September Manager's Notes

The Action Items List generated at the July 27, 2008, board meeting is essentially complete. Board actions resulting from these action items are reported in the Board Meeting Minutes, posted in the right-hand column.

It is worth remarking here that in this fiscal year the Board faced the necessity of addressing a complete rebuild of the Phase III steps. A little historical background seems warranted.

In the fall of 1999, it became apparent that the Phase III steps were deteriorating badly. At that time the steps were plain concrete, which had spalled. The board addressed the issue by bordering each concrete step with Trex (a synthetic decking material), bolted into the concrete, creating a border to hold decorative concrete pavers set in sand on top of the deteriorating concrete.

The Board reported the initial installation of this design to the owners in the December 1999 newsletter, which you can read here.

In the intervening nine years, the Board has faced several issues with this repair. Each winter, water seeping into the cracks between the pavers froze, expanding as it did so. This forced the Trex boards to bend outward.

In the spring, as the ice melted, the expanded cracks between the pavers filled with debris, creating further unevenness in the pavers.

After a few years, the Board authorized repairs to the steps/pavers, installing additional bolts anchoring the Trex to the concrete and re-leveling the pavers.

Now the concrete itself has deteriorated even further; the anchor bolts themselves are no longer secure in the concrete. The Trex continues to bend under the pressure of the ice each winter; the pavers continue to rock and wobble each spring and summer on their shifting bed of sand.

This freeze/thaw mechanism of water/ice is an impressive force of nature. It breaks down granite mountains, causes rock slides, damages highways. A few anchor bolts in spalled concrete are no match for it.

Facing the situation squarely, rather than continuing to band-aid this imperfect, nearly 10-year old, repair, the board chose to reprioritize the capital reserve plan, allowing the association to rebuild the steps properly.

Over the past year, the board has considered several options, finally choosing the option reported in the September Board minutes. This involves removing the original concrete and pavers, replacing them with new concrete, stamped to create a pleasant design.

We are advised that this installation will endure through our Oregon temperature extremes. The contractor cautions us that we should avoid using salt as an ice-melt product in order to preserve the integrity of our concrete. To this end I recommend that we place a bucket of sand beside each set of steps in wintertime, with signs prohibiting salt-based de-icers.