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Why are these people smiling?!$10-million Special Assessment?!Questions? Comments? patrick@ward42.org(Left-click on images to enlarge. Use back button to return.)
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Why are these people smiling?!$10-million Special Assessment?!Questions? Comments? patrick@ward42.org(Left-click on images to enlarge. Use back button to return.)
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400 East Randolph Street . . . Water from leaky plumbing in what is now a 55-year-old building has many routes in which to run, often spreading damage to condo units several floors below. (For background, see "What Damages Do Bursting Pipes Cause?" distributed by "Concerned Current Board Members" [2001].) Cold and hot water risers in common areas were, in fact, replaced throughout the building (at huge expense) in 2008–2009 but – while walls were open – associated galvanized branch piping to individual units was not. Nor were (much larger) waste and vent lines replaced. According to the most recent Property Condition Assessment (September 15, 2018) prepared by consultants Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, this now is a "first-order" concern with a probable cost "on the order of $10,000,000”:
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“This Old High Rise” at Chicago’s 400 East Randolph Street – by way of background and in dramatic contrast to the present photo (at left) when it stood alone above railroad yards and before Lake Shore Drive was re-routed around it – was completed in 1963. A private bus – then and still – shuttles residents to and from the downtown "loop." The building continues to be known as "Outer Drive East" or simply "ODE." At the time, and standing at 42 stories, the building defined the "modern luxury high rise." Representing the best that an urban lifestyle could offer – and reputedly the perfect place for politicians to park their girlfriends – it was the setting for two motion pictures. Predating the now-popular concept of condominiums, ODE included 955 rental apartments, as well as an elegant roof-top restaurant (now a private penthouse), a health club, an iconic swimming pool with geodesic dome, and other amenities. It was converted to condominiums in 1973, the largest in Illinois. Traditionally, individual owners had occupied 75% of the units and, as small investments, had bought and rented out the remaining 25%. With current rentals at 50%, however, and in anticipation of "deconversion," Habitat Company recently has ported the "owner website" from "CONDO Café" to "RENT Café." At the time of its construction, the building was unusual in capitalizing on "air rights" and stood above busy freight yards. Floors and supporting "stilts" (piers) are of steel-reinforced poured concrete. "Street level" (the topmost of three) and the entrance lobby of the building actually are at floor five. "Firewalls" between adjacent apartment units are concrete block and (and given their frequently non-DOB-permitted demolition by quick-flip speculators) presumably are non-structural. Floor 7 (now only two floors above “street level”) also includes commercial small office space, and a restaurant. There also are real estate offices and a children’s daycare center on lower floors. This last reflects the broadening resident profile – which now extends in directions toward both “old” and “young” – and is relevant to health issues of fire safety, mobility, and air quality (e.g., pervasive secondhand tobacco and marijuana smoke). |
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Non-DOB-permitted “fix-and-flip” contractors and real estate speculators – at any one time as many as 30 rehabs (of which as few as half are properly DOB-permitted) each lasting an average of three months or more – wreak havoc with building infrastructure and resident quality of life. Noise, dust, wear and tear on common-area hallways, doors, and carpet are just a few of the "hidden costs." One of the very few genuine design flaws of the building is that there are only two service elevators. Contractors and pet owners – as well as anyone wishing to reach the laundry room, heated garage, or convenience store – must share these two elevators. Pets (and their owners) endure a disproportionate burden of out-of-control contractor activity. No wonder, then, that some residents repurpose balconies and shower stalls for pet relief. In contrast, there are seven passenger elevators reserved for "human-only" resident use. No wonder that demolition debris, on occasion, rather than being removed properly from the building is simply dumped down into (hidden) common areas or fire ventilation shafts. In contrast to highly visible, building-wide projects with at least superficial oversight by outside contractors (e.g., the recent $16 million windows replacement, itself overtaxing the service elevators), condo unit rehabs are a free-for-all. A "double standard" applies to two "classes" of residents:
