Condo boards approving a facade project are usually managing significant shared expense with real accountability to unit owners. A handful of questions upfront can prevent a lot of friction later.
What's the full scope, and what happens if hidden damage is found mid-project? Facade work sometimes uncovers issues that weren't visible during the initial assessment, and knowing the process for handling that in advance avoids a surprise change order later.
How will resident disruption be managed? Noise, access restrictions, and visual disruption all affect residents directly, and a clear communication plan from the vendor matters as much as the work itself.
What documentation will we receive when the project is complete? Dated, photographic records matter for the board's own files and for any future recertification or inspection requirements the building faces.
Is the vendor's insurance and certification verified, not just claimed? For any provider using drone-based methods specifically, this means confirming FAA Part 107 certification directly rather than taking it on faith.
How does this project fit into the building's broader maintenance timeline? A facade project considered in isolation, without factoring in an upcoming recertification deadline or other planned work, can end up costing more than a coordinated approach would have.
Boards should also feel comfortable asking for references from other associations, not just commercial property owners, since residential projects carry different logistical demands around resident communication and access that a purely commercial vendor relationship might not have had to navigate before.
Boards that ask these questions upfront tend to have a much smoother project overall. Services covering facade cleaning are generally used to fielding exactly this kind of board-level scrutiny, and window cleaning is often part of the same conversation when window condition factors into the broader facade plan.
