The drawing list for the building envelope rehabilitation showed the existing hinged door details. I couldn't tell by looking at the new hinged patio door details whether it was inswing or outswing, but I didn't expect the swing to change.
14 Setting out of Work page 11 of 17 states that:.6 Drawings are, in part, diagrammatic and are provided to convey the design intent and scope of Work as well as indicate the general and approximate location, arrangement and size of fixtures and equipment. Obtain more accurate information about locations, arrangements and sizes at the site and become familiar with conditions and spaces affecting these matters before proceeding with Work. Where job conditions require reasonable changes in indicated locations and arrangements, make changes with no additional cost to owner.
The original in-swing doors wasted no usable space inside or outside. The design did not spoil the limited common property of any strata lot.
The strata management team destroyed the function of our patio by a combination of acts and decisions, starting with the loss of space taken up by the trellis planter replacing the tree cut down without notice to extend 407's deck and ending with changing the patio door design from in-swing to out-swing from Starline. Making it worse, the strata management team has cruelly and persistently deprived us of a remedy for decades.
Starline doors are available in in-swing and out-swing designs.http://www.starlinewindows.com/vinyl/?q=swingdoor. In-swing doors were installed by the developer for a reason - USABLE space.
http://longlife.ca/doors/?gclid=CL3X5oWT3roCFe5cMgodiE8ATg
Starline’s equivalent to the home warranty insurance required by the Homeowner Protection Act against unintended water penetration that causes, or is likely to cause, material damage to the home was quickly voided by the stresses caused by structural movement when 409 repeatedly sank as the roots of destroyed trees decomposed. I don't know what the strata's building envelope warranty was supposed to be good for other than extra insurance premiums, but the door design defect has been expensive for the strata corporation and devastating for 409.
Even on a patio where the space is not too narrow, the outswing door blocks off dining room sliders, air flow, and the view outside without justification. On 409's narrow deck the 8-foot high trellis planter takes 18 inches away, which added to 30 inches for the outswing door is a total loss of 48 inches, and this has made the furniture that we had on our patio impossible to use for years.
Outswing doors may be standard in the Bahamas because of hurricanes, and may be recommended for high rises exposed to strong wind driven rain near the ocean. But here it is very hard to come up with any legitimate reason for spoiling our patio where the detriment is so obvious and there has never been enough wind to sound our wind chimes more than 2 or 3 times in 25 years, and there was never any moisture penetration from the patio doors in the moisture testing reports that I saw and there was definitely no moisture penetration into the building from the door on Unit 409.
I estimate the swing-out design added thousands of dollars per door in extra strata costs to demolish and reconstruct brand new decks in order to add 30-inch extensions in an insane attempt to compensate for the loss of 30 inches of useful space without s.71 approval by the owners.
The strata's lengthening of patios by 30 inches to the south may have been welcomed by some units, but for 409 it acts as more of a distraction than anything else because our patio has always been long enough from north to south. The problem is it is not wide enough from east to west because there are trellis planters trespassing on the east side of our limited common property in place of a tree on the common property. From the estimates we have received, it may cost another $3,000 to reinstate a swing-in door style to restore some degree of function to the limited common property that we purchased and have lost use of.
The maple tree that screened the windows between Unit 409 and Unit 508 and Unit 407 was cut down to extend Unit 407's deck across all of what was originally shared common property between the patios.
The strata adding an out-swing door ruined what little was left of the seating in our only outdoor dining space. When the 30-inch swing-out is combined with approximately 18 inches for trellis planters the space remaining on our deck is no longer fit for its intended purpose. There is no place left for our patio table and chairs and umbrella.The swing-out door design spoiled not just the function of our patio but it also contributed another foreseeably stressful and disrespectful dispute, the whole of which is damaging my health.
We have been unable to go outside to entertain friends for dinner at our patio table since 2004We tried.
- we bought a smaller table
- and our guest's clothes were ruined when red wine spilled
- while the table was moved to make room to leave the seat
Because of the new door - our deck is not fun anymore.
Not fun to entertain.
Not fun to grow flowers.
Not fun at all.
The strata council has not approved our repeated requests for reinstatement of the original swing-in door style, even at our own expense, and our repeated requests for accommodation of the trellis planters outside of our limited common property have been bypassed while extra decks and garages were built for others at our expense. ALL of our requests for remedies for more than 10 years were ignored or endlessly delayed. This is most unreasonable, and very unfair. It has cost me many thousands of dollars in health care, legal fees, and loss of earnings. I've had more than I can stand. If we can't get fair and respectful treatment, we are seeking compensation and costs, but the toll on me is profound.
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