Homeowner associations (HOAs) have special requirements when it comes to exteriors like roofing, siding, and gutters. Typically, conformity is required according to the existing community rules and regulations, making it important to have a plan for adhering to the guidelines before starting a roofing replacement, gutter installation, or new siding. Additionally, HOA renovation projects need to be planned well in advance to receive the board’s approval and acquire the funds allocated from the HOA’s budget. 

Does your HOA need an exterior refresh? We’ve put together the things you’ll want to know about installing new roofing, siding, and gutters in a homeowners association.

This guide includes:

  • Sneaky signs your HOA needs roofing, siding, and gutter maintenance

  • Why gutters are a worthwhile investment + info on seamless gutters

  • What to look for in an HOA contractor 

  • Why Midwest Exteriors MN is the right company for the job!

Sneaky Signs Your HOA Needs Exterior Maintenance 

Many of us are familiar with the telltale signs that a home needs exterior maintenance: missing roof shingles or pieces of siding, for example. But HOA neighborhoods tend to work a little differently because smart HOA boards are just as concerned with aesthetics as they are with functionality. 

This dual focus means that obvious signs of home exterior damage or outdated materials are often quickly taken care of. It’s the less obvious, more insidious signs of decay that pose bigger hazards to HOA neighborhoods and require prompt reparative attention.

Rotting Siding

If your neighborhood favors wood siding, you must keep an eye out for rot. Contrary to popular belief, this common wood siding issue doesn’t stop just because it’s winter! 

Rot can be caused by any number of things; The problem is due to the growth of a fungus that eats away at certain organic materials. It’s an issue for aesthetic reasons, of course, but also for the structural integrity of your buildings and the health of your residents. It’s your duty as an HOA board to nip this problem in the bud, no matter the time of year. The good news is that replacement siding can be installed in the winter!

Appearance-wise, rot can make its presence known as a cotton-like or greyish film on top of a slab of wood siding – or any other wood item, for that matter. However, rot can come in many forms and be much sneakier than it lets on, so it’s important for your HOA to do a thorough inspection of every house and community building exterior during the winter months. Look for cracking paint and the telltale stench of decaying wood, which smells a bit like leaf litter. Poking at the siding with the tip of a sharp object, such as a screwdriver, will allow you to feel if its physical integrity has been compromised. 

If it feels at all mushy, then the building has a wood rot problem and is an excellent candidate for springtime siding replacement. Consider rot-resistant wood brands in the future, such as Alside.

Ice Dams 

While this isn’t a hard-and-fast indication that your neighborhood might be looking at extensive roofing contractor work in the spring, the presence of ice dams in your gutters and eaves is nothing to sneeze at. Ice dams are a particularly pesky northern problem where snow, heated by your roof, slides down it as water and freezes into ice as it cools on the eaves and gutters, creating ice dams. These big walls of ice prevent melted snow from draining off your roof, resulting in standing water that can easily infiltrate your roof and cause moisture damage. 

Long story short: Ice dams usually indicate there’s an issue with standing water on the roof, which is a problem best left in the hands of an experienced roofing company to solve. 

Clogged Gutters 

If your community tries to sneak by without doing this chore, you’ve got a problem! Dirty gutters can’t do the job of protecting your roof due to all the debris inside, which can quickly lead to clogs. Soon enough, the water building up in less-than-ideal places around your neighborhood’s property will quickly make itself known come spring!

Moreover, dirty gutters tend to let water build up inside of them, and as we all were taught in chemistry class, when water freezes, it expands in volume. When it comes to your gutters, this can mean excess strain and bursting, which necessitates new aluminum gutters or copper gutters in the spring!  

At this point, though, there isn’t much you can do about this problem, so focus on finding a reputable gutter replacement company to help you.

Are Gutters a Worthwhile Investment for HOAs?

If you run an HOA, you’ve got a lot on your plate. From maintaining community amenities and common buildings to managing neighborhood finances, this volunteer position comes with a fair share of duties – one of which is maintaining a high standard of living for those who pay association dues. 

As part of this, you are responsible for choosing what financial investments are smart for your neighborhood’s exterior aesthetic. While many HOA boards like to go big when it comes to this, frequently hiring landscaping experts and the like, one renovation that’s often overlooked is gutters. 

As devoted condo contractors and HOA partners, Midwest Exteriors MN knows a thing or two about gutters – we started our business in 1994 specializing in gutters! Our team has helped many HOA boards across Minnesota keep their neighborhood exteriors going strong. 

