisis , is the ongoing construction, financial and legal crisis in Canada. This mainly involves multi-unit condo buildings (or strata ) damaged by rainwater infiltration in the lower parts of the mainland and Vancouver Island on the coast of British Columbia (B.C.). In B.C. alone about $ 4 billion of damage has occurred in over 900 buildings and 31,000 housing units built between the late 1980s and early 2000s, building it as the most extensive and most expensive reconstruction of housing in Canadian history.
Similar infiltration problems have been reported in buildings and high schools, as well as in other climatic zones in Ontario and Nova Scotia, in the United States, and New Zealand. Since the beginning of the crisis, it is common to see buildings occupied on slopes and tarpaulins because the issues are reviewed and corrected. The crisis has led, as a major public inquiry concluded: "litany of dreadful experiences, personal tragedies, and dashed dreams" experienced by homeowners.
Video Leaky condo crisis
Issue
The main physical problem is the water infiltrating into the building's exterior (wall and roof) buildings, usually through a weather barrier (eg building paper or air barrier membrane) designed to prevent water droplets from passing through, but allowing water vapor through. However, problems in design, installation, and damage during construction can allow water to penetrate the walls. This causes decay and delamination of exterior and sheath wall layers, rusted on metal wall studs, rotting on wooden structures, stale insulation saturation, and the development of fungi and spores within the walls and interior of buildings. Construction failures range from small to large damage from the structural integrity of the building. Some buildings become unhealthy for the inhabitants. Most of these buildings are low-rise buildings, 3-4 floors constructed of wooden frame construction, as well as some with steel, concrete, and metal stud, including highrises.
The majority of buildings that have experienced this problem in B.C. owned by individual owners of condominium units, although commercial property and public schools have also been affected. Many homeowners are faced with correcting problems they do not create, by contractors they do not rent; they buy units either from previous owners, developers, or developers/contractors. The typical reparations cost is tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, resulting in significant difficulties, bankruptcies, and lawsuits against developers, contractors, architects, and others involved in the construction and maintenance of the original building.
In total, about 45% of the 159,979 units of condominium strata and 57% of the 700 school buildings were built in B.C. between 1985 and 2000 were found to have an envelope leakage problem. It was reported in 2002 that 90% of the 3-4 floor units built have serious problems and some have improved envelopes two and three times. In 2008 it was estimated that the cost of repairing damages in schools alone was close to $ 400 million.
Maps Leaky condo crisis
Contributing factors
There are several factors that cause the crisis. Beginning in the 1980s, the Greater Vancouver region of Lower Mainland, and to a lesser extent the Greater Victoria area on Vancouver Island, experienced a construction boom in the multi-family condominium market. It attracts developers, designs new esthetics, designers, contractors, workers, and building technologies from a very different climate from the coastal area of ​​B.C. which supports large areas of medium rainforest.
A 1998 provincial inquiry commission summarizes the key factors:
"The evidence shows that the failure to build a significant envelope in British Columbia since the early 1980s... is the result of many factors, including design features that are not suitable for our climate, reliance on sealed wall systems, a lack of fundamental awareness of the design principles of cages appropriate to our climate, meaningful inspections at critical construction stages, and regulatory systems that can not understand the failures that occur and to improve them. "
Climate
The Lower Mainland and the south of Vancouver Island have a moderate ocean climate that each year experiences cool, wet, cloudy, and rainy winter months. Greater Vancouver receives more than 161 rain days per year and rainfall between 1153 and 2477 mm (45 to 97 inches) per year, roughly twice that of London, England; three times that of Rome, Italy; and more than four times that of Los Angeles. With high summer temperatures averaging 21-22 degrees Celsius, the building dries up much faster (or not at all) compared to climates in southern California or the Mediterranean where the average summer temperatures reach 28-30 degrees C. The building design on the coast of British Columbia has provided greater protection from damp and rain climates than newer designs to date, through the use of features such as protruding into the roof that protects the underworld from direct rain contact.
