As we’re reaching the end of the summer, condo boards have a great opportunity window to prepare their properties for the colder months ahead. The start of fall is a great time to inspect key building areas, complete preventative maintenance, and address small concerns before they become major problems in the winter. From roofing and drainage systems to heating equipment and common areas, preparing early for winter helps protect the condo’s assets, improve resident safety, and ensure essential building systems are ready to perform when temperatures drop.
In this guide, we’ll explore the top maintenance priorities condo boards should focus on before fall arrives, helping your condo corporation reduce long-term costs, preserve property value, and enter the colder season with peace of mind.
5 Condo Maintenance Priorities to Ease Into Fall
1 – Inspect the Building Envelope
The building envelope, mainly composed of the roof, exterior walls, siding, windows, and doors, acts as the first line of defense against the changing weather conditions. The envelope protects the building from rain, wind, snow, and fluctuating temperatures, which is why spotting and addressing minor issues before the temperatures drop significantly helps prevent water intrusion, improve energy efficiency, and mitigate the risk of more extensive repairs caused by freeze-thaw cycles and severe weather.
As the building envelope includes multiple parts, condo boards should work with different professionals and look for different signs of wear and tear or damage:
- Roofing:
- Missed or Damaged Shingles: Inspectors look for missing or damaged shingles that can leave the building susceptible to water infiltration, which can cause leaks, insulation damage, and additional interior repairs.
- Flashing and Roof Penetrations: Flashing around vents, skylights, and other roof penetrations is inspected for gaps, corrosion, or signs of deterioration. Because these areas are common entry points for water to seep in, ensuring flashing is watertight can help prevent leaks during the fall and winter months.
- Drainage: Roof drains, gutters, and downspouts must be cleaned and clear of any branches, leaves, and other debris that can restrict water flow. With good drainage, there’s less risk of standing water, ice dams, and moisture buildup that can damage both the roof and the building’s exterior.
- Siding, Windows, and Doors:
- Cracks and Weather Damage: Inspecting the siding, trim, window frames, and exterior doors for cracks, dents, loose materials, or other signs of deterioration and damage caused by hail, wind, UV exposure, or normal wear can create openings that allow moisture to penetrate the building envelope and speed up deterioration.
- Seals and Caulking: Caulking and weather seals naturally deteriorate over time; that’s why it’s important to check on them during inspections and look for cracked, missing, or separated sealant around windows, doors, expansion joints, and other exterior openings.
- Moisture Intrusion Signs: Moisture may have already entered the building, and looking for signs of water stains, discoloration, mold growth, deteriorating exterior materials, or damp areas around windows and doors is essential to repairing these issues before winter and preventing more damage caused by freezing temperatures and repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
2 – Service Mechanical Systems
Mechanical systems like heating, plumbing and HVAC are essential to the comfort, safety, and daily operations of a condominium property, and need regular care throughout the year. Before temperatures begin to drop, boards ensure that heating, ventilation, and plumbing systems are inspected and serviced to reduce the risk of sudden breakdowns during the winter months.
- Heating System: Heating equipment is under high demand during the colder months, and a professional, pre-season servicing and inspection is key to identifying potential issues that could become a major problem compromising residents’ comfort and a headache for the board trying to find a solution under pressure.
Major components like boilers and furnaces should be inspected to verify they are operating safely and efficiently. Other key items during the inspection are checking other critical parts such as burners, heat exchangers, controls, and pumps for signs of wear or malfunction to ensure the system is reliable when the condo needs it most.
- HVAC and Plumbing: These systems are also fundamental to maintaining indoor comfort and preventing water-related damage.
- HVAC System: Maintenance items like cleaning and replacing the air filters ensure air quality and consistent airflow and heating performance throughout the building and reduce strain on the system.
The ventilation systems should also be looked at to ensure the air is circulating well throughout common areas during the time of the year people spend more time indoors. Issues like blocked vents, worn ductwork, or malfunctioning ventilation equipment can affect indoor air quality and reduce system efficiency.
- Plumbing System: Looking at vulnerable areas like mechanical rooms, common area plumbing and exposed piping for signs of leaks, corrosion, or moisture intrusion to take care of before winter will help avoid water damage and emergency repairs during freezing temperatures.