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$5,000,000 “fix-and-flip” industry! The cost and unmanaged pace of "small" non-DOB-inspected projects should not be underestimated. Even an average of 20 condo rehabs per month, each lasting three months and costing $65,000, amounts to $5,000,000 per year. At that rate, almost every condo unit in the building will have been rehabbed in only 10 years! And some of the rehabs are so slipshod that they are "re-rehabbed" after just two or three years! Worse, since the "process" is so poorly managed and uncoordinated, none of the pressing problems of underlying building infrastructure (e.g., fire safety, plumbing, ventilation, or in-unit HVAC "convectors") will have been addressed! Residents must resort to stop-gap "solutions." For example, this leaking closet ceiling has been "repaired" with a temporary leak diverter. On the surface, the multi-page Remodeling and Construction Contracts and Requirements is convincing, but as "Professionally Managed by The Habitat Company" it is an almost complete ruse. (Worst suspicions will be confirmed by e-mailing the "Association architect" or other professionals referenced therein.) Further evidence is in the discrepancy between what is reported to condo owners by the Habitat Company in its monthly Newsletter and what is reported to the Chicago Department of Buildings: Construction Scope and Permits Jan 2014 thru Apr 2015 and Construction Scope and Permits Jan 2015 thru May 2016 (to be updated). |
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The arrow in the diagram at left points to enclosed common plumbing (mixed with some electrical). It is at this location, specifically, that there are quick plumbing/electrical code questions for the Chicago Department of Buildings. See photos below. Water from leaky plumbing in what is now a 55-year-old building has many routes in which to run, often spreading damage to condo units several floors below. (For background, see "What Damages Do Bursting Pipes Cause?" distributed by "Concerned Current Board Members" [2001].) Cold and hot water risers in common areas were, in fact, replaced throughout the building (at huge expense) in 2008–2009 but – while walls were open – associated galvanized branch piping to individual units was not. Nor were (much larger) waste and vent lines replaced. According to the most recent Property Condition Assessment (September 15, 2018) prepared by consultants Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, this now is a "first-order" concern with a probable cost "on the order of $10,000,000”:
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There is not much besides air that separates the rear of an inset medicine cabinet in one apartment (along with secondhand tobacco and marijuana smoke) from the rear of a medicine cabinet in an adjacent bathroom. This gives rise to the popular cliché in films and comedy of a person looking at herself in a bathroom mirror only to discover another face entirely staring back! Recent TV examples include "My Pillow guy," Mike Lindell! Ductwork for kitchen vents also is arranged back-to-back in common areas. Nor are all "rehabbed" kitchen, bathroom, or gas clothes dryer vents properly connected (as required by fire regulations) into the building-wide ductwork. Similarly, chases for TV antenna wiring (now used for CATV and Internet) are shared between adjacent units. And telephone and alarm wiring is in conduit running vertically floor to floor. Presumably, all through-floor openings are sealed in accordance with fire codes when condo units are rehabbed ("professionally managed by Habitat Company") though evidence of this is withheld from owners (or prospective buyers) of nearby units seeking disclosures or reassurance. |
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A view into the common-area plumbing between bathrooms by removing one or the other of back-to-back medicine cabinets The largest vertical pipe seen through the right-hand opening is a drain stack. Also visible is improperly secured (duct tape) "BX" electrical wiring from unit 3711 next door We dried out and closed down our bathroom completely for four months, April 3, 2019, to August 14, 2019, to allow access for testing as promised and scheduled by Habitat Company. But Habitat Company contractors never showed up! |
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A view downward through the right-hand opening shows a leaking copper-to-galvanized joint. Circled (and slightly out of focus) is an elbow joint connecting older galvanized pipe to newer copper. The pipe supplies hot water to bathroom sinks in both 3701 and 3711. This copper-to-galvanized joint in the common area is the source of at least one leak and has been observed by attorneys (Sept 24, 2019) and videoed. The joint is likely to be fragile! "Testing" by tapping with a wrench would be extremely unwise! If the joint should fail completely, and since the "rehab" of 3711 by "architect" Rada Doytcheva removed access to previously shared shut-off valves, stopping a plumbing "disaster" would require cutting a hole in the hallway wall to reach other valves. Habitat Company charges unit owners as much as $1,000 for such access. |
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As a consequence of its original design as rental apartments, plumbing shut-off valves and the like may be accessible only from an adjacent unit. (If a sudden leak springs out in one apartment, water can be turned off only by gaining access to the unit next door, i.e., by "calling the super.") After conversion of the building to condominiums it is not unusual for the maintenance staff to have to enter the apartment next door to shut off water for faucet and other plumbing repairs. Under Habitat Company's lax "remodeling" supervision, however, no provision for this has been taken into account in their supervision of condo unit rehabs or documented in (required) "22.1" sales disclosures. Deterioration of common element hallways, particularly on the less desirable lower floors (and "Section 8" apartments), is apparent in the helter-skelter of plumbing access panels. The problem is well-documented in maintenance service requests. The ticket shown below explains: "Maintenance was here [3701] to shut water off for kitchen due to unit 3703 has a leaky faucet."