Design
A major design aesthetic in the 1980s and 1990s was the Post Modernism, which featured the style and shape of buildings that reminiscent of the Mediterranean and southern California. This design approach is highly marketed and becomes a fashionable design motif. Current elements of the public building include roof parapsets without overhangs or roofs, stucco walls, open walkways, curved windows, complex cladding connections, all of which provide more opportunities for water penetration and confirmed studies are major contributors to water infiltration.
Code of regulation
The city of Vancouver, the largest city in British Columbia, has also amended the Zoning Act to include a roof overhang in the number of permitted floor space (built and sold), known as floor space ratio or FSR . Overhang roofs are included in FSR calculations, and since this reduces the amount of floor space permitted, they are often removed from the design. FSR calculations from outside the building envelope, not from the center or the interior side of the wall, also tend to promote thinner walls and rain screen systems. Open, uncovered walkways are removed from the FSR, thus encouraging their inclusion in the design.
Prior to 1993 in BC, architects and engineers were not required to certify that the design met the requirements of the building codes, reviewed the quality of the construction, or stated that the construction had been carried out in accordance with the code, the allowable images, and specifications, including those relating to the provision of anti-weather building envelopes.
Design professionals are not required to conduct this extensive review during construction and developers who do not want to incur additional costs will not involve them to do so. This leaves the obligation for correct interpretation and construction to developers or builders, who have no experience and/or have financial incentives to cut costs. The Provincial and Vancouver Building Code was amended in 1993 to require, as a condition of building permits and residential permits, that design professionals should be involved to perform this level of certification and supervision. However, the application of this code provision is often not enforced in many condominium projects; they are issued Building Permits under other parts of the code that do not require a Warranty.
The National Building Code of Canada, where the British Columbia Building Code, and the Vancouver Foundation's Articles of Association are based, since the 1970s and early 1980s have increasingly introduced changes to require greater sealing of exterior walls to prevent infiltration of water vapor from the interior building. In most winter climates in Canada, cold and dry, steam seeping into exterior walls causes condensation and significantly reduces insulation performance, thereby increasing energy consumption. Increased sealing walls prevent walls from "breathing" and dry out in warmer months.
Professional design
The development pressures and lack of effective legal prevention of cost competition between design professionals contribute to the reduction of professional fees paid to architects and engineers. Therefore, in some cases, less attention is given to the careful details of construction drawings, visible in envelope detail to show and seal the connection and edge conditions on windows and doors. The previously normal practice of architectural monitoring of construction trade on building projects is reduced or eliminated.
Contractor
In many projects, developers and contractors set up separate companies for each project. At the end of construction, developers and/or contractors will be dissolved, thereby eliminating the legal exit by those wishing to make financial claims for defects in construction. These practices, though considered to be dubious or "shell games", are not illegal.
The building explosion also attracts new and inexperienced workers who are unfamiliar with construction trade in general and local practice in particular. Since the early 1980s, most of the construction work has been done by unskilled labor. Concern is voiced by industry representatives and workers about the reduction of training and government financial support for trade, training systems, and apprenticeship programs.
Building materials
The main factors contributing to the crisis are the increased use of cladding systems such as acrylic plaster and exterior insulation finishing systems (or EIFS), which are highly resistant to infiltration and water and moisture exciltration. Unlike more traditional materials, such as wood-based or cement-based cement, the critical defect of the new material is that any water or moisture penetrating into the system, either through surface cracks (caused by thermal expansion or damage), opens it. joints, or flashing mistakes, trapped inside walls, potentially causing damage, rotting, and molding.
Another newer building material that contributes to the damage is the widespread use of strand oriented boards (OSB) as protective under exterior or cladding coatings. It does not cause water infiltration, but is much more susceptible to water damage and less breathing than plywood or boards, the standard sheath material for the previous decade.
Investigation
To date, four major investigative initiatives at Leaky Condo Crisis have been conducted: two by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); and two by the former B.C. Provincial Prime Minister Dave Barrett, designated by Province B.C. to do two separate questions. Commission findings have been accepted as accurate and fair by many relevant professional sectors and the construction industry. To date they are the most extensive investigation and report prepared for this issue. A private sector group was also established to facilitate discussion and build envelope research.
