Removing items for reserves schedule

I wouldn't remove them but have them reevaluated. If they will last longer than 18 years (that was the current life expectancy) then just adjust accordingly.

Mind you it typically won't be the handles that fail but the mounting of the handles that fail.

Tim has a good suggestion. Re-evaluate them and give them a 100+ year life if necessary. Or if it's really appropriate and they should be considered lifetime items and not those that need to be replaced on a periodic basis, I wouldn't hesitate to motion to remove them. Your justification is sound and reasonable, so why track them, right?

Considering that the granite is decorative, how would that fit into a reserve study? What happens when it's simply out of date, rather than in a state of disrepair?

While stairwells may need maintenance, paint railings every x years, but they will never need to be replaced. This should be scheduled.



Its granite! It will never need to be replaced. You may want to schedule polishing or sealing, on a schedule, but granite doesn't get "old" or rot. Its already over a million years old.

You said you have "Granite-Clad" walls. Just because it's granite doesn't mean it won't break or have issues. Basically, you have Granite VENEERED walls and NOT solid granite. That means there is a chance of severe maintenance issues occurring long term.

We have a building in our town that is Granite Clad. It's about 10 stories high. Low and behold about 20 years later there started to be problems. Turns out that some of the granite slabs decided to fall off...You can imagine the danger of granite slabs falling off as people entered/exited the building. The building now has a covered walk way surrounding it's main entrances to protect people. The cost of which was NOT cheap. Plus they have to pay for the repairs of the ever hard to find replacement granite. Once one of these granite clad structures fail, they fail expensively and dangerously. I would suggest keeping this in the budget just maybe not contributing as much. That is if you have figured out how many years it would take you all to get the recommend money at a different rate of collection.

I've worked in the construction field some. Metal is one of those things that corrode over time and just decide to break. If you have two different metals touching eachother over time they create a heat sink effect which aids in the corrosion. This also happens with nails and the chemicals in some woods. Nails are important to have certain coatings or use certain types of metal for installation different materials. Moisture also plays a role in the longivity. Metal and concrete do interact over time which can cause deteriotion. Albeit not right away but over a long time spand you will see signs of it.

Again, get an expert to do a review. Modify the amount contributing if it's a bit much. Maybe expand to a 30 year plan instead of a 20. However, don't just eliminate the need for this in the long run. They will have issues and it will be expensive. It's good to have some fore thought as you would appreciate if the people before you did as well...

I really appreciate everyone's replies! I especially like Steve's idea of scheduling polishing the granite-tiled walls every few years. Don't think it's ever been done. It's also true, Steve, that if by some weird off chance, the granite veneer (that's probably good wording, Melissa) did fail, we can use any manner of materials. They are several walls involved in two lobbies.

Our Finance Committee met yesterday and voted to recommend to the Board that the two items be removed from the reserves schedule. They also recommended to the Board that polishing the walls be funded for '13 in our operating budget.

The only way the stair railings or the granite would ever fail would be in a huge disaster. Such disasters, "acts of nature," shouldn't be taken into account in reserves studies, according to the narrative in our newly completed full study.

The Fire Dept. inspects our premises every year and pays special attention to the stairwells at emergency personnel would, of course, use them in cases of fire. Building inspectors come by one a year too. Our 2 building engineers also "walk the stairs" once a month checking lighting, venting, railing safety, etc.

Railing painting: not only is railing replacement in the schedule, so is painting the 9,000 lineal feet of railings @ $30,000! The original paint is factory-baked and after 11 years is as good as new--again due to lack of use. We never will completely paint the railings and I'm going to suggest reducing the reserves amount and increasing the 15 est. life. When occasionally nicked, our engineers will touch up.

No, Paul, we don't have "deep pockets," and only are about 30% funded. We have about 10 million dollars worth of reserve items, and about 150 items on the schedule (lotsa blowers, motors, fans & HVAC components in these high rises). And we do reserve for "decorator items," like lobby furniture/lamps; elevator cab panels, which are indeed looking "dated" to my eye; gym mirrors, lighting sconces on the exterior of the buildings that still look attractive.

Yes, Kelly, we do not have any other infrastructural components on the schedule, e.g., all stucco walls, numerous common area windows, interior common area walls/ceilings.

Granite slabs cover the exterior of the bottom two floors--about 1/4 of the ground floor comprises commercial businesses. It would cost about $500K to replace and is not on our reserves schedule. This is very typical in downtown urban settings like ours on not only condos, but large low, mid & high rises buildings in our financial and government districts. The granite slabs are anchored to the concrete with stainless steel mounts, usually one mount at each corner of a slab, but more for larger slabs.

Thanks again to everyone for helping me think about this topic.