Pipe Project Information
The Pipe Project had been on hold for several months while contract revisions were completed but as of January 27, 2023 the Pipe Project has restarted.
Wayne Beckham with Togala has been hired to be the Pipe Project Manager to oversee and communicate all things related to the Pipe Project. Wayne will keep the website as updated as possible but if you have questions please don't hesitate to reach out to him directly. His email is PipeProject@thebiltmoreterrace.com and his cell phone is 303-435-0158.
Minutes from the Pipe Project Meetings can be found on your Association Portal by clicking HERE
For many years, your Board of Directors and the Cast Iron Drainpipe Committee researched the best and most cost effective way to rehabilitate all the shared vertical & horizontal cast-iron drainpipes that run throughout Biltmore Terrace’s buildings & common areas. Your Association hired qualified professionals in the field of Trenchless Plumbing and two Project Managers for expert oversight and management. The project started in late 2021 but was placed on hold for contractual reasons in April 2022. The project resumed on January 27, 2023 and is estimated to be completed by the end of May 31, 2023. As we are dealing with 40 year old pipes that cannot be seen, the schedule is always in a constant state of flux. We will use all avenues of communication to keep homeowners updated as we process through this project which will include email blasts, printed notices in the bulletin boards and on doors as well as phone call when necessary. We will always provide at least 48 hour notice to all owners with notices on each door whenever water will be shutoff and entry is needed into condos.
For any questions about the project you may contact:
Project Manager:
Wayne Beckham
Cell: 303-435-0158
Email: pipeproject@thebiltmoreterrace.com
CURRENT PROJECT SUMMARY
This Project has 4 Phases that each building will go through individually but unit access will be needed for all of them. Please read through the below information as it is very important for each owner and resident.
Unit Access
During serval of these phases below continuous access will be needed to your unit between the hours of 8am to 7pm on the days of service. If you will not be home to allow continuous access to your unit during that block of time then you can arrange with the Pipe Project Manager, Wayne Beckham, to have a lockbox placed on your door so you can supply a key for access or set up/exchange any door codes that are needed. Unfortunately this is mandatory to complete this project. Failure to allow access by the day of service will result in Wayne replacing your lock(s) and a new key being placed in a lockbox for entry. The cost for any work that is needed to enter your unit as a result of not setting up access to your unit in advance of the service day will be placed on the owners HOA account. Article 14 (page 18) of Biltmore Terraces Conditions Covenants & Restrictions (Click here for a copy of your CC&R's) grants your Association the right to enter your unit to make repairs to the common elements, which in this case are the shared drainpipes. We understand that this is burden on all our residents, and if there was an easier way to repair your community pipes we would be doing it. After years of research this is the least invasive method to properly repair your pipes, so we hope all residents will help cooperate to ensure a quick and efficient completion of this project.
Phase I
This phase consists of cleaning out all buildup and debris within the cast iron vertical pipes that run through the building. The water does not need to be shut off but continuous access from 8am to 7pm will be needed to your units during this phase to make sure there are no back ups or overflows while cleaning the vertical pipes. Residents will always be notified at least 48 hours in advance by email blast through this website, as well as printed notices placed on every effected residents doors, in the elevators, and in the bulletin boards at the entrance to the buildings for this Phase.
Phase II
This phase consist of epoxy coating of the vertical pipes in each building. During this phase water will be shut off to individual stacks from 8am to 7pm and continuous access to each unit will be needed into each unit during that time to inspect the interiors and prepare your units for the water shutoffs. This includes but is not limited to, draining the toilets and covering all drainage areas to mitigate water entering the drains during the coatings. Units will also be continuously checked during this phase to ensure there are no backs up or damage while coating. At the end of the day the unit will be put back to the way it was prior to the days work. Residents will be notified at least 48 hours in advance by email blast through this website, as well as printed notices placed on every effected residents doors, in the elevators, and in the bulletin boards at the entrance to the buildings for this Phase. While the water is off there are two bathrooms at the pool by the clubhouse and the bathroom at the guardhouse will be available to residents if needed.
Phase III
This phase consists of cleaning out all buildup and debris within the cast iron horizontal pipes that run under the building. The water does not need to be shut off but continuous access from 8am to 7pm will be needed to your units during this phase to make sure there are no back ups or overflows while cleaning the horizontal main pipes.