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A worse (but parallel) situation, however, is documented for 3701 a few months later:
Note: The diagram at the left and photos of valve access, are detailed here. The only recourse, under advice of Habitat attorney David Sugar, as suggested in a related e-mail from Habitat Company (2015-02-16, Phil Pritzker to P Carey, Diane White, R Davenport) is for the aggrieved individual condo owner "to file suit against the [offending] resident[s]." |
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This sketch corresponds fairly closely with bathrooms at ODE. We had left our entire bathroom entirely unused and completely dry, along with appropriate testing signage, for the sole purpose of thorough inspection by contractors hired by Habitat Company. During that time we stayed in motels in Indiana and commuted daily. But Habitat's contractors never showed up! In addition, we submitted maintenance requests and agreed to pay for replacement of a “bad overflow gasket” and “bad caulking” whether needed or not. Habitat Company indicated these repairs “complete,” though our own independently hired plumbers and inspector could find no evidence of this. Still, the Association
has not reconsidered or revised their "professional" opinion of "bad
overflow gasket" and/or "bad caulking" of
the bathtub in 3701. |
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“P-trap” as part of “Drain-Waste-Vent System” A P-trap ("3" in drawing at left) is just one of many parts of a “Drain-Waste-Vent System.” Waste water makes its way to a sewer (or in rural areas to a septic tank) while at the same time sewer gases and odors are vented to the roof. In addition, an entirely separate system of plumbing pipes (sketched in grey) supplies (under pressure) incoming “potable water.” (In the U.S., water used for washing – or for lawns – also normally is drinkable.) And if dwelling unit heat (or cooling) is distributed by hot (or chilled) water – as it is at ODE – then this requires yet another completely independent system of plumbing, including separate drain lines for “condensate” Any and all types of what now is 55-year-old plumbing are very frequent sources of leaks at ODE. |
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Because drains among adjacent units are interconnected, as in this photo, cooling water and debris from tile cutting for a "bathroom makeover" in adjacent unit 3711 have caused the bathtub drain in 3701 to back up. "Cosmetic" face lift vs. quality restoration – a cheap, Home-Depot-style rehab buys time (enough for a "quick-flip" to an unwary purchaser) but does not address underlying issues. And since a "closed-doors" "review" process deliberately excludes adjoining “original” condo units next to, above, or below the non-code-compliant plumbing and electrical, the longer-term condo owner is left worse off in terms of fire safety, repairs, maintenance, and resale value. For example, it is no longer possible to fix a dripping shower without cutting through hallway walls, for which Habitat Company will assess the condo owner as much as $1,000. It is no wonder, then, that distress sales and foreclosures are common, further feeding the quick-flip frenzy.
Double Standards
The Chicago Department of Buildings permit process is intended to be open and transparent. The Building Code states: “Post Permit in a Conspicuous Place.” As a practical matter, in high-rise buildings, the permit is usually on display at the ground-floor lobby, in the management office, or in the building engineer's office.
