When the power goes out and city dwellers are left in the dark, people assume they won’t be stuck in cold apartments for days. Just as we expect our hospitals to have backup power generators to save patients who are on life support syst…
Noise is a key quality-of-life problem for almost anyone living in a densely-packed urban environment. It's the bane of many a condo-dweller’s existence, and over the years engineers, architects, and designers have tried any number of w…
With the possible exception of fire, nothing is more damaging to residential buildings and the property of their occupants as leaks. Whether it’s a torrential deluge from the upstairs neighbor’s overflowing bathtub or a slow, seeping lea…
With harsh winters and blistering hot summers, those living in Chicagoland’s condominium and townhome communities understand the importance of properly working heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. That’s w…
In Chicago, urban high-rises with sidewalk frontage and suburban HOAs containing walking paths, parking lots, and service roads are reliant on their paved surfaces for conducting their everyday business. Therefore, it's crucial that bu…
There was a time when most large residential developments relied on glaring floodlights to brighten parking lots, front porches and entryways. Today, there is more to exterior lighting than just chasing shadows away and discouraging cr…
When you consider all the different exterior components that a condo association has to deal with, decks are sort of like the Rodney Dangerfield of the list—they rarely get any respect. “Decks are definitely something that peop…
More often than not, when boards or associations broach the issue of their buildings “going green,” images of bamboo flooring, hemp drapes, or solar panels on the roof suddenly spring to mind. The impression seems to be that in a condo,…
Hardy Chicagoans stash their winter coats away as soon as spring temperatures allow; and, come fall, they resist pulling out those parkas again until their teeth are chattering. Buildings, however, need preparation that’s a little more …
For building owners and managers in Chicago, winter weather not only refers to the white stuff that falls out of the sky—but rather, the white stuff that collects in a building’s lobby. That’s right—ice and snow can be a buildi…