The owner set out to replace the windows and sliding doors on a Clearwater triplex. Once the work opened up, the building showed problems nobody had seen from the outside.
The Problem
The windows and sliders across all three units were dated and past their useful life, which is what brought the owner to us. But the exterior had been quietly deteriorating for years. The soffit carrying the pool cage was failing. The lanai had rotted through and was sitting on standing water, which meant the structure underneath was taking damage every time it rained. The stone and concrete gate structures on both sides of the building had broken down as well. On a rental property, none of this stays cosmetic for long. It turns into tenant complaints, water intrusion, and repairs that cost several times what they would have cost earlier.
Scope of work
We started where the owner asked, replacing every window and sliding glass door across the property. As those openings came apart, the extent of the deterioration became clear, and the job expanded to address it properly. We repaired the soffit supporting the exterior pool cage and remediated the stone and concrete gate structures on both sides of the building. The lanai was gutted completely, floor to roof, and rebuilt using concrete backer board so the assembly can handle direct weather exposure instead of absorbing it. We coordinated and installed new awnings on the front exterior windows, and ran new underground electrical service out to the shed. All permits on the job were pulled and closed.
Results
A 3,500 square foot triplex with a sound exterior, new windows and sliders throughout, and a lanai that will not rot out again.
A note on permits
Every permit on this job was pulled and closed out. That matters more than it sounds on a rental property, because open or missing permits surface at sale, at refinance, and in insurance claims. Closed permits mean the owner has a clean file on the building.
Worth saying too: the expanded scope was not upselling. The soffit and the lanai were structural problems found during the work, and leaving them would have meant new windows sitting in a building that was still failing around them.
Older buildings usually hide more than they show. Have us take a look at yours before the small problems get expensive.
