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Accell Advisor
Beat the Bug!
By Villa Park Landscape

The

Red VinesI love em!

By Bill Butler, PrimeCo Painting and Consruction
vines on buildings, not so much. Vines on buildings may be attractive to people for a variety of reasons. Some folks like the old world charm that ivy covered buildings have. Others feel that greenery on buildings hide some of the hard angles, giving the structure a softer appearance. Some communities use thorny vines as a deterrent to unwanted visitors or to restrict passage to certain areas. While those are certainly options, they come at a cost to the building and add to the cost of maintenance. In the photo above, you can see that the vines have actually grown up through the roof. This might be a bit unusual to see on a metal roof like the one shown because the gaps in the roof are pretty small. In a Spanish tile roof or something similar, it is very easy for vines to grow up into the roof tiles, causing damage. Bougainvillea and other vines that develop a very strong branch structure can easily develop under the tiles, wreaking havoc. Vines that attach themselves to the building structures are damaging for a couple of reasons. Number one, as they become developed and more dense, they create a microclimate that keeps the underlying wood or masonry surface more moist than exposed surfaces. This may lead to premature failure of those surfaces, necessitating repairs or replacement. When it comes time to paint, they should be removed to fully coat and protect the buildings surface. Vines that have roots that attach to the surface are particularly troublesome. The only way to effectively remove the roots is to burn them off with a small hand torch. This is very laborious and costly and it cant be done on wood surfaces, for obvious reasons. Vines are a great landscaping option but their use on buildings should be carefully considered. If they are used, it is better to have them on some sort of trellis structure, away from the building where they provide the desired look, without the undesirable effects.

As we delve into spring, the weather begins to warm up and flowers begin to bloom. These new blooms attract insects that thrive off depleting the nutrients out of plants, which will quickly turn fresh, green foliage into a wrinkled chlorotic. A common type of insect, leaf miners have yellow stripes and lay their eggs on the surface of leaves, meanwhile the larva are yellowish and worm-like. Spider mites like to lay their eggs at the base of plants and on leaves. This insect feeds upon the leaves causing yellowing, which begins at the veins and will eventually cover the entire leaf surface. It is important to begin treatment as soon as an infestation is recognized because it becomes increasingly difficult to treat and control once it is widespread over multiple plants. Various insects and predatory mites feed on spider mites and provide a high level of biological control. Sometimes when biological control is not enough, it is important to use an inclusive insect control program, which will avoid killing the predatory mites.

THE ACCELL ADVISOR

SPRING 2013

CLAC Corner: AB 1360 Electronic Balloting Bill Authored by Norma Torres

By the CAI-California Legislative Action Committee

On February 22, 2013, AB 1360, a bill to make electronic balloting an option for common interest developments (CIDs), was introduced into the California Assembly, authored by Assemblymember Norma Torres and sponsored by the California Legislative Action Committee (CLAC).

Current law requires community associations to follow a double-envelope process for elections. AB 1360 would permit the use of electronic voting, adding an additional option to election procedures, reducing costs for community associations, and helping to increase voter participation.

Currently, common interest development association elections are subject to specific procedures, which are more restrictive than other non-profit corporations. In 2006, SB 1560 passed and although it was designed to improve the way elections were performed, it also dramatically increased costs, as the entire election process must be now be repeated until a quorum is achieved. This forces associations to spend thousands of dollars each year to conduct elections, which could instead be used to help maintain properties and the interests of community members. Kelly Richardson from Richardson Harman Ober, PC, was involved in developing this bill: As our society becomes more reliant upon the Internet, the Davis-Stirling Act sometimes falls behind. I drafted this bill because it seemed incongruous that all other non-profits in California, including several of my clients, use electronic voting while common interest developments are barred. AB 1360 will, if enacted, help save money, conserve resources and make it easier for citizens to participate in the governance of their communities. To be kept up-to-date on the progress of the bill, please visit our CLACs website at www.CAICLAC.com.

