Hot water and central heating

 

The sub-committee has been canvassing flat owners. The vast majority of responses so far have been in favour of moving to independent heating and it is believed that there is a good chance of getting the overwhelming consensus necessary to proceed.

 

The sub-committee is targeting a switch-over in 2013 and will be writing to flat-owners with a detailed update.

 

The board postponed a decision on whether legal costs for the switch-over should be met by the company or by only those flats currently benefiting from the communal system.

 

Major works

 

The board has not been satisfied with the service provided by the surveyors. Although the quality of work carried out has been satisfactory, communications have not been good which has made budgeting difficult. AML has met with a senior representative of the firm to seek assurances about future communications.

 

After discussion, the board agreed to continue with the current surveyors who will be asked to draw up specifications for phase 3 of the project; the refurbishment of the rear of the Elgin Avenue block.

 

From phase 2, the structural issues relating to the lintels in block 6 remain to be carried out. These are delayed waiting for a response from the insurers which has been exceedingly slow.

 

Some small items are still outstanding from phase 1. The vault doors have now been replaced on the Elgin Avenue frontage and DBR has supplied an estimate for the remainder of small pieces of work.

 

 Fire assessment

 

Following the recent fire and general risk assessment, it was agreed to remove the smoke alarms from the stairwells and to write to flat owners to inform them of the need for all front doors to be self-closing. This advice may sound counter-intuitive but forms part of today’s best practice guidelines which emphasise that residents should remain in their flats in the event of fire.

 

Individual flats

 

One ground floor flat has suffered damage to the floor joists where damp has got in. The insurers have refused to cover this but kfh will remind them that the damage was caused by a leaky drain pipe and so should be covered.

 

Another ground floor flat has damp confirmed by the surveyors which will need repairing from the general maintenance budget.

 

Structural engineers visited a flat exhibiting cracking in the outside wall. This is the result of defective work to the interior of the flat some years ago. The flat owners will deal with the remedial work.