Leaky condos: what the building envelope era means for buyers

In the 1990s, buildings along coastal British Columbia began to show a pattern of water damage. Stucco walls stained, balconies rotted, windows leaked, and when owners opened the walls, they found rotted sheathing and framing behind a sound-looking surface. The problem became known as the leaky condo crisis, and it reshaped how buildings are designed, built, insured and sold in the province.

It affects a buyer in a simple way. If you are looking at a wood-frame condo or townhouse built between roughly the early 1980s and the end of the 1990s, the single most important question is whether the building envelope has been remediated, and how well.

What went wrong

The mild, wet climate is only part of the story. Several things coincided.

• Face-sealed walls. Many walls had cladding such as stucco applied directly over sheathing and building paper, with no gap behind it. Water that got behind the cladding at a crack, a window edge or a penetration had nowhere to drain and no way to dry.
• Details. Balconies, decks, flat roofs and window installations were often built in ways that let water collect at joints.
• Speed and cost. There was a boom in construction, and mistakes in detail and supervision were common.
• Materials. Wood framing and sheathing that stays wet will rot over time.

Walls did not always leak at the same place. Many leaks were at windows, at the base of walls and at balcony connections, and damage was often hidden for years.

What changed

A provincial commission of inquiry in the late 1990s looked into how condominiums were being built. Building code and municipal rules were revised, a requirement for home warranty insurance on new residential construction came in, and the industry adopted the rainscreen wall as standard practice, with a drainage gap behind the cladding so that water can run out and the wall can dry.

What remediation involves

When owners discovered widespread damage, many strata corporations repaired their buildings. A full envelope remediation usually means stripping the cladding, repairing or replacing damaged framing and sheathing, installing a new membrane, windows and flashings, and a rainscreen cladding. It is major work. It can cost a great deal, and it is usually paid for by the owners through special levies or loans.

Some buildings were fully remediated. Some were partly repaired, such as balconies only, or one elevation at a time. And some have not been repaired. The age alone does not tell you which.

Questions to ask about a condo from that era

The answers are in the strata documents, not in the unit.

1. Has the building envelope been remediated? When, by whom, and does it include all elevations, windows, decks and roofs?
2. Are there reports? Ask for the building envelope condition assessment, the remediation engineer's reports, and any completion certificate.
3. What was the cost, and how was it paid? Check the minutes and financial statements for special levies, loans and how long loan payments continue.
4. Is there a warranty on the remediation? Many remediations carry a warranty from the contractor or a warranty provider. Ask for the documents and the term.
5. What does the depreciation report say? It gives the expected timing of major repairs, and the contingency reserve fund should be sized to match.
6. Is there any ongoing or planned work? Special general meetings, notices about balcony or window repairs, or engineering reports.
7. Is there any litigation? Legal action against a builder or a former consultant will appear in the minutes.
8. What does your insurer and your lender say? Some will not offer coverage or a mortgage on an unremediated building.

What an inspection of one unit can tell you

An inspection of a single unit is useful, but it cannot answer the envelope question. In a unit we can:

• look at the windows, the balcony or patio door and the floor around it for staining, swelling or soft spots
• read a moisture meter along exterior walls, below windows and at door thresholds
• note signs of past leaks, patching and repainting
• look at the visible parts of the balcony, deck or roof if we can reach them
• check the ceiling and walls of the top floor for roof leaks

We cannot see inside the wall. A normal reading in the unit does not show that the wall behind it is sound. A strata council may also not allow access to the exterior elevations or the roof. When a buyer is worried about the envelope, a separate visual review or an envelope consultant's report is the right tool. See condo and townhouse inspections and strata building envelope visual reviews.

Newer buildings are not exempt

Rainscreen construction and warranty insurance have improved matters. They do not eliminate defects. New buildings can still have window leaks, balcony drainage problems and roofing failures. The difference is that the warranty exists, and coverage periods apply. Read new construction and warranty-period inspections for how these time limits work in general.

In short

For a condo or townhouse from the early 1980s through the 1990s, the building's repair history matters more than the unit's finishes. Get the strata documents early, read the minutes and the engineering reports, and treat an unremediated building as a purchase with a large future cost. An in-suite inspection helps, and it does not replace the documents.