As our team makes final preparations, everyone on this tier needs to prepare as well.
For Owners and residents of all ’01 and ’03 units, before the day our team is scheduled to arrive, a pathway will need to be made up to the work location. (Similar to the location in the cover picture.)
A preliminary work schedule is available here, and “Demo” is the starting phase for all units: HVAC Riser Calendar 01.03 03.2024
As pictured, work location is the nook right up against the window, and the convector shelf itself. Furniture, fixtures and belongings will need to be moved to allow staff to come and go from the entry door of the unit up to the work location along the very end of the wall between the ’01 and ’03 units. At the work location, a 6 foot perimeter should be maintained free of any belongings so the work can be done. This would include any pictures or shelving on this wall within about 6 feet of the windows.
When our staff begins, they will put floor protection down from the entry up to the work location and surrounding the work location. Then work will progress as detailed on the calendar.
Contact our staff right away if you have any questions about this, or the timing to expect work to begin.
As a rule, our staff cannot handle or assist with moving personal belongings for liability reasons. However, we will not delay the project if there are materials in the way that we are able to move. The Unit Owner will be charged a work ticket at the present standard labor rate for any such work. The Park Tower staff, Condo Association, Board of Directors, management and hired contractors cannot take responsibility for damages to any furniture, fixtures or belongings our team has to move to access the work location.
For more background information about this project, see below.
A preliminary work schedule is available here: HVAC Riser Calendar 01.03 03.2024
A Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Monday April 8th at 7:30PM in the Party Room, where we will explain the project, the reasons why it is needed, and step by step what to expect.
Following the Town Hall we will initiate this process through preparatory inspections of the 01/03 units by the Association’s plumber and engineer. These will be Wednesday April 10th (Floors 55-40), Thursday April 11th (Floors 39-22) and Friday April 12th (Floors 21-3) between 9AM to 3PM. Our team expects to take about 5 to 10 minutes or less per unit. They will take pictures of the work location including the convector unit and the “nook” wall along the window between the ’01 and ’03 unit. They will identify any challenges or obstacles we may need to inform the resident or Unit Owner about, such as belongings or fixtures that will need to be moved. Our staff will contact residents and Owners to advise them of any preparations that need to be made.
Work is expected to begin Monday April 22nd, with demo going from the 3rd floor up and will end with reconstruction of the walls, as scheduled on the above Calendar. (Heating and cooling in the ’01 guest bedroom and ’03 studio will not be available at this point we expect until June 5th.) Demo includes opening the wall and exposing the riser and plumbing up to the convector unit. Also, laying down floor protection and other basic preparations. Demo work will be followed almost immediately by Plumbing work. This includes removing the old plumbing and riser and within a few days installing the replacements. After the plumbing, we will Insulate the necessary pipes and fire-stop any openings between floors.
Finally Recon, which is the rebuilding and painting of the walls. This will unfold a little differently than other riser work we’ve done in the past. This process will include the installation of ASTOUND Broadband’s fiber line (for the ‘01/’03 tier), which we are coordinating now to eliminate the need of returning to open the same walls in the near future. BUT – it’s a bit complicated. While the plumbing team has to work from the bottom up because of the weight of the copper pipe and how it has to be anchored to the floors, the Fiber install has to work from the top down. This is because of the size of the fiber spool and the amount of space they have to work in upstairs versus the crawlspace below the 3rd Floor.
Fiber work will begin when we are more than mid-way through the reconstruction process. It will start from the 55th floor working down and will meet the Recon team at the 37th Floor. Up to that point, the recon team will leave a 6” by 20” opening (sealed temporarily with plastic) in the “nook” wall facing the window in the ’01 unit. (The pipe the fiber line is following favors the ’01 side.) ASTOUND will enter both sides to bring the wire through and install their port for the coming switchover. Once the fiber is pulled, our Park Tower team will return and work downward to close up these 6” by 20” openings. Above the 37th Floor walls will be closed up by the original recon team as they continue upward.
A couple other things noted on the calendar: 1. ASTOUND will be visiting the first few floors we demo to do a test Scan of the concrete. This is in preparation for the fiber installation for the rest of the building where cores will need to be made. These are only test scans. 2. Following every 5 days or so of plumbing work, there will be a Leak Test performed. The line installed up to that point will be pressurized and observed for performance. This is an important step before we start insulating the lines and sealing up the walls, so we know the new plumbing is performing as it should.
As with the domestic water risers we’ve been completing over the last decade, our team completes the wall repairs up to the primer coat of paint. If owners have a particular color or wall covering, it can be provided for use by the team.
Also, since there will be no heating or cooling to these locations from April 22nd to June 5th, all residents in the ’03 Studios should prepare accordingly. (’01 units have other convectors to rely on fortunately, being 2 bedroom units.) The Association cannot provide space heaters or cooling units.
Projects like this can be challenging and there is never a good time for this type of inconvenience. We are doing this now, mostly because of the problems and observations that were made earlier this year on the 01/03 HVAC Riser, but also because we are entering what is typically a more neutral period for weather. Late April, May and early June are usually free from huge and long term extremes in temperatures. Since the heating and cooling service will be unavailable to these locations, now is the time to get this done.
We welcome and encourage residents and Owners to attend the Town Hall on Monday April 8th, at 7:30PM in the Party Room, but also invite you to let us know if you have any questions or concerns by e-mailing us at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com, or calling us anytime at 773-769-3250.
We thank all the residents on these tiers in advance as we coordinate this important effort and carry out these improvements.