SPS Exterior Makeover Gives New Falls a New Look
Why hire Schernecker Property Services for your next major capital improvement project?
Jill Petteys can tell you. As a project manager with Barkan Management Company, Petteys oversees a variety of multi-residential renovations for the firm’s properties. One of her more recent projects is the exterior makeover that SPS Business Manager Jeff Pike completed at New Falls Apartments, a 60-unit complex in Newton, Mass.
“SPS was always looking out for the best interests of the owners,” says Petteys. “Jeff Pike understood our vision for the property. He always made it a point to tell us what should be done to do the job right. And he made my job a lot easier in the process.”
The scope of work at New Falls was extensive. Specs called for cedar clapboard to be replaced with vinyl siding. All original windows, sliders and entry doors were replaced with new energy efficient models. The complex’s original pressure-treated pine decks were replaced with long-life composite decking. Two of New Falls’s seven buildings also required complete roof replacements.
New Fall's new building envelope system comes with a 20-year warranty and will yield significant long-term maintenance and energy savings.
Longtime Business Manager Jeff Pike ran the project for SPS. “After 30 years, the building envelope had reached the end of its useful life,” says Pike. “The clapboard was rotting in some areas. Water was penetrating around the single-pane rolling windows. The property’s pressure-treated decks were failing. And water penetration had started to damage the framing where the decks were joined to the siding.”
SPS crews replaced the roofs soon after work began in November. Windows and doors were replaced in January and February. To minimize disruption to tenants, Barkan’s onsite manager made sure residents were notified in advance of SPS’s replacement schedule. SPS crews focused on completing one unit at a time. “We only removed what we could replace in one day,” says Pike. “The interior window and door trim was also replaced and painted the same day.”
Careful planning and regular production meetings kept the project on track despite the challenges of working though a harsh New England winter.
SPS also made property improvements beyond the core building envelope project. In addition to the siding, roofing, and decks, SPS replaced timber railings throughout the complex with safer, more durable railing systems. Failed railroad tie retaining walls were replaced with sturdy masonry construction. And ground-level wooden decks behind two hillside buildings were replaced with new concrete patios and vinyl privacy fencing.
Pike expects the renovations at New Falls to pay dividends for decades to come. The property’s updated appearance will help attract and retain tenants. And the new building envelope system — which comes with a 20-year warranty from Harvey Industries — will yield significant long-term maintenance and energy cost savings.