Structural drying in Buford Highway buildings

Buildings along this corridor date largely from the postwar decades, and the apartment communities were built as repeated stacked units. ^[1] Kitchens and baths usually share a wet wall, so a leak upstairs sends water down a chase that passes behind cabinets in every unit below. Drying only the unit that reported the leak leaves that chase wet. A thorough survey includes every unit in the stack and those on either side at the point of failure.

Multi-unit drying also changes the equipment plan. A household circuit may not take many air movers and a large dehumidifier, and old panels can be touchy. Contractors may need to spread the load, run dedicated cords and agree with the manager on which circuits can be used. Shared corridor air can also carry moisture, so doors and vents may be closed to keep each drying chamber stable.

Some walls and ceilings in apartment buildings form fire-rated separations between units or from corridors. Cutting into them to speed up drying has consequences, because any opening has to be repaired to the required rating before the building can be considered sound again. If a frozen sprinkler branch was the cause, as in many of the reported December 2022 cases in metro Atlanta, the fire protection contractor must also restore the system. ^[2] Good coordination prevents walls being closed before all of this is checked, and prevents drying being held up longer than it needs to be.

It is normal for an apartment to be noisy and warm while drying takes place. Please leave the equipment running, since turning it off slows the job and may affect your building. If you need something moved, or a particular outlet freed up, ask the crew or the manager. Keep children away from cords and fans, and tell management if you notice a new smell, a new stain or anything that seems dangerous.

You may ask for an estimate of how long equipment will stay. Nobody can promise an exact day, because readings decide, but it is fair to ask for a rough schedule, and for an update if it changes. Keep your questions in writing so that there is a record. If mold has appeared or a smell lingers afterward, raise it in writing right away. ^[3]

A shop can sometimes stay partly open if the wet zone can be separated with plastic containment and customers kept away from equipment. A restaurant usually cannot, while dust and air movers are in the kitchen or the dining room. Ask the contractor about containment and air filtration, and your health inspector about reopening. Shared rear corridors and roof drains should be looked at early, because a wall drying well on your side can get wet again from next door.

Disagreements after a multi-unit loss often come down to whether a unit was ever properly dry. Daily readings by unit settle most of them. A useful log names the unit, the wall or floor location, the material, the reading and the date, along with a dry reference from somewhere untouched in the same building. Because these buildings repeat the same layout, a matching spot in an unaffected unit can make a good comparison, as long as the tenant agrees to it. Keep logs together with the plumber's report on what failed, as insurers for the owner and for individual tenants may each ask for them. When equipment leaves, give each household a short note saying when it was checked and who to tell if a smell or stain appears. A note like that takes a minute to write. It also tends to bring problems to light while the contractor is still engaged, when they are far simpler to resolve than they would be a few months later.

File these notes with the building records for next time.

A copy helps the next manager too, and it shows what was done.