Why Did They Build These Buildings So Crummy?

"Thanks for saying what we can't say," seems to be the theme in most responses I get to recent posts. You're welcome... I guess. It's just unfortunate that issues like poor planning and reckless decision-making lurk like untouchable elephants-in-the-room at HOA board meetings. It's hard to tell people - "Hey, this mess...it's your fault."  So, in this Newsletter - something that's not "your fault." You can print this one with confidence and hand it out at the next board meeting. Because it's not your fault -  it's not the board's fault - It's..........my fault! Ok, so not necessarily mine specifically, but it's the fault of many in my industry. Here's why: -------------------------------- HOA construction boomed in the 1970's and 1980's. Before 1965, there were an estimated 500 CID communities nationwide. By 1970 that number had climbed to 10,000. Today the estimate is well over 250,000 with more than 50,000 of them in California alone. Don't miss it - that's a MASSIVE increase in 40 years.  A logical question is of course, why the Boom? Good question. Hang on - we're going to do history in hyper speed and I'm going to condense 100's of pages of legislation into less than 200 words Cause: 1978 Prop 13 sucked money out of municipal coffers by rolling back and lowering property taxes. Effect: Municipalities were looking for ways to get more income and take on less responsibility. Cause: Developers were getting pressured by the market to make housing options more affordable as land and construction costs climbed. Effect: High-density communities with "common" elements such as roofs, driveways, and interior walls became more desirable. Cause: Clean Water Act of 1977 - New housing developments must not create a significant change in water flow to nearby properties.  As developers began designing means of catching and controlling the runoff water - they were faced with a dilemma - who would pay to maintain the drain inlets, ponds, and collection structures?  Effect: CID's (HOA's) were established to manage these water collection elements. Cause: Cities short on cash needed more tax revenue while available land was being used up. Effect: High-density ownership (Not rental) was strongly encouraged, and developers building these communities had an open door at the planning department. Ok, so that was the civic and social environment which caused the boom. Now - what happened to the make the buildings they built - SO CRUMMY? Think about who was swinging hammers in the 1980's...20-year-olds... who had been experimenting with altering their mental state in the 1960's. Just kidding - sort of. It actually wasn't that experimenting that had the most impact (in my opinion), it was another set of experiments. In the 1970's and 1980's the federal government cracked down on 3 things specifically: Lead paint, Asbestos, and "un"clean air/water. The 1970's Clean Air Act, and the banning of asbestos and lead paint in 1978 bore the essence of the Law of Unintended Consequences. A cascade of industries, processes, products, and methods that had been developing since the dawn of the industrial revolution slammed into a hastily erected wall of legislation and regulation. Hold your fire...I'm not saying I wish lead and asbestos were still contaminating our homes - that's not my point. Here's the point - And it's ALL IMPORTANT!  In the 1970's and 1980's when multi-family construction was exploding - engineers, architects, and contractors were EXPERIMENTING with new products and processes because many of the old ones were now illegal. Lead paint was REALLY EFFECTIVE paint - but kids were dying. Replacement products had to be developed. So, the experimenting continued and into the 1990's many of the methods developed under dubious conditions became doctrinaire and were incorporated largely unchallenged. And then as I described in The 50-year problem, their failures began to manifest. In the 1970's under-slab copper plumbing lines were often run unprotected through concrete slabs. The failure of these lines is alone a parable of construction defect.  In the 70's and 80's aluminum framed windows came into their own - with condensation and leak issues all their own. But probably most impactful, in the 1950's a new product hit the mainstream - Caulk in a Tube. By the 1960's latex and acrylic latex caulks were flowing out of the DAP labs. And then in the 1980's - silicone caulk. The effect of the introduction of caulk on the construction industry cannot be underestimated. It doesn't take too vivid an imagination to figure out what happens to the craftsmanship behind waterproofing systems, wood joints, window installations, and concrete joints when you have a simple and cost effective construction-grade band-aid. Imagine what happens to craftsmanship when you add a tube of caulk to the carpenter's bag of tools. Granted, for some problems, various caulks have proven an invaluable solution. But in its early years, distributed widely to an industry seeking ways to cut cost and streamline processes, it was like handing out cocaine and saying, "use sparingly." And it wasn't just that the quality of the early caulk products was poor (and it was), it was that architects and engineers began making assumptions about what could be waterproofed and sealed with the stuff. It was integrated into already dubious building systems and the effects today are disappointing at best. It's not your fault. I hope this helps. But, your role in resolving the problems of the past actually is your responsibility, and failure to apply knowledge - will be your fault. Understanding the political and economic environment that created many of the problems of today, is a key to moving forward wisely. Plan ahead. Build up reserves. Hire contractors, engineers, and consultants that understand the history and can help you prepare for the future.