- Sump Pumps (Where Applicable): For properties equipped with sump pumps in common areas, fall is an ideal time to verify that the system is operating at full capacity. Testing the pumps, float switches, and backup power systems can help ensure the equipment works as expected during periods of heavy rain or quick snowmelt.
3 – Parkades and Common Areas
Parkades and common areas experience heavy daily use and are particularly vulnerable to wear from changing weather conditions. Inspecting these areas before fall allows the condo board to identify maintenance issues early, make the necessary repairs, and improve safety before snow, ice, and freezing temperatures increase the risk of deterioration or accidents that can translate to more expensive repairs or liability for the corporation.
Parkades
Besides constant vehicle traffic, parkades are exposed to moisture, road salt, and freeze-thaw cycles in the winter months. Pre-seasonal inspections are the best way to spot deterioration signs early and ensure the infrastructure is safe, functional and can withstand the harsh weather. During these inspections, it’s common to look for:
- Concrete Cracks: Larger and expanding concrete cracks and other signs of structural deterioration that may allow water to seep in.
- Expansion Joints: These joints form deliberate gaps allowing concrete structures to expand and contract without cracking as temperatures change. Over time, the joints can deteriorate, separate, or suffer damage, allowing water and road salts to enter the structure. Inspections help detect worn expansion joints and repair them on time, helping protect the parkade from moisture-related damage and extending its service life.
- Drainage Systems: Floor drains and catch basins should be inspected to ensure there are no blockages and that they are working well. Having effective drainage prevents standing water, reduces the risk of ice formation, and helps protect the concrete from moisture damage.
- Water Infiltration: Inspectors look for signs like damp concrete, stains, efflorescence, rust, or active leaks to detect water intrusion that can accelerate concrete deterioration and contribute to corrosion of reinforcing steel. Early detecting and repairing the places where water seeps in is essential to preserving the parkade’s structural integrity.
Common Areas
Common areas like walkways, stairways, and balconies should also be inspected before fall to ensure they remain safe for daily use and ready for winter weather. Inspecting walking areas for uneven pavement, loose pavers, damaged steps, or other conditions that could create trip hazards to repair them before snow and ice arrive is essential to reduce the risk of slips, trips, and falls.
Concrete surfaces are also inspected in the common areas to detect cracks, spalling, scaling, or other signs of wear caused by moisture, age, or repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Finding these deterioration signs early will help the board preserve the condo’s structure and avoid expensive repairs that can deplete the board’s funds. Lastly, other features like handrails, guardrails, balcony railings and lighting, although they may be like an afterthought, are actually essential to keep residents and visitors safe and need to be inspected to ensure they’re secure, properly anchored, and in good condition.
4 – Fire Safety Systems
Condo fire systems should be inspected regularly, and one of the best times of the year to do so is before fall, so boards confirm that all critical life-safety equipment is functioning properly and that any maintenance needs are addressed before winter. Testing and addressing maintenance issues in fire alarms, sprinklers, emergency lighting and exit signs will give board members the peace of mind of knowing that the building is prepared in the event of an emergency.
5 – Landscaping Prep
Preparing the condo’s landscaping for the cold helps protect the property from winter damage and reduces seasonal maintenance issues. A few preventative steps can make a big difference in improving drainage, protecting the building exteriors, and preserving the residents’ safety while circulating in the common areas:
- Irrigation and Drainage: Shut off the water supply and drain exposed lines to winterize the irrigation system and help prevent freezing. At the same time, ensure the grading, drains, and swales direct water away from the building to reduce the risk of pooling, ice formation, and foundation moisture issues during the winter.
- Trees and Vegetation: Prevent property damage in the condo by inspecting trees and shrubs to find out if there are any weakened, dead, damaged or overgrown branches and remove them before they could break under the weight of snow or wind. Other overgrown but healthy vegetation can be trimmed away from buildings, roofs, and walkways to reduce the risk of storm damage, prevent debris from clogging the drainage systems and ensure safe access to the condo all winter long.
Prepare Now and Avoid Winter Problems
Boards that take a proactive approach and prepare the condo to enter the colder months will help protect the property value and reduce or avoid unexpected repairs, emergencies, budget distress or resident complaints, undoubtedly making their volunteer job easier. Another way to simplify the board’s job and ensure seasonal maintenance is complete on time is partnering with a professional property management company. If you occupy a seat on your condo board in Calgary and want assistance with maintenance and other aspects of running a condo, we can help. Contact us to learn more about how we can support you.
