Dry Rot and Financial issues

My thoughts about the power point presentation that explained the necessary upcoming assessment.

First of all, how do they KNOW that the dry rot in roof framing will escalate 10% per year (see slide 21 of the PPT file)?

Where are they pulling this number from? They've stated numerous times that they cannot guarantee what has caused the roof structure damage, even though several experts have looked into it. So they're saying that nobody can say what caused the damage, yet they can say with certainty that it will grow at the rate of 10% per year?

Plus, they DO know what caused the damage, or at least all the contributing factors. I think it's more a case of not knowing which causes were the most significant. They know there was improper ventilation which led to condensation and thus dampness that then leads to mold and dry rot. They also know that the HardiShake roofing material proved to be inadequate, and caused leaks and other damaging factors.

But to come out and say that the rate of decay will be 10% per year seems ludicrous!

A document put out by the Building Research Establishment that details dry rot states:

"Growth: Whilst timber needs to be wet for growth to be initiated, at moisture contents of around 22% existing mycelial growth ceases and the fungus will eventually die; decay just above 22% is likely to be very minimal."

So, why can't we repair the ventilation on ALL quads right now, and thus slow down or perhaps even stop the dry rot growth?

This same document goes on to say:

"Growth rates of up to 4 metres per annum have been recorded; in other cases the organism may only have spread a few millimeters in the same period of time. However, Building Research Establishment give a figure of about 0.8 meters per year as a general purpose maximum growth rate (BRE Digest 299) and Coggins (1980) gives a general figure of about 1 meter per annum. Because there are large variations in growth rates, the age of an outbreak cannot be positively determined. The problem is further complicated since it is not always possible to tell if an outbreak is the result of a single outbreak or the coalescing of numerous outbreaks."

OK, so we're talking anywhere from 13 feet per year to less than an inch per year! It then goes on to say that the Building Research Establishment gives a general purpose maximum growth rate of just under 3 feet per year. Bottom is this... one cannot say with any certainty how fast dry rot will progress!

Then they state that the projected material and labor cost will nearly double over a project 15 year period versus completing it in 5 years. Again, where are they pulling these numbers from? The roofing material is actually a small percentage of the total cost of doing a roof, being only about 10%. So what if the cost of materials increase? The total impact on doing a roof goes up minimally. As for the cost of labor going up, I would argue that if anything, the labor is probably cheaper now than it was a year or so ago. And notice they are NOT saying that this will all increase just a small amount, but are saying it will DOUBLE!

So the board is operating on two assumptions, both of which seem to have very little merit. And yet they are using these two factors to justify a project that will cost each us $13,000!!!

Accelerating the roofing plan will put us into a $7.1 million hole, and based on the fact that one CANNOT put much significance on the two issues they are throwing at us, namely the dry rot growth rate and the doubling of the cost in 15 years, then why do it?

The other factor driving this cost through the roof (sorry, couldn't resist that one), is that the HOA is taking over the cost of repairing the roof structure, WHICH IS AGAINST THE CC&R! Are there REALLY people out there with over $13,000 repairs needed on their one unit? I've seen pretty ghastly pictures of some of the roofs, but not being a contractor I can't say that they were to the tune of $13,000. However, the CC&R is clear in that each home owner is responsible for THIER roof structure, NOT EVERY ONE ELSES!!!

So, what would happen if we did this:

- Stick to the original 15 year roofing plan. The dry rot growth rate and doubling of costs is crap and cannot be depended on to provide a solid answer.

- If there really is a huge concern that inadequate ventilation is going to lead to accelerated dry rot, then can't additional ventilation be provided somehow NOW on all the quads?

- Have each home owner pay for their own structural damage as stated in the CC&R.