Seamless Gutters Are Always a Great HOA Renovation

Gutters come in two broad categories: seamed and seamless. Seamed gutters consist of a series of parts that interlock, while seamless gutters are long pieces of aluminum or other material that is cut on-site to custom-fit a house or building. The latter category is always an awesome upgrade for any HOA.

Traditional seamed gutters are old school and clunky-looking. Plus, they have many spaces where debris can get caught, which severely impacts how your HOA’s gutters direct streams of water away from your precious and pricey landscaping. 

If you want to keep a space looking nice, seamless gutters are the way to go. They’re sleek and understated, making your community look charmingly modern. Plus, they clog less frequently, meaning that the landscaping you’ve invested so much in will last you longer.

Seamless gutters reliably direct rainwater away from your coveted community spaces, day in and day out, asking little but a few simple clean-outs per year to keep up their crusade. If this water is allowed to fall straight down, which can happen easily with traditional gutters, it could cause some major structural damage.

Common seamed gutter issues include siding stains, cracked foundations, soil erosion, and even mosquito numbers rising. Gutters are faithful, reliable, and an integral part of a building’s protection system: Learn more about how gutters protect your home’s exterior.

It’s no doubt a smart move to make sure your HOA is equipped with the best gutters available!

Why Choose Midwest Exteriors MN for HOA Upgrades?

At the end of the day, any company your HOA hires must be as hardworking as your board members. Getting down to work doesn’t end at the construction site –  not when you work with a quality roofing, siding, and gutter installation company.

Here are some qualities to look for when hiring an HOA contractor and why you should choose our team at Midwest Exteriors MN! 

Experience With HOAs 

Quite a few condo contractors and similar firms will shy away from working with HOAs; They dislike the negotiation between board members and the unyielding regulations which construction for HOAs must take place under. 

A quality exterior renovation firm will not hesitate to roll up its sleeves and tackle the job, no matter how long it takes for decisions to be made and no matter how much official regulations influence decisions.

Open Communication 

While this is important to the success of all construction projects, it’s crucial in projects where HOAs are involved due to the number of people and the strength of opinions involved. 

At Midwest Exteriors MN, we stress open communication with our HOA clients, going so far as to meet with board members in person to get a better feel for what everyone hopes to get out of the project. 

Putting Your Community First 

Quality contractors understand the importance of HOAs in their communities, and they understand that any construction project has a direct impact on property values and the financial stability of the residents. 

Midwest Exteriors MN has spent years working with HOA communities; We understand how central our work is to your neighborhood’s wellbeing. That’s why we’ll even attend board meetings to answer questions about our work in your neighborhood!

Versatile Services 

We know how much you, as a board member, have on your plate. We talked all about it in the first paragraph. Therefore, we’ve made it our mission to provide quality service for countless HOA needs, from garage door installation to gutter installation to ice dam removal. 

We simplify the process on your end by streamlining communication. There’s no need to track down multiple contractors for all your HOA needs. We also make the vetting process easy. 

When you work with Midwest Exteriors MN, you can rest easy knowing that, no matter what you hire us for, the job will be completed both on time and to the highest possible standard.

Experience With Insurance-Based Work

It doesn’t take an HOA board member to tell you that insurance claims of any sort are difficult. Sorting through these when you’ve got a whole neighborhood to run gets even dicier. When it comes to insurance-related restoration projects, HOAs can benefit from the help of a contractor who has experience with insurance companies and who always follows best practices. 

At Midwest Exteriors MN, we have years of experience helping HOAs navigate insurance claims, and we’d be happy to guide you through the process.

For Siding, Roofing, & Gutter Installation, Contact Midwest Exteriors MN Today!

Our bids are competitive. We are not the cheapest bid and are therefore not the lowest quality. Our high-quality materials and highly professional installation methods, combined with the necessary attention to detail, leave our HOA customers very satisfied. And for condominium HOAs, we ensure the disruption of the use of the building by the tenants is minimized.

Each day, while the job is underway, the site is kept clean. When the old roofing is removed, no debris is left lying around, landscaping is protected by being covered completely with tarps, and stray nails are picked up with magnets. Once we are done, the job site will look better than when we started. Check out some of our reviews of previous work for additional information. 

We’d be delighted to be your HOA’s company of choice for any number of home exterior replacements. To see what our business can do for your community, give us a call today at 651-346-9477.