Building Envelope Maintenance Reviews & Reports

Regular maintenance reviews are a useful tool in getting the longest service life out of your building components. Typically, a review involves looking at a large portion of the building exterior, up close. From the roofing membranes, to flashings, sealants, windows, deck membranes and dryer vents, all of the components are visually assessed in order to determine their current condition.

The following excerpt from CSA S478-95 Guidelines on Durability in Buildings outlines the benefits of a maintenance program.

"For given materials and constructions exposed to identical loads, the design service lives for similar buildings are adjusted depending on the amount and nature of maintenance that the owners commit to carry out during the lives of the completed buildings." Maintenance is defined in this document as "The actions and measures taken periodically to maintain a desired level of performance. Maintenance includes a planned program of cleaning, repair, or replacement of identified components such as paint or gaskets."

Our maintenance reviews are intended to report on areas of material degradation, aging, damage, signs of improper performance, or potential problem areas. Our reports include descriptions of problem areas, as well as notes on areas reviewed. Where applicable, photographs are included for clarity. Manufacturer’s maintenance information will be referred to where available.

Maintenance reviews generally do not cover every single detail or piece of material on the building. A large enough portion of the building is typically examined, in order to provide an indication of the materials condition throughout the project. This involves looking at all of the typical details or conditions, on all elevations of the building. The maintenance review is not destructive in nature, and does not involve cutting or boring through exterior components.

Maintenance reviews can vary in scope, but should go beyond just walking around the perimeter of the building or entering a few suites. Our building reviews include a close up look at materials, and in the case of hi-rise buildings, BEMCO personnel will scale the side of your building, viewing exterior components from a bosun’s chair or ladder. When it come time to provide a quotation on the work to be carried out on a building, the observations made by an individual viewing the balcony of 1% of the suites in a building is really of no help at all. While there is a balance between too little, and too much inspection, the more thorough the review, the more accurate the pricing for repairs will be. At BEMCO we believe we have a program that provides a thorough review at a reasonable price.

Upon completion of our review, a full written report of our findings is issued along with photographs, and where possible, observation notes as well as the areas of concern shown on elevation drawings.