Roof & Gutters Update

Today's e-mail to the condominium association. I'm not a knowledgeable homeowner but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

"By now you've probably noticed that the shingles are completely installed, and residents may resume parking in our lot. I submitted the following known follow-up items to McEntire on Friday:

1. Gutter piles on the west side and southeast corner - should be picked up today.

2. Sawhorse/work materials in courtyard - the siding that extends above the roof ("flashings") had been tarred into place rather than being nailed. The tearing that naturally resulted has required some additional work on their part (free of charge), and they are hoping to wrap that up soon.

3. Patches of brown grass throughout - should recover with rains

4. Concrete parking block on west side moved out of place

5. Railroad tie, bricks and handrail on west side steps

6. Cracked concrete outside unit #16 (caused by truck)

7. Water damage to ceiling of unit #7 - they can supply the painter, if we choose the paint

We now have CertainTeed 50-year shingles for a cost of $56,134.43. By locking in the price last fall, we saved about $50/square or $12,500 in total. The final part of the bill will be for the large dumpsters that they brought in.

McEntire will be out of town all next week. During that time, I'd like it if residents could submit any additional items they notice that need attention so that the above list can be completed. I think that they will work with us, they seem very interested in their reputation from this project.

Rainbow Gutters visited this morning, and they are flexible. Mike (son-in-law of Gary, the owner) has been in the business for about 17 years. He thought that 5" gutters should suffice for a roofing system our size. He also thought that gutter screens, in time, would pay for themselves, as it might cost a couple hundred dollars per visit for someone to clean them otherwise. The per-foot rates of $2.90 for gutters and $2.20 per screen are discounted from their normal rates (which sounds legitimate, given how competitive their prices were relative to the other bid we'd received). Like McEntire (also from Lincoln), I think they're trying to establish good word-of-mouth in the area.

The existing gutters and downspouts appeared in good enough shape (about half of the gutters and all of the downspouts are still in place). If we want them, screens are probably only needed on about half of the gutters, since many have no nearby trees. They are also in the business of gutter-cleaning, so my initial thought was:

Put up 600 feet of 5" gutters where none currently exist: $1,740

Put up 600 feet of screen (units 1-13, 20-21, 28-29, 32): $1,320

Clean gutters/downspouts: No additional charge (!)

Tighten up brackets on some loose gutters (about 6 units): No additional charge

Replace a handful of crushed downspouts, such as unit #16

Clearly (see unit #31 from the courtyard) there are some places where the wood has rotted. As Mike comes across these, he'd let us know and he would fix them for an extra charge. We didn't spy many instances like these while circling the complex a few times.

It would seem that the job would cost under $4,000. As time passes we could see how effective the combination of screens/downspout cleaning worked and take additional steps as necessary. I think that they would be able to get out here within a week or two if we approve, and complete the work in less than 2 days.

The assessments collected totaled $83,200. This would appear to be enough to cover the two planned and one unplanned expenses:

Roof: $56,134.43 + ? for dumpsters
Gutters: $4,000.00
Pool: $18,256.84"