Habitat Company circumvents public policy. According to “400 Condominium Association Remodeling and Construction Contract and Requirements,” Habitat charges for and administers its own “400 ODE Building Permit,” “issued and signed by Phil Pritzker, the General Manager. This permit must be displayed inside the unit [emphasis added].” That any and all information assembled under the “Remodeling and Construction Contract and Requirements” is treated as proprietary and withheld by Habitat Company from city inspectors and 400 Condominium Association owners at large is unprecedented even in the experience of the Chicago DOB. |
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Bathroom and kitchen ventilation is problematic in itself, the more so when illegal gas dryers are installed and vented into crawl spaces and other common areas (see Corcoran real estate ad below). In fact, 400 East Randolph Street suffered a $1.5 million high-rise fire on 2020-09-15. The ductwork also provides a path for water leaks. Damage to the ceiling shown here was traced to a leaking toilet two floors above. |
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Washers and dryers are an elegant amenity, as advertised in this photo by real estate speculators at 400 East Randolph Street, but they are against condo rules and can wreak havoc with plumbing, gas, electric, and ventilation. For the sake of quick profit, and a management culture of actively looking the other way, everyone else in the building – including both children and the elderly – pays heavily in terms of fire safety, air quality, and water damage. The illustration at left is from an advertisement by Corcoran Real Estate, touting a recent sale of Unit 2008. According to "400 Condominium Association Remodeling and Construction Contract and Requirements," however, "No washing machines may be installed in residential units [emphasis added]." It is not without warrant, then, to suspect Habitat Company of hopeless incompetence, dereliction . . . or worse! But decide for yourself! Watch this quick, self-running PowerPoint presentation: "Washers and Dryers – Board Meeting Minutes and Unit Owners Forum, 2007 through 2017."
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Practical workarounds to head off plumbing disasters – especially for business people and other residents who travel – include a "network camera." It allows owners to "check in" periodically for leaks and overflows. The example image at left is from an inexpensive D-Link DCS-942L network camera. Unlike a "web cam," the D-Link network camera is a standalone device and does not require a computer, only a WiFi link to a wireless router or "residential gateway." The image here is in grey since the camera switches automatically to infrared illumination in low light. In other words, it protects round the clock, allowing real-time remote viewing on a smartphone or even sending a notification or e-mail alert – all without any user intervention. Other approaches include moisture alarms, some of these WiFi-enabled, such as the D-Link DCH-S160. Read about this practical and inexpensive ($60) device in the Chicago Tribune. D-Link is based in Taiwan, but the extraordinary performance of the DCH-S160 WiFi Water Sensor – its ability to detect small leaks reliably but also to reject "false alarms" – depends on a remarkable Leak Detector Cable patented and made in America by RLE Technologies (Fort Collins, CO). With additional detector cables, and using inexpensive telephone cords, a do-it-yourselfer could wire a single D-Link WiFi Water Sensor to monitor an entire apartment (including bathroom, kitchen, radiators, carpet, ceiling, etc., etc.). RLE Technologies, in addition to leak detector cable, and in contrast to home-oriented D-Link products, designs and builds equipment which could monitor an entire building such as ODE. Products, examples, and case studies are at http://rletech.com/data-center-solutions/rle-case-studies/ Even Habitat Company recognizes the well-known water leaks problem with its stop-gap "fix" of a battery-powered moisture alarm: "Flood Buzz" – "The simple solution to help you avoid costly water damage. Contact the Front Desk or the Management Office and place a work order for the Flood Buzz. You can place them under sink and bathroom cabinets, in condensation pans, and by toilets. Flood Buzz are $10 each." (More info: Flood Buzz Pro.) |
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Consequences of non-DOB-permitted work The photo at left was taken (with an iPhone) from the position indicated on the floor plan (blue arrow, #5 above). Because shut-off valves were walled over and no longer accessible after a "fix-and-flip" of the adjoining unit by Association architect Rada Doytcheva, it was necessary to remove signage and mirrors and then cut an opening through the hallway wall into the common area in order to fix a dripping shower. At least two trades – carpentry and paint – were kept busy in addition to plumbing! The cost to the affected condo owner, according to Habitat Company, is as much as $1,000. The common element between adjoining condo units extends from floor to ceiling and measures approximately one foot wide by eight feet deep. The concrete slab between floors is eight inches thick.
