Yesterday an owner came to see me. This is an Owner for whom I have a great deal of respect and so I listened to what was said carefully. The view was taken that too many 'cheap shots' are thrown at Phil Galiano in particular, and, as far as this Owner is concerned, CBH should be mindful of the many improvements and ideas for further enhancements that Phil Galiano has brought to Coral Beach Hotel. This Owner also expressed the view that the vitriol heaped upon Board Members will never encourage any Owner to volunteer as a Board Member or even help on a Committee if asked. I suggested that much of the 'heat' was generated through the lack of 'light' or transparency of this Board. I also suggested that most of the ill-tempered debate and questioning made by owners in comments on the blog could have been avoided if the Board had done what they said they would do and communicated regularly with owners about their spending and their plans. I think we agreed on this point.
Of great concern was the possibility of Phil Galiano somehow being prevented from completing the experiment on the re-surfacing of the terraces. I was both surprised and interested to hear that this Owner has personal experience of a similar situation where a concrete screed was placed over a membrane on a flat roof in order to achieve a shallow slant which encouraged water runoff to the downspouts. This was done on a building not too far away from CBH in the late 1980's and is still working satisfactorily. The actual test of CBH's experiment will only be resolved during next years rainy season and, if it works, I agreed that everyone at CBH will be delighted.
So this is the nub of the matter as it was put to me: setting aside all other concerns, if a solution to the terrace problem is to be found, the Owner believes Phil Galiano is the only person with the energy and interest to find it right now!
And one thing we did both agree upon absolutely is that the top priority for CBH should be to get the complex wind and water-tight.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
This is to respond to the comments from the owner who believes Phil Galiano is the only person with the energy to fix the leaky terrace roofs. I have been very concerned about Phil’s approach to the terrace roofs (scupper boxes, adding weight of leveling concrete and ceramic tiles) since he first told me about his ideas in March of 2005. Most recently I contacted the engineer Mr. Will Turon, Tacoma Engineering to review Phil’s approach. Regrettably but understandably, Will declined to give an opinion because of specific directives from B&G Committee to maintain confidentiality. However, Will did offer the following comment and I quote, “I would not want to be the guinea pig for an experimental roofing system.”
Subsequently, a week ago, I wrote an e-mail note to Bruno Rufa urging him to immediately seek the advice of a structural engineer roofing specialist (owners will of course recall that this was promised in the “August 1 Update”.) The above structural engineer’s comment, I think is something critically important to think about. Also, one of the primary stipulations from Tacoma Engineering’s Spalling & Painting Project Report was to ensure the scupper boxes were located in the low point of the roof. The fact that they were not does not instill much confidence in Phil’s energetic implementations.
Ted Mulvihill
I am very interested in your article about the re-surfacing of the terraces. To the owner who has the knowledge of a concrete "screed" dating to the '80...a few questions. How thick was the concrete pour? What type of concrete was used? The concrete Phil is using is 94 Lbs./bag. If 30 bags are used on a terrace it is 2820 Lbs. plus tile. Tacoma report states OUR factor of safety for our floor slabs is marginal. I am told that a "screed" pour is usually thin. Phil's first pour was 3 inches thick and thicker where the slab is sagged. We ALL want a solution...but a SAFE one! We have several knowledgeable owners in this field, with drive and energy and great concern for Coral Beach.
Dr Susan Roche
Flat roof assemblys such as we have at Coral Beach encounter very serious uplift forces from hurricane force winds. Roof systems in Florida for example and located within HVHZ ( high velocity hurricane zones ) must have stringent specifications that have all passed the Miami Dade Building and or Florida Building code requirements and product and application testing labratories. Engineering and specifications are very different than normal building practices used on inland structures. I would feel much more comfortable if I could see the engineers report and specifications for the project of reroofing at Coral Beach. We are located in a serious HVHZ being on an island in the Atlantic...Marty Untch
A couple of thoughts in response to this owner's concerns:
1. You reap what you sow. While I agree that this blog has been a platform for people to heap criticism upon Bruno and Phil, much of this behavior has been engendered by B&P's heavy handed/punitive tactics over the past two years which have been accompanied by a little or no information being funneled to owners. It's really hard for many people to have much sympathy.
2. Is Phil the only one who can save our roofs? I doubt it. Nevertheless, I am thankful that someone is attempting to fix the problems. I have to question, though, whether Phil has made himself "indispensable" by tackling this project alone, limiting the flow of information and generally refusing to be accountable to anyone other than himself and Bruno.
3. The serious technical questions raised by the other bloggers seem to weigh in favor of dissemination of information to owners and some assurance that these important decisions as to what roofing system to use are not being made solely by one person.
4. Lastly, I would like to remind all owners that board members have a duty to behave prudently when making decisions. They are not required to insure that all of their decisions are correct, only that they have been made in a reasonable and prudent manner. Even the best intended decision made with information that seemed reasonable at the time can backfire or seem imprudent after the fact. It is hard to determine whether these standards are being met when the BOD fails to make available to the owners information as to what options are available and which course of action is recommended by the BOD and why.
Unbridled and unfocused "energy" is a dangerous thing. It wastes time, energy and money. So far,it is costing all of us hundreds of thousands of dollars while Phil is tinkering around,"experimenting" with our money.
All that energy should have been directed to researching and consulting with roofing experts (which Phil is definitely not) BEFORE any repairs had been attempted. Those experts should have included roofing engineers and structural engineers to ensure the effectivenes and safety of the repairs. But it is obvious Phil thinks of himself as an expert and doesn't think he needs to consult with anyone who really knows how to repair roofs. This is insanity...which, come to think of it, can also be characterized by unbridled, unfocused energy.
Post a Comment