Addressing Building Issues With Caution Have you ever noticed how fashion and entertainment trends seem to start on the “Left Coast” and work their way across the country before finally arriving in Maine? I call this the “End of Route 95 Syndrome.” Of course, YouTube and other digital social media has sped things up a….
The Surfside collapse and the resulting loss of life is tragic. In addition to dealing with the far-reaching impact of that collapse, many occupants, owners, and managers of most buildings are now asking whether something similar could happen to their building. The answer is that the structural health and future of any building depends on many variables….
Since the tragedy this summer in Surfside, Florida, building managers and condo boards have been reviewing the cost of deferred repairs and their fiduciary responsibilities when it comes to facility safety and maintenance with greater scrutiny than ever before. But where to look first? There are many types of condos from high-rises to townhouses to….
Most Common Areas of Concern As a member of the board or the property manager, what element of the condo complex poses the greatest danger to the unit owners and liability to the association? Slips and falls during the icy season? Decks collapsing from rot? Electrical fires? Well, if you picked “decks,” you are almost….
By nature, Mainers are traditionalists. Images coming to mind include Bean rubber boots; grey shingled fishing villages; and plaid flannel shirts. Though these iconic elements reflect Mainer’s practical side, Maine’s condo communities are not immune to the beneficial changes building science and technology have to offer. Let us consider some of the new features and….
Criterium Engineers’ founder, Alan Mooney, P.E., R.S., was interviewed for an informative Condo Media article on reserve studies that we are sharing with you. Alan Mooney, P.E., R.S., will never forget how heated things got years after his firm did a reserve study for a Boston-area condominium. The good news? The association had the foresight….
Criterium Engineers was founded in the days when building plans were meticulously designed and drawn by hand. The dedicated engineer’s talisman—the plastic drafting triangle—could once be found on almost every drawing table in our offices. And while a clear plastic triangle might easily be lost on piles of white paper, bright orange drafting triangles always….
CAI’s Las Vegas event is fast approaching! Criterium Engineers’ team is headed to our first in-person trade show of 2021. The Community Associations Institute’s Annual Conference is being held at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, from August 18-21. Find our team at exhibit #326. Since 1980, homeowner associations across North America have counted on Criterium….
Southern Springs by Del Webb, located south of Nashville, in Spring Hill, Tennessee, is a brand-new 55+ community of various styles of ranch homes with a community lodge housing a fitness center and other amenities. Southern Springs engaged with Criterium Engineers to complete a transition study as their community transitioned from the development company to….
There is no condominium community asset more overlooked than its site walls. They literally become part of the landscape and seem to disappear, yet they are vital to the health of the community. They are sometimes called retaining walls or sometimes simply landscape structures, but in the hilly interiors of Maine or the rugged slopes….