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A closer view (again with the limited quality of an iPhone). Note the (sideways) electrical outlet below the opening and the thin-wall conduit which supplies it. The heaviest of the "pipes" visible is a floor-to-floor plumbing "riser." Cold and hot water risers in common areas were replaced (at considerable effort and expense) in 2008–2009 but – while walls were open – associated branch plumbing between condo units was not. Neglecting hidden problems in preference to "curb appeal" – as in the repeated and superficial remodeling of the entrance lobby and "community room" – helps to cover irresponsible financial management. |
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Three quick code questions for the Department of Buildings . . . 1) Does this recently installed electric ("BX") and plumbing (copper to galvanized) meet Chicago DOB codes? 2) Is it permitted to "wall over," i.e., permanently remove access to, shut-off valves? 3) When (and by whom) were the DOB rough and final inspections? EPP_PERM 01/20/2010 100327476
01/20/2010 400 E RANDOLPH ST 4 2 EPP_PERM 12/01/2010 100374585
12/01/2010 400 E RANDOLPH ST 3 0 EPP_PERM 01/16/2013 100474373
01/16/2013 400 E RANDOLPH ST 4 1 (Permits for 400 East Randolph Street, Unit 3711, owned, rehabbed, and "self-certified" by 400 Condominium Association architect Rada Doytcheva.) |
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"BX" electric cable threaded among copper water pipes One serious concern – at least for a New Yorker not familiar with Chicago DOB codes and inspections – is the "BX" electric cable unsecured and draped among copper plumbing. Steel in contact with copper may lead to a "galvanic" reaction and subsequent corrosion and metal weakening. Similarly, couplings between galvanized pipe and copper should be "dielectric" (non-conducting) to minimize corrosion, joint failures, and subsequent leaks. (Some fix-and-flip "contractors" at 400 East Randolph Street resort even to cheaper "Romex" electric and PVC pipe.) |
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“BX” and duct tape!! Indications that Habitat Company is failing in its "Self Certification" of "Remodeling and Construction Contracts and Requirements" is use of armored electrical cable ("BX") and duct tape(!) to insulate copper pipe from waste lines. Note that armored electric cable ("BX"), non-metallic-sheathed electric cable ("Romex") and PVC (and other plastic) pipe do not meet DOB codes for high-rise buildings. The unit was "rehabbed" and is owned by 400 Condominium Assocation "Self-Certification" architect Rada Doytcheva. |
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Plumbing old and new . . . The oldest plumbing in common areas serving condo units is galvanized iron. (Piping for gas, in and between back-to-back kitchens, normally is "black iron.") There is nothing inherently "wrong" or out-of-date with galvanized water pipe except that this particular plumbing is over 55 years old. Mineral deposits and corrosion have taken their toll and leaks from supply lines are a present risk. When risers were replaced throughout the building, new copper connections (and valves) to old plumbing were added. This piping uses crimp-on or "press" fittings, installed quickly and reliably with a special (expensive) battery-powered hand tool. Most recent of the plumbing shown here is copper with soldered connections. (The white plaster dust covering everything is simply poor clean-up by the Habitat-supervised contractor.) Apart from poor workmanship, missing valves and the like, an unlicensed plumber not aware of 2014 low-lead requirements may leave behind additional hazards. In close (but acceptable) proximity to the plumbing is electric wiring in thin-wall conduit. Note that RLE Technologies Leak Detector Cable could be installed in normally hidden common areas such as this to monitor plumbing for leaks. |
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The currently alleged “leak”: water damage to unit 3601 has been attributed by Habitat Company – in its professional opinion – specifically to a "bad overflow gasket" and to "bad caulking" in the bathtub in unit 3701 immediately above it, citing in its letters the "Illinois Condominium Property Act" and the "Association's Declaration" and holding the owner of unit 3701 liable. Habitat Company also took the pre-emptive and defamatory measure of communicating this "finding" to each of the Board members and to other parties throughout the building. In addition to fines, the Association initiated a lawsuit against us. Habitat's "professional opinion" might have passed as a "good guess" – if not serving primarily as community-dividing malicious gossip – except that the tub in 3701 had not been used at all for four months let alone overflowed! The purpose of an overflow drain (and the gasket that seals it to the back of the tub) is only to provide an "emergency exit" in case water in the tub rises too high, e.g., if in "running a bath" faucets are opened and then forgotten and left unattended. Similarly, caulking serves only as a secondary "backup" to contain spills, drips, or a shower directed unintentionally against the tiled wall (or onto the floor). "Leaks" require both careless showering (as by children) in addition to gaps in the caulking. |
