Latest News

A Pre-Lease Property Condition Report Pays For Itself!

pre-lease property condition assessment

Criterium Engineers provides the straightforward evaluation required for an extensive Pre-Lease Property Condition Report (also referred to as a property condition assessment) for clients looking to lease buildings of all sizes. They are especially useful for Triple-Net Lease negotiations. Be Informed! Investing in due diligence and being an informed lessee provides greater confidence in the….

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Foundation Forensics

Cracks in foundations are by far the most common structural complaint raised in either reserve fund studies or transition studies.  They can occur in the youngest or newest condo building.  As condo documents usually assign the maintenance responsibility of their repair to the association, board members and property managers take them very seriously.  Maine condo….

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Cinamon Building: It’s Not About the Spice!

Cinamon Building Portland Maine

Congratulations to our clients Jim & Rebecca Henry, represented by Josh Soley of Maine Realty Advisors, on their recent purchase of the Cinamon Building at 1 Pleasant Street in downtown Portland, Maine. The historic structure built in 1900 is named not for the aromatic spice, but instead for the longtime owners—the Cinamon family—with a slight….

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Michael Pritchard Joins Criterium Engineers Team

Michael Pritchard - new employee

Michael Pritchard recently joined the Criterium Engineers team. Michael graduated from the University of Maine in Orono in May with a degree in Construction Engineering Technology where he had internships in project management and construction, in areas similar to some of our market areas. He is from Scarborough, Maine, and based at the Criterium Engineers….

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Solar Panels — Right For Your HOA?

solar panels - the power of the sun shown through hands shaped a hear

Solar panels may be an option for your community. Legislative incentives are available in states around the country.  There is a growing consensus that climate change is real and its consequences will have significant impact on our quality of life and regional economic future. While the cause of climate change may be debated, its potential….

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Burning Questions & Fire Safety Checklist

Fire Safety checklist - burning match

⇒Go to checklist The words ‘safety or security’ mean different things to members of a condominium or HOA community.  While the board or property manager may be focusing on the common element safety dangers such as the pool or the walkways/ paved surfaces, unit owners’ biggest concern is unit security and household accidents.  In reality,….

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Hurricane Season is Here—Are You Ready?

The team at Criterium encourages commercial and residential property owners, property managers, and HOA board members to prepare for the hurricane season which begins each year on the first of June for the Atlantic. The Central Pacific season forecast was announced on May 18. This year’s Atlantic seasonal forecast was recently announced by NOAA’s Climate….

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Did You Win? Maine Lobster Dinner for 4 and 2 LL Bean Totes

cai expo 2019 winners

We loved meeting hundreds of attendees at our trade show booth at the Community Associations Institute’s Annual Conference & Expo in Orlando last week. People like you—property & community managers, HOA board members and many others—asked us lots of great questions about reserve studies, transition studies and the many other consulting engineering services we can….

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Fire-Rated Assemblies – Building Science Webinar

Fire-Rated Assemblies presentation

Welcome to Criterium Engineers’ educational Building Science webinar series. In this episode, Scott Forbes discusses fire-rated assemblies as part of construction basics. We’ll look at high-risk conditions in attached and detached residential construction and other important topics associated with fire-rated assemblies. If you have questions about this presentation, contact us. Presented by: Scott Forbes, Vice….

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Water, Water, Everywhere

Typically when I am discussing water problems with the condo’s property manager or the board, the focus is on leaking roofs, foundations, windows, or other building envelope points of water infiltration.  Instead, this article’s focus will be on water damage problems from inside sources and their prevention. It is hard to talk about inside water….

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