Owners Corporation

Heller Street Park & Residences Owners Corporation is managed by MIA Property - Owner Corporation Specialist.

MIA Property

PO Box 290

North Carlton VIC 3054

Telephone

+61 3 9343 6888

Contact: Maria

www.miaproperty.com.au

Hi Maria,

Hope you're well.

We definitely don't want to proceed with the quote for 80 dektites and new whirly birds quote, as this work is not required. (Nearly fell off my chair when I saw the Plumbers quote for $14K!)

Just to give you some background, I have been working with a registered Plumber for the last 10 months doing roof maintenance, so I asked him to inspect the roof to see if he agreed with my observations/assessment and he did. (And another Plumber that just started working with him also inspected and agreed).

Whirly Birds

There are 4 whirly birds and all 4 are operating correctly and do not require any work at this stage. The whirly bird at #9 (Susy & Hiroshi) has been taped around the base to eliminate the noise and this has been successful. The actual whirly bird has no issues and it's where it is joined at the PVC pipe that is the issue. Additional screws would achieve the same outcome and some silicone at the join would help stabilise the unit. (I will add some extra screws in). The tape is also fine.

I have spoken to #9 and asked if they had any other issues other than the noise and they said no, I explained that I will monitor the situation and address any issues. The actual whirly bird is a standard off the shelf and it's the installation that is unique and not common. (The Plumber I work with said that the installation is genius!)

Dektites

Out of the 8 units, only 4 have tears in the garage exhaust dektite, however, the other 4 will continue to deteriorate. However, although the dektites have tears, the actual penetration at the roof is sealed with silicone, therefore, water is not penetrating the roof. I explained to Hiroshi that his dektite has been like that for over 3 years.

After speaking with James and Damian, I proposed that we recommend to the owners that they can use the Plumber that quoted at $287.00 per decktite or use the Plumber I work with. (His quote for all 8 is $237.00 per unit, but I am squeezing him to do it for $200 because it's my neighbors!)  Both of these quotes are based on 8 units, so that price may no longer be valid. I will be doing my own dektite and will offer this to owners at cost, which will be about $50.00. Alternatively, we can give them the details of another recommended MIA Plumber and they can get a quote.

Additional Maintenance

All of the dektites will continue to deteriorate, as they don't last forever, however, most of them are in good/reasonable condition. I have recommended to the committee that we purchase a product called Liquid Flash and I will apply to the dektites. This will provide additional protection and longevity. Cost is around $40 for 10 Litres. Down the track, we may review some of the dekties that are over thr roof ribs, as there is an option to use a flash back to provide a flat service for the dektite to sit on. (Not critical).

Other Work (FYI)

Whilst inspecting the roof, I noticed that Unit#1 had a small garden growing in their gutters on the East side of the building (Completely blocking the gutter Maria and full of succulents!). I raised this with the owner (Matt) and he said it was a line in the OC minutes for the last few years to have it cleaned. I explained that this is not common property and individual owners are responsible for this maintenance. This was an easy fix and I have cleared the gutters and just need to trim the neighbors bamboo on the East side to ensure leaves don't drop into the gutter. (I suspect a quote to clean this would be expensive due to the access, so I did it to save owners money. This roof is steeply sloped, not flat).

Apologies for the long email Maria, but just wanted to provide all the details for OC records.

Please let me know if there are any issues with the above suggestions and recommendations from an OC perspective and we can proceed to next steps.

John (Unit #8)

On behalf of Committee

EMAIL FROM MIA REGARDING ROOF

Dear Committee,

We received a quote back from Future Solutions to replace all dektites and whirlybirds across the rooves of all lots.

 

After discussion with Future Solutions, I have broken the quote up into individual and OC costs.

The initial quote was for eight dektites per roof. The plumber noted there were so many because of the aircon electrical cables, aircon piping, range exhaust, bathroom, etc. This was extrapolated for the 10 lots. I raised that 3 & 4 won’t need this work done, because of their upgrades, so that knocks off roughly 20% of the cost. Even with those excluded the cost would still be ~$12k. This would replace all dektites and whirlybirds across all rooves at once.

 

The reason they wanted an electrician to disconnect the cables is that they suggested it would be more affordable than using a type of flexible dektite, whereas the cost of getting a HVAC tech out to disconnect the pipes would be more than using the flexible dektites. Obviously replacing dektites is a longer term solution, but you may want to just silicon around many of those areas yourselves.

Range exhaust (attached photo):

To replace all range exhaust dektites the cost would be approximately $1600 for labour and $700 for the dektites – assuming replacing all eight at once.

 

Whirlybirds:

The approximate cost to replace all is -

$200/whirlybird and $500 or less for labour = $1500.

Only one needs to be replaced right now, but replacing all at once with OC funds would be more economical in the long term.

Cost breakdown excluding 3 & 4:

Assuming $12k for all-in-one job:

$1500 for whirlybirds from OC funds.

$10500 / 8 = $1312/lot for all dektites.

If only replacing the range exhaust dektites:

$2300 / 8 = $287.50/lot.

The figures above are approximations that would be subject to change. There would be minor changes to labour costs based on doing all as one job, or multiple visits if some owners want to go ahead or not. If you wanted to go ahead with either the all-in-one job or just a portion, we would have them requote to have a definite cost before doing so.

We can get an additional quote if necessary, and John you mentioned at the AGM that your friend may be able to quote as well.

Thanks,

Ben Reeson

Owners Corporation Manager