Status of Residential Unit Sprinkler Head Inspection -- PLEASE READ
Kathleen Tighe
Hi, everyone --
I wanted to give you all an update on the inspection of the sprinkler heads in your units that is being conducted by our contractor, Everon (formerly ADT). As you know, our sprinkler system is a critical part of our fire safety system. We became aware of a potential issue when a unit owner sought to remove a sprinkler head during a renovation. It was discovered by some combination of Everon and the City of Falls Church through the permitting process that the sprinkler head was a commercial head and not a residential head. Everon inspected the remaining sprinkler heads in that unit and found most of them were commercial.
As we understand it, commercial sprinkler heads trigger more slowly and dispense more water than residential sprinkler heads. Spray patterns from the residential heads are designed to promote occupant escape. Having commercial sprinkler heads in residential units is a fire code violation.
Based on the findings in the unit having the renovation, we began a unit-by-unit inspection. We still have not completed the inspection for 10 units. For those units, TJ will schedule a day for Everon to come out; we will need access to all of those units on that day to complete the inspection.
To date, Everon has found that 8 units on 4 different floors have varying counts of improper installation of commercial instead of residential sprinkler heads.
Everon also found 10 other units on 5 different floors with sprinkler head problems, including painted sprinkler heads, rooms lacking in required coverage, and furniture blocking sprinkler heads. These are also fire code violations.
It is important for the Association to move forward as soon as is possible to rectify these problems. Failure to have proper sprinkler coverage is a serious potential safety issue. We have notified our insurance carrier and have provided updates to the City of Falls Church fire marshal.
So, we now need to discuss the costs for this project and who bears them. There are three different categories of costs:
1. The costs for replacing, adding, or modifying the sprinkler heads. Consistent with our bylaws and condo law (and as confirmed by counsel), each unit owner will bear the costs for replacing, adding, or modifying the affected heads within his or her unit, including any needed pipe repair.
2. The costs for any needed repairs (drywall and paint) caused by the work. My understanding is that sprinkler head work is not a clean process and there may be a certain amount of damage to the drywall around the head. Those costs will also be borne by the affected unit owner. In this case, we recognize that a unit owner may want to hire their own contractor. That is fine. If they want us to find a contractor, we can do that too.
3. To do this work, Everon will have to drain the sprinkler system for each floor being worked on. During that time, the fire code requires that we go on fire watch during the night. That requires we hire a company to walk the relevant floor/floors. There may be other more general costs involved. The Association will bear all of these costs. The Association is already bearing the cost of Everon’s inspection to ascertain all of these problems.
The final cost for these repairs – both for the units and the Association – will not be fully determined until the work is completed. What I do know is that the cost will be lower if we perform the repairs all at the same time. Practically speaking, we would plan to do one floor at a time, and as much as possible, one floor right after another. We are hoping to combine permit applications and City inspections, which will save each unit owner money. Also understand, the sprinkler system for the entire floor will have to be drained even if Everon is working on just one unit. So, moving from unit to unit on that floor while the system is already drained is significantly more cost effective.
TJ will be reaching out to each affected unit owner that we know of so far.
Once we have the exact amount for each affected unit, that owner(s) will receive a written notice of amount owed.
I am sorry to have such bad news for many of you. I know you will all understand, though, how important it is that we get this work done.
Kathy
Kathleen Tighe
Hi, everyone –
This is a follow-up to my previous communication (see below) regarding the sprinkler head issue. As you will recall, we discovered that there were 8 units that had one or more sprinkler heads that were commercial instead of residential. Our inspection also found 10 additional units with other sprinkler head issues, such as painted heads, rooms lacking required coverage, and furniture blocking heads. All of these are fire code violations.
The original pricing received from Everon, our contractor, for the 8 units with commercial heads, treated each unit as a stand alone project, and assumed a separate permit would be pulled for each and that Everon would have to drain the sprinkler system for the floor 8 times.
That seemed a non-starter proposal to the Board and management. We engaged in discussions with Everon and Everon with the City of Falls Church. We achieved agreement on the following items:
1. We will treat this as one project, not 18. The water to the sprinkler system will be drained one floor at a time, and Everon will repair the sprinkler heads for all units on that floor; we will then immediately move to the next floor.
2. The City will only require one permit for the 18 affected units, with one inspection being done at the end.
3. Everon removed the costs for draining the system from the unit-specific costs as the Association will bear those costs.
As a result of the agreement on these items, costs savings were achieved for both the Association and the affected unit owners. For example, the original Everon quote for one of the 8 commercial head units was $6,853; the revised proposal is $2,800. For another of the units, the original quote was $7110, and the revised quote was $3,300. For some units, the delta was not quite as large because of the nature of the work in the unit.
Based on the Board vote last night, we are giving Everon the go-ahead. Once they have the permit from the City, TJ will schedule the project.
TJ will reach out to all the affected unit owners with the unit-specific costs for which you will be responsible. Two things to keep in mind:
1. As with all projects, there may be extra costs if there are unanticipated problems.
2. This work will require some cutting of the drywall around the heads. The prices quoted by Everon do not include repairs to the drywall or any needed painting. Unit owners may use a contractor that management will supply (the unit owners will pay that contractor directly) or use their own contractor to do this work. Just make sure your contractor knows not to paint your brand new sprinkler heads!
Kathy