AE Design Solutions / Architectural Engineering Design Solutions


Anyone had experience with them?

Categories: Architects
By sirk98 | 03/14/2011 3:36 PM | Comment

Exterior Inspection


Hi all,

The management company has an architect that they recommend to inspect the exterior of the building to give us a ‘laundry list’ of repairs we will need to make.

My question is this: We know we want the architect to review every elevation, plus the roof to tell us what repairs we should make in the short, medium and long term; what should we put on the SOW?

This architect was MUCH cheaper than any that I was able to find on my own… I want to make sure we get what we want (not an apple when I am thinking we need an orange, so to speak).

Any help is more than appreciated!

K

Categories: Architects
By sirk98 | 02/23/2011 1:45 PM | Comment

Getting an exterior assessment by an architect…


Hi all,

The management company has an architect that they recommend to inspect the exterior of the building to give us a ‘laundry list’ of repairs we will need to make.

My question is this: We know we want the architect to review every elevation, plus the roof to tell us what repairs we should make in the short, medium and long term; what should we put on the SOW? I dont want to list every little thing… Yet…

This architect was MUCH cheaper than any that I was able to find on my own… I want to make sure we get what we want (not an apple when I am thinking we need an orange, so to speak).

Any help is more than appreciated!

K

Categories: Co-Op Related
By sirk98 | 02/23/2011 11:40 AM | Comment

options for putting a roof deck on a coop


Hi all,

I was wondering if folks had any advice on coming up with options for putting a roof deck on a large coop…

We are in Bay Ridge. Going to need to do something to (a) minimize noise that folks would hear on top floor and (b) have some kind of fencing as the roof is relatively unprotected in terms of someone falling off

Any and all advice appreciated!

Categories: Decks
By sirk98 | 01/04/2011 1:26 PM | Comment

Bay Ridge iron restoration?


anyone have experience with them?

Categories: Iron
By sirk98 | 12/21/2010 9:37 AM | Comment

An Engineer or an Architect?


I am on the board of a coop in Bay Ridge. We have had waterproofing issues over the last four years (at least).

The Board has decided to hire someone to examine the entire building and let us know everything that needs to be addressed in the short and longer term.

My question is should this be an Engineer or an Architect?

I would think a licensed engineer would be the right person, but I am not sure…

Anyone work with someone that does this kind of work? What was that like? All advice appreciated!

Thanks!
K

Categories: Engineer
By sirk98 | 11/30/2010 4:20 PM | Comment

Co-op ‘Typicals’


I know no two buildings are the same, and I got some great info on the Co-Op board here, but I thought I’d cross post here as well:

I am new to the Board on a coop in Bay Ridge. We have more than 60 units in our building.

I am wondering what the ‘typical’ reserve fund in our area looks like? (on the other forum, I heard 6mon-1 year operating costs as one option)

Also, I am curious if it’s typical, when refinancing a coop, to enter into an agreement that binds us to keep our reserve fund at the bank issuing the mortgage?

As the sponsor owns the management company, I am wondering if we should consider hiring our own accountant to review the books? I have no sense of any impropriety on the part of the management company, but it strikes me as a conflict of interest. That we use the same accountant and lawyer that the sponsor put in place decades ago also makes me a little uneasy…

Any comments would be appreciated!
k

Categories: Management
By sirk98 | 11/18/2010 1:09 PM | Comment

Home maintenance course?


I saw a post about NHS… Anyone aware of something similar being offered in or around Bay Ridge? Would be good to work with someone to learn sheet rocking, electrical, etc…

Categories: Maintenance
By sirk98 | 11/18/2010 11:03 AM | Comment

Coop Board Information Share?


Hi everyone…

I am on the Board of a coop in Bay Ridge, and was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction here…

I am realizing that I have to take a lot of what the management company tells me at face value (it costs X dollars to do this or that… You dont need that much in the reserve account, etc).

It is not that I dont trust the management company, I would just like to speak to other folks on Board to hear of their experiences… I like to do my homework, I guess..

So I was wondering if there are any Board associations, or bulletin boards or anything like that where we might share war stories and also learn from one another…

Any help would be appreciated!

K

Categories: Co-Op Related
By sirk98 | 11/17/2010 9:06 AM | Comment