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…
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
I suggest you find out as much about the problems yourself as you can – that’s what I did as a board member of a small co-op. You need to talk to a lot of people, and do some reading so as to be able to evaluate what people are telling you, in order to find out what will really fix it. You’ll likely get very different opinions about what the problem is, what will fix it, and at very different price points. They won’t all be right. You’ll need to sift through the answers you get to determine what to do. I’d talk to a few of each profession and see what they think. I’d start with getting information from people who will look at the building and talk to you about the problems for free, or for a small consultation fee only. Then, from that experience, you may indeed find a company that you trust to hire for the longer-term fix-up.
IF you hire an architect you will have a proffesional idea what to do.If you are going to hire a contractor to do what an architect sugest to do you can consider us to give a free estimate for what you need to take care. We are insured and special rigger licenced.M. Hamid Construction Co. 718-633-1500
Thanks for the advice! I’ll start snooping around for a larger firm with both architects and engineers on staff.
thanks for the recs, denton!
K
I’d recommend an architect as well. Find one that has experience with or a specialty in architectural forensics. If you’ve had the issues for as long as you say, and have ben actively seeking a solution (as opposed to having the super slather some Henry’s on it) its probably going to be tricky to find and possibly involve the failure of multiple components.
I would respectfully disagree with the first three posts. If there are building-wide issues that involve multiple problems, I would suggest you hire a larger firm that has both architects and engineers on staff with varying backgrounds. Here are two firms that I have worked with in the past and that have both done large complex projects:
Wiss Janney Elstner (wje.com). Ask for Doug Stivie
Exponent Inc. (exponent.com). Ask for Dave Perrazza or Mike Drerup.
Both of them should remember me.
For a multiple unit co-op, your best bet is to contact a firm that is experienced with buildings of the same type. There are both architects and engineers who do this type of specialized work, but I mostly know of architects.
Definitely an architect that has a good working relationship with an engineer (if needed) and a contractor.
I would recommend contacting an architect initially. If in review of the building, a scope of work requires that engineers be involved as well, they will inform you accordingly.
You’ll want an architect to assess your building and put together a scope of work.