Leaky condos in Toronto?

By Romana King on December 2, 2011
Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Toronto condominiums with concrete balconies could face big repair bills in the future, says construction expert at Construct Canada conference.

Five years from now if you live in a Toronto condo with a balcony you could be faced with a massive repair bill. That’s because those concrete slabs used to create your outdoor living space are hot and cold conductors—altering the temperature of your condo’s external walls and clashing with your condo’s internally regulated climate. Eventually the clash of hot and cold will lead to moisture problems and this will lead to expensive repair bills. This was the warning an expert at this year’s Construct Canada conference offered industry experts during his presentation on sustainable building standards in Canada. The problem is that the concrete balconies take on the external temperature and this consistently clashes with the condo’s internally regulated temperature. During Toronto’s muggy, hot summers, buildings are kept cool, while bitter winter temperatures push the mercury below zero outside and keep furnaces pumping warm air inside. This continuous clash of temperatures at one connection point will result in moisture, which can erode not only the balconies themselves, but also compromise the buildings external cladding and eventually cause water damage. Owning a condo subject to these conditions could, then, mean being hit with a massive special assessment bill to repair the damage. Certainly something to think about if you own or your considering ownership of a condo with an outdoor view.