Scarborough condo residents say new windows already cracked, mouldy
CBC News
23 July 2015
Residents of a Scarborough condominium say newly installed windows in
their units have developed mould and other problems, and their
complaints to management are being ignored.
Residents of 20 Gilder Drive say windows the building's windows were
replaced only last year have already developed cracks and leaks.
Drew Durjodhan, who has lived in the building for 15 years, scrubs her
windows for nearly an hour each day. Still, she can't rid them of
persistent mould.
Residents of 20 Gilder Drive say mould, condensation and cracks have appeared around newly installed windows. (Firoz Alam)
"Every day I have to do it," she said. "Every day."
Another resident who has lived in the building for 11 years said that
last winter, mould had spread across the ceiling, the walls, the
counter and near the floors. That was all cleaned up last winter, but
the problem re-emerged over the spring.
Another resident, Alex Jordan, has lived in the building since it was built but only began experiencing problems last year.
"They did a bad installation job," Jordan, 90, said. "Rough guys, just
banged stuff. With the bottom, they just used full force to get them
in. It's a wonder they didn't break."
Owners launch independent audit
Condo owners in the building paid nearly $10,000 for their own
independent energy audit after their requests to the building's
management were ignored.
That audit lists a number of problems due to lost seals around the
windows, which has resulted in condensation between the panes. The
report says the caulking must be repaired or replaced.
The engineering company that was in charge of the window installation
would not respond to the audit's findings because they said they
haven't seen the document.
Building management working on issue
But representatives of the company have visited the building twice to
help solve the problems, which are largely caused by condensation, said
Jeremy Nixon, managing engineer of Brown and Beattie, Ltd.
Nixon said his company has tried to teach residents about how to deal with condensation.
The building's property management company, Orion Management, declined
to comment other than to say that the problems are "being dealt with."
On Thursday, CBC News learned that a meeting between the management company, the engineering firm and owners was cancelled.
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