The Chapter House has a new roof! Well, partly …
After years of planning and collecting estimates, we finally had the rubber roof replaced at the end of June. Check out the pix below.
There were a few problem areas (leaks, ponding) that needed to be addressed, and the rubber roof as a whole had outlived its expected service life, so we made the decision to have the entirety of the rubber (EPDM) portion of the roof replaced.
This project cost just over $28,000, including replacement of some rotted wood underlayment and replacement of the skylight over the hallway on the first floor.
Obviously we wouldn’t have been able to complete this project without the generous donations of our alumni. Thanks to everyone who has made contributions to the Alumni Corp. year after year. You are the ones who made this possible.
We’d like to thank Joyland Roofing for doing an efficient, professional job. I’m also grateful to Nate Andros of James Street Housing, who helped us get estimates, select a vendor, and liaise with the contractor on a daily basis. We signed a contract with Nate a year ago for property management services, and his help has been invaluable in getting things fixed and hiring other contractors. He’s currently doing a ton of work for us to get the house ready for the fall semester.
This still leaves the shingled roof, which has also exceeded its expected service life. Before we can replace the shingled roof, however, we need to have all three chimneys repointed. Although the chimneys are not in use, the brick on the chimneys has worn down over the years and is in danger of leaking.
What’s next?
And now the bad news …
We had planned on tackling the chimneys next summer (2022), and had not planned for any other major improvement projects for the remainder of this year. While there are many other projects of all sizes on our to-do list, a recent housing inspection by the City inspector has abruptly rearranged our priorities.
Although the results of the inspection were positive overall, the housing inspector has mandated that we must address the following:
Make all windows throughout building openable. Windows must easily open and remain open with proper hardware.
Scrape and paint all exterior woodwork, brick and metal that is flaking or peeling on the entire property. Repair or replace all deteriorated woodwork on property and properly weather-seal rear stairways and balcony.
These are two very large and costly projects to address within a short period of time. Both the exterior woodwork and the wooden windows throughout the house have degraded badly over the years. The windows do not stay open on their own, and it’s fairly certain that repairing them will not be feasible, due to their condition and size. They will need to be replaced with vinyl or composite windows.
The violations must be abated by Oct. 4, according to the inspector’s report. Nate is in contact with the City inspector and is negotiating on our behalf to see whether the time frame for these projects can be extended. More news to follow.
We need your help!
Both of these projects were on our to-do list, but they’ve now become critical. And we urgently need your support.
If you haven’t yet made a contribution during this year, please do so now! Whatever you’re able to give is greatly needed and appreciated. Every contribution of any size will help!
It’s only with the support of our alumni that we’re able to keep the Chapter House running and make the fraternal experience available for the current generation of brothers at Zeta Chapter.
Contributions can be via PayPal or Venmo (@BRKrantz). Note that PayPal takes a percentage of each contribution. Or you can send a check payable to Zeta Alumni Corp. to:
Zeta Alumni Corp.
c/o Brad Rosenkrantz
73 Christopher St.
Montclair, NJ 07042-4231
Thanks for your continued support!
