condominium – Copeland Building Envelope Consulting

How to Make Vinyl Siding Look Good

January 20, 2021January 20, 2021Matt

Let’s face it: vinyl siding often looks bad. At its worst, vinyl siding can appear cheap and impermanent. Because of this, it has developed a bad reputation with a lot of people, and they reflexively try to avoid it.

But vinyl siding has many benefits. It is relatively inexpensive to install, easy to maintain and easy to repair. It’s durable and comes in a wide variety of colors.

Vinyl siding is definitely not appropriate for all cladding applications. But for many homeowners, condominium trustees, and facilities managers vinyl siding can fill a need for a high-value, long-lasting easy-to-maintain wall cladding material.

If vinyl siding makes sense for your project in every way except for how it looks, then this post is for you. Over the course of several successful projects I’ve learned how to make vinyl siding look good. Now I’m going to share those tips and tricks with you.

Project Spotlight: Gateway Condominiums Masonry Repairs

November 10, 2020November 10, 2020Matt

The North Building at Gateway Condominiums in Beverly, MA has suffered from masonry deterioration at balcony columns since shortly after its original construction. The brick columns have exhibited widespread cracking and spalling, creating a maintenance problem as well as a potential safety concern.

7 Tips for a Better Condominium Building Envelope Project

December 19, 2019February 27, 2020Matt

Condominium building envelope projects can be some of the most rewarding work we do. We love connecting directly with residents, the people that live in the spaces every day, and helping them to make their buildings work better.

Condo projects also have their own unique challenges. We wanted to share tips from our experience to make your next condo building envelope project go more smoothly.

1. Communicate with the community.

The importance of communication during condo building envelope projects simply cannot be overstated. The community is the aspect of condominium work that sets it apart from most other construction projects.

Don’t Buy Replacement Windows

August 16, 2019March 10, 2020Matt

Protip: Don’t buy “replacement” windows.

If you need new windows, ask your contractor for “new construction” windows.

Yes, it will cost more. That’s because “replacement” windows don’t actually replace your existing window. They get installed inside of it. The old, often failed, window frame is still there (still leaking if it did before). “New construction” windows are actually… wait for it… new windows.