Roof Maintenace

Should Association do Roof Maintenance every year?

My community (Townhome) has 138 units and it was built in the year of 1978. The roof was replaced in the year of 2001. The weather here in CA is very good.

Thanks Gloria for your response. I meant my association wants to have a company do maintenance once a year and it costs about 4,000 dollars a year. I think we don't need to do that, do you?

HanhN1,

THE SCENARIO BELOW IS HYPOTHETICAL BUT BASED UPON REAL FIGURES:

Let's say for the sake of argument that the expected life-span of your 138 townhouse roofs was 20 years. Given that they were replaced in 2001 you now have anywhere from 13 to 14 years left to fund for the next replacement, not 20 years. Roof replacement costs depend, of course, on the scope of the replacement. Many associations opt to replace just the shingles and not the wood sheathing and other roof mechanicals. They may get away with that on the first replacement, but probably not the subsequent replacements.

My COA has 125 townhouses, the replacement cost for the entire roofs (shingles, sheathing, etc.) was estimated to be apprx. $926,000.00. Shingles alone estimated to be $524,000.00. If your roof structure, size, and wear and tear was exactly the same, your estimated cost $1,022,304.00 for entire replacement and $578,496.00 for the shingles.

I provide the above hypothetical so you can see how expensive roof replacement can be. Based upon those figures if you have 13 years left to fund for the replacement cost of all the roofs replaced at once you will have to transfer $78,638.77 to reserves each year. This equals $569.85 per household. Math is $1,022,304 divided by 13 years divided by 138 households.

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Reserve accounts are for replacement costs. Maintenance is different than replacement and is typically budgeted differently than reserves are. $4,000 to maintain 138 roofs per year may greatly reduce the eventual replacement costs in 13 years; $52,000.00 vs. $78,638.77.

Hope the above helps you in your analysis of your unique association.

BradP - Please explain what maintenance is unnecessary.

Thanks so much Brad. I agree with you.

BradP - As I stated an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Regular maintenance of anything can increase the life-span and prolong the need to use a large lump sum at a given point in the future. It's common sense. A car's oil eventually has to be replaced, a house's siding eventually should be power washed (properly), an air filter eventually should be replaced, aerating and thatching a lawn eventually should be done. Again, please provide an example where some maintenance is unnecessary.

Joe:

Maybe you should go back and read my post. I agree 100% that maintenance is essential on all things. However, by your post you seem to agree with me that sometimes timelines are not set in stone. Is it necessary to change the oil in your car every 3,000 miles, oil change places say yes, read your vehicle maintenance description and they will tell you that sometimes you can go up to 7,500 miles. Right there is an example of unnecessary maintenance if you go every 3,000 miles.

As I stated it will depend on the person you talk to, some of the roof maintenance being sold to this HOA may only have to be done every couple years and not every year, I don't know, I am not a roofer.

HanhN1: If you want a more direct response to your question, please post details on what type of roof maintenance you are speaking about--gutter cleaning, replacement of shingles, new gutters, etc. What?

HanhN1 - $4,000 a year for gutters would $28.98 per unit per year. Does your assoc. have an issue with gutters, is it heavily wooded? I would categorize cleaning the gutters once a year as reasonable maintenance but try to stagger it if not. Meaning $4,000 over two years, 69 units one year, 69 units the next, or those units in the most need first, so on and so forth.

Joe:

Not sure why you always have to be confrontational on here and twist everything around. Someone came on with a concern about the amount being spent on maintenance. We had little information to go on, my advice was to seek another opinion, never once did I say don't do it. With all things knowledge is power, another opinion never hurts anyone, if they come back with the same recommendation then you have comfort in the decision. If they come back with a different opinion then you have something to think about. That was my advice, not my expertise, sorry if I can't live up to your standards, I am just a volunteer like others trying to help others out with a different viewpoint.

HanhN1: Since you have now posted the details of 'roof maintenance' meaning gutter cleaning, IMO, $4,000 for cleaning the gutters of 138 units is certainly reasonable.

Since your townhome development is about 20 years old, I would think the trees are mature. Gutter cleaning is important for removing debris (leaves, twigs, dirt) so as not to clog the gutter and the rain and melting snow are free to flow through. If the debris is not cleaned out, it stops the water flow, the gutters can get heavy, possibly bend, and/or the fasteners can break loose from the weight.

Of course, as another poster stated, you could investigate the gutter guards/caps or screening material as preventative maintenance. You may want to inquire just to have a comparison on price vs. gutter cleaning each year.

BradP - You may see disagreement as confrontational, I take your response to my original question to be confrontational. Someone came on with a concern but also what I believe to be a predisposition that will be perpetuated based upon a response such as "some maintenance is unnecessary". We're here to learn and impart information. There are many that do not live up to my standards which are rather high I admit. My ethic is developed from over a decade of HOA/COA living and governing.

BradP - In response to my question, "Please explain what maintenance is unnecessary.", all you had to write was...Maintenance is necessary but when to maintain is the question. For example, if a car manufacturer says a car's oil needs to be changed every 7,500 miles in ideal conditions rather than the standard 3,000 miles that oil change providers tell you, it may be unnecessary to get the oil changed more frequently.... Instead you went on and on with four examples and the statement, "Would you like me to keep going?". As if you proved something, rather than re-state or expound upon (simply) what you really meant. I wasn't trying to be controversial in my original question, I was genuinely curious what maintenance is unnecessary. Sorry you took offense.