Building Envelope Research Consortium (BERC)
In 1995 BERC was established through the CMHC initiative to act as a coordinating body for research on building envelope issues at B.C. Participants include federal, provincial, and municipal agencies agencies; Professional associations; University of British Columbia's civil engineering architecture school, British Columbia Institute of Technology; a private-sector research company; industry associations of development and construction; trade unions; contractors and suppliers of materials and associations; and finance and insurance institutions. (In 2003, BERC joined the B.C. Building Envelope Council (BCBEC) and renamed the Building Research Committee (BRC)).
CMHC 1996 investigation
In 1996, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released the "Failure Surveys of Envelope Building in the Coastal Climate of British Columbia . It does a study of 37 "problem" buildings that are defined as those where moisture problems in walls, decks or exterior framing have resulted in damage requiring $ 10,000 or more to repair and incorporate various materials in exterior wall components. Nine "control" buildings are also studied, which are defined as buildings that have not experienced moisture problems for at least five years. Recommendations, some of which will be repeated in later reports, include greater clarity in design strategies, improvements in details, envelope quality management protocols, trade training in building envelope construction, use of rainscreen systems, and guidance for maintaining exterior wall systems.
Commission of Barrett 1998
In April 1998, an Inquiry Commission on the quality of condominium construction in the British Columbia Province (commonly referred to as Commission Barrett after Commission Chair Dave Barrett) was established. The Commission's mandate is to investigate a decade-old leaking condominium crisis. The Commission held a public hearing from 28 April to 20 May 1998 which included presentations from condominium owners and representatives from various sectors of the housing construction industry and over 700 written submissions. The report was issued June 16, 1998.
A total of 82 specific recommendations were made, including changes to zoning regulations, building codes, provincial law, federal law, financing, contractor licenses, and professional design requirements; and the establishment of a Compensation Fund for reconstruction and the Provincial Homeowner Protection Office.
Commission of Barrett 1999-2000
In 1999 (second) Commission of Inquiry into Building Construction Quality Part II was established after the collapse of industrial development and financed by the New Home Warranty of British Columbia Inc. (NHWBC), the largest provider of new home assurance coverage in BC. The Commission has a mandate to:
- determines the losses caused by NHWBC's collapse to individual condominium owners and the financial and economic impacts generated on B.C. consumer, housing market and economy;
- review existing financial support programs for B.C. homeowners to see if they are adequate and if changes are to be made;
- examines the role of Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation programs in mortgage insurance and its relationship with financial institutions.
The commission's findings were published in two volumes in January and March 2000. Among its recommendations are 100% compensation up to $ 25,000 per unit for repairs, at a cost split evenly between the provincial and federal governments and B.C. condominium construction industry.
Aftermath
In the aftermath of the main revelation of the crisis, both before and after Commission Barrett's report, B.C. provincial governments and cities of the Greater Mainland responded in various ways.
Home owner protection
At the height of the crisis in April 1999, the New Columbia Home Warranty & amp; Yukon, the main source of collateral against construction defects for BC home buyers, collapsed. It was a voluntary guarantee program created by the provincial housing construction industry in 1975. NHW has a monopoly on B.C. until the Alberta National Homeland Security enters the B.C. market in the late 1990s. No program is subject to provincial regulations outside the Corporations Act. In 1998 about 60% of all new housing units carry warranty protection.
In 1998 B.C. implement the Homeowners Protection Act . It is designed to protect home buyers from and improve the quality of residential construction and set up a Homeowner Protection Office (HPO), a Crown provincial company responsible for:
- license builders and monitoring of the provision of mandatory third-party home insurance coverage that includes a five-year insurance against water penetration.
- compulsory registration of a residential contractor with an approved warranty insurance provider
- manage the interest-free loan program available to some leaked homeowners
- operates research and education programs
In 2000 HPO was involved with about 500 condominium buildings containing nearly 32,000 units of houses.
In 2010, HPO merged with BC Housing. The HPO then became known by its current name: Consumer Licensing and Services. Under Household Protection Act, a new home warranty is mandatory. Each new house has a warranty for a period of 1 year for fit and finish, 2 years for mechanical components, 5 years for building envelopes, and 10 years for structural components.