THE ACCELL ADVISOR

SPRING 2013

Hear No Evil, See No Evil The Power of Temptation

By Smith Architects

It is amazing the things you notice when you are forced to look. Time and time again we come across repair work that falls far short of code compliance or good workmanship. After doing this a few years, we have developed a theory of temptation. We believe that everyone has a temptation threshold, some very high, some very low. Board members may be tempted to keep their costs down by ignoring needed repair work or accepting less than safe or code compliant work (hear no evil, see no evil). Contractors may be tempted to do less than they know is needed for a proper repair to avoid having to ask for more money or because they do not have time to wait for formal approval from a Board of Directors that only meets once a month. Project managers and construction managers may be tempted to work too closely with the general contractor and forget who they are representing. The only way to keep temptation at bay and maintain healthy working relationships is to make sure there is a process in place to manage temptation. Regardless of whether it is a large project or small project, checks and balances are needed. Someone other than the City Inspector should be checking the work. Someone other than a single Board Member, or construction manager should be checking the contracts, invoices, change orders, schedule and work scope. Contractors and project managers should report to the Board of Directors. Their reports should be clear, easy to follow and current. If permitted, we make sure we walk the Board through every aspect of the project briefing to make sure they understand what we are disclosing to them. This commitment to communication carries over from design and planning through construction. Frequent inspections are made of the work in progress and if disputes arise, they are disclosed and resolved with all members of the project team (Board, management, project management and general contractor) involved. Below is a little photo essay of some of the evidence to support our temptation theory.

1. BAD REPAIR This photo illustrates a deck that was scheduled to get nothing more than new plywood decking, flashing and deck coating. When the plywood decking was removed, the evil of previous repairs was exposed. Look carefully at the photo and you can see that the ragged old dry rotted joists and rotted beams (dark wood) were left in place by the previous contractor. The previous contractor placed new joists next to the old ones and then covered the problem with plywood and deck coating. The unit owner was lucky there had not been a party on the deck. It may have failed if there were more than a few people on the deck at one time. 3

2. THE EFFECT OF BAD REPAIR Here is the deck after the new contractor removed all of the wood failing from dry rot. As you can see, it was a total tear down and rebuild of the deck and posts supporting the deck.

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THE ACCELL ADVISOR

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SPRING 2012
3. THE NEW DECK TAKING FORM Although the project is a week behind schedule the Board and residents are pleased and relieved to know that the deck is being repaired properly and will be safe to walk on. 4. JUST THROW MORE WOOD AT IT Here is an example of a failing cantilevered deck; cantilevered means that it was originally designed and constructed without support posts. Wood is warping and failing. You can see the exposed cantilevered deck joist projecting from the stucco wall. The previous parties involved apparently felt a new post where there had never been a post before was the answer, or no one was watching. We wont bore you with the details of structural engineering, so lets just say we were relieved that no one was hurt.

5. INCOMPLETE DECK COATING Here is a deck recently resurfaced. You can see the gray color of the undercoat in the foreground and the tan finish coat in the background. The contractor stopped mid-way through the deck coating and represented the work as complete.

6. COVERING UP FAILED SYSTEMS Here is an example of a recently resurfaced deck. The only problem is that the vertical guardrail supports have failed completely leaving about 12 lineal feet of railing without any structural attachment to the deck. Because there was insufficient supervision, the deck coating contractor completed his work without waiting for the guardrail to be repaired. Now the railing must be repaired and the deck coating around the vertical support cut and patched which will invalidate the deck warranty.

7. NOT A COMPLETE JOB In this photo you can see where the painting contractor painted not just the walls but the trim, fascia and eaves with the dark stucco color. For a project in progress this would be normal because the white trim paint would follow. The only thing wrong is the contractor is billing for a complete job.

Quick Tips for Managing Temptation: Be sure to schedule regular inspections of the work. If needed, secure the services of an independent consultant, project manager, roofing expert, etc. Require the consultant to provide written reports with photos if needed. Be diligent in maintaining the project paperwork. Large projects should have the schedule, invoices, change orders, lien waivers and project budget reviewed weekly. If possible, set up regular project meetings with the Board outside of the regular monthly Board meetings. We limit these project Board meetings to just the project topics such as budget, change orders, schedule, design considerations and safety. Minutes are taken and distributed to all attendees. Copies of all project documentation are provided to the Board of Directors. Be sure the Board understands what they are reviewing. Some repair quotes are very complicated and very confusing because they look more like a grocery list or recipe for repair rather than a clear depiction of the repair results. Does the Board really care how may deck joists will be used or the amount of plywood to be used or do they want to know that they are getting the entire deck reconstructed with new materials and a deck coating that will have a 10 year warranty. Be sure the contractor is obtaining the required permits. We were asked to assist a project suffering from poor workmanship at midpoint in construction. We were not surprised to find that no permits were pulled and the contractor insisted that none were needed. The City Building Official agreed with us; permits and inspections were required. Dont take shortcuts or kick the can down the road, someone could get hurt and it will be very hard to convince a judge that the short cut was justified.