Phase VI
This phase consist of installing the epoxy coating in all of the horizontal mainline pipes running under the buildings. During this phase water will be shut off to individual stacks from 8am to 7pm and continuous access to each unit will be needed into each unit during that time to inspect the interiors and prepare your units for the water shutoffs. This includes but is not limited to, draining the toilets and covering all drainage areas to mitigate water entering the drains during the coatings. Units will also be continuously checked during this phase to ensure there are no backs up or damage while coating. At the end of the day the unit will be put back to the way it was prior to the days work. Residents will be notified at least 48 hours in advance by email blast through this website, as well as printed notices placed on every effected residents doors, in the elevators, and in the bulletin boards at the entrance to the buildings for this Phase. While the water is off there are two bathrooms at the pool by the clubhouse and the bathroom at the guardhouse will be available to residents if needed.
Phase V consists of back filling any excavation or community repairs that were needed from completing Phase 1-4.
IMPORTANT REMINDER:
Whenever the water has been turned off during Phase II and Phase IV - NO LIQUIDS or SOLIDS can be run through or down any drain line during the lining process between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM, as it will cause damage to the newly installed pipe lining. Any unit occupants that run water down the drain line during the lining process will be charged for this delay and resulting repairs which could be as high as $50,000.
There are two bathrooms at the pool by the clubhouse and the bathroom at the guardhouse will be available to residents during these Phases.
Whenever possible on the days of shut offs, if the water can be turned back on sooner, it will be and the residents will be notified.
If there is an emergency involving this Pipe Project please contact Wayne Beckham with Togala right away at 303-435-0158.
MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PIPE PROJECT
Q. What is "Trenchless Plumbing?
A. Trenchless Plumbing is an effective procedure that restores corroded, cracked, and eroded drain, waste and vent piping systems without the costly expense and disruption of demolishing interior walls to access the pipes. The traditional solution of pipe replacement comes with a host of concerns and issues that must be dealt with. We have provided a simple comparison between the traditional type of repair versus the Trenchless Plumbing solution we chose for this Pipe Project:
Traditional Pipe Repairs - estimated cost: over $20 million
- This Demolition and repair/replacement of existing walls, ceilings, floors, tiles and underground structures.
- Time and Cost to restore units to previous state including matching or replacing remodeled kitchens, bathrooms and floors.
- Significant inconvenience and disruption to everyone on the community with prolonged wait time for replacement parts.
- Potential safety concerns for occupants and residents.
- The need to temporarily vacate condo occupants until the repairs are done which sometimes could take months.
- Extraordinarily high monetary cost that would require much larger increase in the monthly assessments
Trenchless Plumbing Pipe Process- estimated cost: $2.7 million
- 86% cost savings
- Increased useful life of the existing pipe system- 18-20 additional years
- Minimal disruption to Residents
- Preservation of building structures and the surrounding landscape
- Protective liner prevents future corrosion & leaching of harmful elements into the soil and building.
Q. Why didn't the HOA do a one time special assessment instead of raising the monthly assessment and will the monthly assessment be
lowered after the loan is paid off?
A. A special assessment requires a homeowner vote of 67% of the homeowners in favor for it to pass. The special assessment for this Pipe Project would be a one time payment from each homeowner of $14,516. In general it is always difficult to pass a Special Assessments but when they do pass it is normally because the Association can break the total special assessment amount into annual or monthly payments to be paid over time. Unfortunately, Biltmore Terrace did not have the luxury to do this, as the cast iron pipes were already cracking and failing throughout the community and the repair work needed to begin as soon as possible. The most realistic solution was to take out a loan which would essentially allow the owners to make payments over a set amount of time. The monthly assessment was raised to pay the loan payment over the life of the 10 year loan. When the loan is paid off (estimated 2031) the Board will look at the financials at that time and decide if the assessment can be lowered.
Q. Why do we need to fix the pipes at all or can we just continue to fix them as they break?
A. The cast iron drainpipes will continue to erode, and break causing leaks and damage to condominiums in the community. The Association will have to pay large amounts of money to make repairs to the cracked pipes, typically at after hour and emergency rates plus pay for all the additional mitigation and replacement costs of damage caused when the pipes break. The cost of doing this method of repair would be substantially more expensive.
