Page 18
— Property Management Quarterly — January 2016
M
any times, it seems that
maintaining a parking
garage in the Rocky Moun-
tain region can be a burden
to property managers and
feel like a money pit to owners.
Contrasting that is the fact that
a parking structure is a significant
asset. If not maintained, it will dete-
riorate over time and ultimately will
cost the owner money in excessive
repair expenses or in a reduced sale
price for the property.
Parking garages are subject to
harsher environmental conditions
than a typical building, including
wear and tear from vehicular traf-
fic, varying loads and contaminants
brought into the garage by vehicles.
Furthermore, open parking struc-
tures that are directly exposed to the
weather are particularly vulnerable,
as they are subject to repeated freeze-
thaw cycles, deicing chemicals and
damage from snow removal proce-
dures.
A good first line of defense against
future costly repairs is to engage a
qualified structural engineer, who
is experienced in repairing parking
garages, to perform an overall condi-
tion assessment. The engineer should
develop a written report documenting
the conditions observed as well as
provide recommendations for repair-
ing and maintaining the integrity of
the structure. Examples of items that
should be evaluated are
• deteriorated or cracked slabs,
beams or columns;
• cracks or spalls on the perimeter
spandrel beams;
• exposed rebar or post-tensioning
tendons;
• evidence of bro-
ken post-tensioning
cables;
• structural mem-
bers that appear to
have inadequate
support;
• differential verti-
cal slab movements
when vehicles pass
over a joint;
• evidence of
unusual movement
of the structural
elements;
• excessive corro-
sion on steel struc-
tural elements;
• water leaking through below-
grade walls;
• leaking, separated or torn expan-
sion joints;
• rust on exposed steel, despite pre-
vious cleaning and painting of these
surfaces;
• squashed, torn or out-of-place
bearing pads below any precast con-
crete beams; and
• any other items that appear to
be a potential safety concern to the
garage users.
If the garage needs repairs following
the condition assessment, repair bud-
gets can be developed and a repair
plan implemented as a collaborative
effort between the property manager,
owner and engineer.
If the garage structure is in rela-
tively good condition and not in need
of immediate repairs, implementing
a thorough, long-term maintenance
plan will go a long way to prolong
the life of the parking structure and
postpone or prevent potentially costly
repairs. It is a good idea to invest in a
written maintenance plan or manual
that is tailored specifically to the indi-
vidual garage. This document should
include a narrative describing the
structural systems used to construct
the garage, a list of the current water-
proofing systems in place, and dis-
cussions on how to best maintain the
structure in the future. Maintenance
manuals frequently contain mainte-
nance checklists so that on-site main-
tenance personnel can perform quick
reviews of what items have been
performed periodically throughout
the year. Also, it can be a proactive
budgeting tool for the owner or prop-
erty manager with recommended
frequencies of tasks to be performed
at multiyear intervals along with esti-
mates of their associated costs.
Given our winter climate, the main-
tenance plan needs to address specif-
ic methods and procedures for snow
and ice removal at the exposed levels
of the garage.When snow is stored
in large piles, it can result in garage
loading that is many times greater
than the structure originally was
designed to support.When added to
the weight of snow removal equip-
ment, a potentially dangerous condi-
tion could arise. The maintenance
plan should define the capacity of the
structure, outline what size of snow
removal equipment is acceptable, and
offer acceptable locations and sizes of
snow storage stockpiles.
Engineers who perform annual
garage assessments sometimes can
provide the maintenance plan; how-
ever, not all engineering firms have
the expertise to produce this type of
document. Most engineers who spe-
Maintenance
Ben Bromiel, PE
Structural
investigative
engineer, Martin/
Martin Inc.,
Lakewood
All garages should go through an overall condition assessment in order to determine the
needed immediate and long-term repairs and maintenance.