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What’s this a picture of, anyway?? The photo at left was taken by ODE building plumber Danny Perreault on 2019-03-20. He annotated the iPhone snapshot to indicate the bathtub in unit 3701 as the source of a water leak damaging the ceiling of unit 3601 below. It is the sole “definitive evidence” in the current “leak” lawsuit against us. What is not immediately clear is that the photo of the (normally hidden) outside surface of the bathtub is of the end – not the bottom – of the tub. The bathtub is as installed when Outer Drive East was constructed in 1963. Despite normal discoloration and other signs of age, there were no indications of water or dampness on the tub or in the surrounding area. Circled in the photo is the rear of the overflow drain, not the drain at the bottom of the tub and which is hidden from view. A rubber gasket around the overflow drain is a good “guess” for a possible leak, but not if the bathtub is used for showers rather than for baths and then only if the water in the tub is allowed to rise high enough to risk overflowing. |
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Over the years, and before bathtubs were used more popularly for showers, there have been a host of drain and “drain-plug” solutions – including simply a rubber stopper attached to the end of a beaded chain – so water could be drained from the tub without the need to reach one’s hand into the bathwater. The mechanism as installed throughout bathrooms at ODE is described as a “trip-lever drain.” The drain lever is held by a plate which at the same time serves as a cover for the overflow drain. Sealing the the overflow drain and the rear side of the bathtub is a rubber overflow drain gasket. What is circled in the illustration of the bathtub at left and the “trip-lever” overflow drain installed behind it corresponds to the area circled in the Association’s definitive diagnostic photo (above). If the bathtub has not been used at all let alone filled with water to the height of the overflow drain, then a "bad overflow gasket" is a ridiculous "diagnosis." Even a quick look at the illustration at left should lead to more questions than answers. Certainly it would appear that the Association has had little more than a superficial interest in investigating a credible source of any alleged leak. |
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“Chinese water torture” . . . Wikipedia: . . . "a process in which water is slowly dripped onto a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane. This form of torture was first described under a different name by Hippolytus de Marsiliis in Italy in the 15th or 16th century. . . . Having observed how drops of water falling one by one on a stone gradually created a hollow, he applied the method to the human body." The photo at left, as earlier showing a drain backed up from tile cutting in a nearby unit, also demonstrates the long-term effect of a dripping shower – typically about 15 gallons per day or, according to Time-Life Books, "enough to fill a small swimming pool in a year." The "pattern" in the tub, created by random rearranging of tile debris, is caused by splashing droplets – day after day, one agonizing drop after another! Note, too, the green stain (circled in the photo) left behind, drip . . . by drip . . . by drip. Worse, because of non-DOB-compliant scofflaw contractors – fully half of the 20 projects in progress at ODE at any one time – access to the shut-off valve needed to fix the dripping shower has been walled over. By coincidence, a previous photo (#16 above) happens to show the very same tub two years later. The constant drip-drip has eaten completely through the porcelain and now is attacking the cast iron itself. Soon it will erode the area around the drain. When and where will this "water torture" end? Maybe when it reaches condos below! And, yes, it definitely will drive you nuts!
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