Q. Why don't we have Plumbing As-Build Drawing Plans?
A. The Association has limited as built plans but they do not go into detail on the plumbing side. The City of Phoenix lost many plans due to a flood in the late 80's/90's and the plans are lost to time. Even if there was a set of full original as-build plans, owners have remodeled and changed the plumbing in almost every unit the Association has reviewed that the original plans would be very outdated. Part of this project cost though, is to have an updated new set of as-built plans created so we have this resource for future repairs.
PLANNING & SCHEDULING
Togala Contractor Building has been hired to oversee our project coordination, inspections, testing and field reporting on a daily basis.
The Pipe Project deals with a large amount of unknowns since the pipes are over 40 years old and the community has limited plans to go off of. While the pipes are being cleaned there are many different variable that can delay the project and change the schedule so please understand that the schedule is a moving target and it could change. The Association will always provide 48 hour notice in advance of any water shut offs or unit access to all residents. The schedule will be updated as often as possible if things change. If you have any questions about the schedule don't hesitate to email or call Wayne with Togala at 303-435-0158.
The Pipe Project schedule so far is as follows:
The first phase of restarting this project will be to review the work that was done previously last year on Building One and Building Two to ensure that the vertical and main drainpipes were coated completely, and video footage was documented for warranty purposes. This inspection will be done the week of Monday, January 30th. NO WATER WILL NEED TO BE TURNED OFF AND NO ACCESS TO UNITS WILL BE NEEDED AT THIS TIME. If the previous work was completed per the contract and documented, then no further work will need to be done. If, however there is a section(s) of pipe(s) that need to be touched up, then we will have to proceed with further work on Building One and Building Two as outlined below.
If the inspection results show that more work needs to be done, we will begin cleaning the vertical pipes to Building One on Monday, February 6th & Tuesday, February 7th from 8am to 7pm and Building Two on Wednesday, February 8th & Thursday, February 9th from 8am to 7pm. We will need access to your units on both these days starting at 8am and have continuous access until 7pm to make sure there are no back ups or overflows while cleaning. NO WATER WILL BE TURNED OFF ON THESE DAYS.
After the cleaning is complete, we will move forward with coating the vertical pipes. We will be shutting the cold and hot water off to all of Building One on Monday, February 13th & Tuesday, February 14th from 8am to 7pm and to Building Two on Wednesday, February 15th & Thursday, February 16th from 8am to 7pm. We will need access to your units on these days starting at 8am and have continuous access until 7pm to inspect the interior and prepare your units for the water shutoffs and to turn everything back on at the end of the day.
*Coating of the pipes* might take 2 whole days which would mean that your water could be off from 8am to 7pm back-to-back days. We have planned for that in the times listed above but will always try to make sure the water is not off longer than necessary. If the water is available to be turned on sooner, you will be notified.
If touch ups are needed to complete the main drainpipes, future shutoffs and access of units will be needed and notices will be sent to all owners. Whenever possible we will have the contractor move back and forth between buildings to lessen the inconvenience of water shut off numerous days in a row.
HOURS & DURATION
Estimated project duration is approximately through the end of May 2023 and is scheduled to be completed at the end of May 2023. Hours of project work days will be between 8am to 7pm.
UNIT ACCESS
During serval of the Pipe Project Phases continuous access will be needed to your unit between the hours of 8am to 7pm on the days of service. If you will not be home to allow continuous access to your unit during that block of time then you can arrange with the Pipe Project Manager, Wayne Beckham, to have a lockbox placed on your door so you can supply a key for access or set up/exchange any door codes that are needed. Unfortunately this is mandatory to complete this project. Failure to allow access by the day of service will result in Wayne replacing your lock(s) and a new key being placed in a lockbox for entry. The cost for any work that is needed to enter your unit as a result of not setting up access to your unit in advance of the service day will be placed on the owners HOA account. Article 14 (page 18) of Biltmore Terraces Conditions Covenants & Restrictions (Click here for a copy of your CC&R's) grants your Association the right to enter your unit to make repairs to the common elements, which in this case are the shared drainpipes. We understand that this is burden on all our residents, and if there was an easier way to repair your community pipes we would be doing it. After years of research this is the least invasive method to properly repair your pipes, so we hope all residents will help cooperate to ensure a quick and efficient completion of this project.
ESTIMATED COSTS
The Homeowners Association took out a 10 year loan for 3.2 million dollars to cover the cost of this project. (2.7 million for the coating and $500k to reimburse the Reserve Fund for pipe repairs before the loan). The loan is being paid monthly by the current monthly assessments.