Roof replacement underway at Hayden Homes development

The harsh winter of 2016-17 hit residents of the Village at Cold Springs especially hard. Many residents, in particular those in townhomes, experienced ice-damming that led to serious roof leakage resulting in interior damage that displaced many from portions of their homes.

Sean Palagyi spent months living in his master closet.

Palagyi, a COCC professor, lives in one of the townhomes at Village at Cold Springs. His neighbors, Bill and Lorrie Turner, Christine Burton, and Mike Pepples all reported significant water damage.

Developer Hayden Homes is now replacing the roof on the townhomes, installing ice shield that had been left off the original roof.

The development is in the midst of a transfer of Homeowners Association (HOA) authority and responsibility from the developer to the homeowners themselves. Members of the Transition Advisory Committee (TAC) - local residents Mike Rankin, Doug Wills and Jonathan Hicks - insisted that Hayden Homes step up and replace the townhome roofs before the transfer is enacted. Time was of the essence.

"We were up against a weather window with the beginning of the (fall/winter) season," Rankin said.

Rankin and Wills have already made extensive roof repairs to their single-family homes at their own expense.

All three TAC members said that they are gratified that Hayden Homes is undertaking the project after several months of discussions, inspections and uncertainty. Through that period, residents were frustrated by lack of response and communication from Hayden Homes.

"It's better than it was," Wills told The Nugget. "Hayden does communicate with the three of us as to what's going on, what the schedule is."

The TAC members noted that they and the residents are closely observing and documenting the progress of the roofing project in hopes that it is done at an appropriate level of quality and will not allow a repeat of last winter's catastrophic problems.

Unfortunately for Palagyi, the project itself made his situation even worse. His roof was torn off and was not covered when rains hit Sisters.

"The damage from the rain was more extensive than the damage from the ice dams," he told The Nugget. "The water was pouring in from all cracks, nail holes and any place it could find its way through."

Palagyi said his ceiling is compromised and repair work that was done after the winter damage has been undone. His townhome unit will require extensive renovation.

After several weeks of email exchanges, Palagyi reported that The Management Trust, who manages the townhomes, agreed to pay for accommodations while Palagyi is displaced during the demolition and reconstruction of his unit. They also agreed to reimburse him for storage costs associated with moving his possessions out of the unit for safekeeping. Palagyi told The Nugget that after his experience he would like for Hayden Homes to simply buy him out so he can start over somewhere else.

A field report from J2 Building Consultants, Inc. on the condition of the townhomes, conducted last March, identified problems with the roof and additional construction issues that it recommended be addressed and repaired.

"The roofs are not constructed in a manner to prevent property damage and water intrusion in a snow/ice event," the report stated. "Leaks have occurred due to ice-damming and are expected to continue to occur in future winter months. Similarly, the siding is not constructed in a manner to prevent water intrusion, which is evident by signs of water egress from behind the siding, omitted flashings, and decayed trim."

The report recommended that Hayden Homes "Replace all trim with new fiber cement or cedar trim with proper head flashings integrated into the weather resistive barrier (WRB). All horizontal wood projections need to be protected by metal flashings per code; (and) remove and reinstall all windows per industry standards and manufacturer's specifications."

Rankin told The Nugget that Hayden Homes is not currently addressing those identified issues outside the roof replacement. As of press time, Hayden Homes representatives had not responded to a query from The Nugget as to whether Hayden is enacting all of the recommendations actions lined out in the J2 findings.

Residents at Village at Cold Springs are looking ahead toward winter with some level of trepidation. The TAC members expect the transfer of HOA responsibilities to occur soon enough to allow an effective emergency response plan to be put into place, and they are determined that neighbors will look out for each other, help keep snow off roofs and keep the roads plowed.

"That's the bottom line," Rankin told The Nugget. "Were a community and when the snow flies, we're out there shoveling for each other."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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