Building & amp; By-Laws
City of Vancouver and other B.C municipalities began implementing their own prescriptive requirements to construct envelope and construction designs in multi-unit residential buildings, even before the 1998 Commission Barrett report was issued and the provincial government amended B.C. Building code. The two most significant things are requirements for rainscreen wall construction of exterior walls and professional certification of design and implementation of designs in construction.
Rainscreen Construction
Rainscreen is a weather-facing surface of an exterior wall that stands from a moisture-resistant floor surface. There is a gap or cavity between the outermost layer, or rainscreen, and the main wall that prevents the infiltration of moisture into the main wall assembly and allows air to circulate between. In 1997 Vancouver and neighboring Richmond and New Westminster imposed requirements for this construction technology in residential construction. (Masonry veneer walls typically have similar type cavities but these are not limited to residential buildings). Vancouver Building Regulations incorporate these requirements in the 1996 edition and BC Building Code in 2006 for coastal climates. A 5-year scientific study on residential building envelopes in Vancouver was conducted between 2001-2006. The conclusions reported the benefits of green rain on exterior wall assemblies.
Build Envelope Professionals
One of the main recommendations of the Commission of Barrett is to require that "Any architect or engineer involved in the Warranty and field review process must have qualified, or subcontract the design of the envelope and review to qualified Building Composers".
In 1995 (prior to the Commission of Barrett), the City of Vancouver established a list of "Building Envelope Specialists" (BES), comprising architectural and engineering firms deemed eligible to provide independent inspection and review of building envelope components, based on city perceptions of qualification and firm experience in Lower Mainland. These professionals are required to be maintained by the owner/developer to provide a Security Letter. Other cities in the region soon followed Vancouver's footsteps. It is known that the BES list of cities is a temporary measure until a more permanent process is established.
In 1997, the British Columbia Institute of Architecture (AIBC) launched a special Envelope Education Training program for its members.
In 1999 a joint committee of professional regulatory bodies for architects and engineers in the province (AIBC and the Professional Engineers Association and Geoscientists of British Columbia) developed a formal allotment: Building Envelope Professional (BEP). The process of joint accreditation and procedure manual for BEP has been made and the municipal list of BES is discarded when they transfer the recognition to the BEP list.
Financial help
In 1998, B.C. the government started a lending program without interest to help homeowners with building envelope repairs. It is managed through the Home Owners Protection Office and approved more than $ 670 million in loans over the course of the decade of operation. The loan was financed through levies on new housing projects and in 2009 Rich Coleman, the minister responsible for housing at the time, said the program no longer raised enough funds during the economic downturn to continue the program. In 1999, B.C. the government announced a provincial grant and tax relief program to help crisis-affected housing owners.
Political effects
The magnitude of the crisis has been felt at all levels of government. Locally, a large tarpaulin on top of the building being repaired later became known as the "B.C. flag". In 1999 B.C. Premier Glen Clark asked the federal government to offer tax relief on repairs. In 2005 and 2006 the Prime Minister of Canada made a commitment to provide financial assistance to crisis-affected housing owners. To date there is no financial assistance provided by the federal government. Former cabinet minister Simma Holt waged a seven-year legal action publicly in the 2000s seeking compensation for the repair of his own leaky condominium.
Smoking gun "and" lawsuit
In 2005, a class action lawsuit was filed in B.C. The Supreme Court against the CMHC (a Crown corporation), seeking redress. (In 2007, the court refused to legalize the lawsuit.) In July 2006, Federal Minister for Human Resources Diane Finley wrote that the government can not even "consider" reviews while the government is sued by some owners.
See also
- New Zealand leaked home crisis
- Vancouver Architecture
References
External links
- Leaky Building , New Zealand Parliament, Background Note 2002/10 06 November 2002
- The Role of Building Envelope Professional in Vancouver Leaky Condominium Crisis's Aftermath , David G. Kayll, P.Eng.
- BC Building Code Warrant for Envelope Review
- BC Building Envelope Council
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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