Water Instrusion Problems in Chicago Condos

This is, not so much, a problem in Arizona, for obvious reasons  ;^#]

Another big reason is the use of split faced block in the construction.  Not a good material for building, in this area.

Chicago has a weird little micro-climate, hot and humid summers, mild and humid winters and, usually, cold and dry winters.  The last two winters (2005-2006 and 2006-2007) were pretty warm and wet, by our standards.  Since most masonry drying takes place in the winter (when the dry air sucks the moisture out of the masonry) we now have some pretty big problems.  Add to that the reacord rainfall of summer, 2008.

Different areas required different construction techniques and materials.  A good, professional home inspector would know all about this and inspect accordingly.

Hope this helps;

Charles.  Send me an e-mail (wjd@deckerhomeservices.com) and I will send you a copy of the abstract.

Hope this helps;

James;

In Illinois, the only trades that are state licensed, with testing and requirements, are Plumbers and Roofers.  Yet, there are plenty of un-licensed people doing this work.  The reason?  Because people hire them.

GCs are not state licensed and only one municipality has any kond of testing or qualification requirements.

The problem seems to be a number of foriegn GCs, who tried to make a killing during the boom, and who hired other, non-professional subs.  I am not trying to be racist or slam any particular ethnicity here, just being descriptive.  The way things are done in other countries, with their own standards, materials and weather conditions, do not always work in every case and in every locality.

Likewise, there are national standards and accepted construction details in the U.S., which Architects, often, just cut and paste into their plans, that micgh not work so well in every area.  Add to this that the builders, many times, change the details from what the Architect has called for, based upon costs.  Single wythe walls are cheaper than double wythe and split block is cheaper than brick.

I am calling, now, for these condo walls to be detailed with spray foam insulation instead of the usual fiberglass.  In that way, there is a vapor / air / water barrier directly on the interior of the masonry wall which helps to keep moisture out of the masonry / drywall cavity, and helps keep the mold down.

Another problem is that the number of municipal code inspectors is way down, part of the City cutting back on expenses.  Even when there are enough codies, as you know, they only inspect to the bare minimum, with little attention given to the quality of the work or its long term impact.

Hope this helps;