Runaway Beach - Sandy Repairs Complete Renovations

Challenge

Runaway Beach Condo Association in Sea Bright NJ was completely devastated during Super Storm Sandy in October 2012. Runaway Beach is a four building complex of two-story units that sits directly behind the sea wall in Sea Bright. As the storm surged overthe wall, it severely damaged all four buildings, aswell as the pool and pool house. Fortunately, all thehomeowners had evacuated and moved most itemsup to the second floor. After several days of the area being closed off the residents were allowed in and began the clean up with an unfamiliar contractor. The new contractor began with some simple debris removal and then began interior demolition and even some restoration of plumbing. Several months had gone by and the residents of the association were getting concerned that there was no evident progress and they were still displaced, living with relatives, friends and even in shelters.

One of the board members learned about Quality 1^st Contracting from a relative who had hired Quality 1st contracting to restore their condominium complex in Lavalette. The Runaway Beach board members reached out to Quality 1st to see if they could help or take over the project to help the homeowners of Runaway Beach return to their homes. After a few meetings, Quality 1st Contracting was hired to take over the project. They had to complete the demolition, clean up, and fully restore the complex so that unit owners could return to their homes. Quality 1st Contracting was selected due to the man power they could provide to quickly move the project along and the great work they had done at another project several miles down the road for another complex, which was  also destroyed during Super Storm Sandy.

There were a number of challenges during this project that were unique to this complex. Unlike other projects, Runaway Beach had experienced some severe foundation damage due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Quality 1st Contracting called in its sister company Quality 1st Basement Systems to install 3” push piers, which stabilized the foundation footings and thus prevented further movement of the foundation. This was important because the interior construction could not resume until the foundation was stabilized. Quality 1^st Contracting had to review all of the previous contractor’s work and check for safety and workmanship. Unfortunately, we were forced to redo a number of items in order to comply with local code and safety rules. Our partners handling the electrical, plumbing and HVAC also had to review the previous work done. They found a number of unsafe short cuts, which were redone to meet local building and safety codes.

Solution

Upon completing the structural work, plumbing and HVAC, we fixed the interiors and worked directly with the homeowners to coordinate upgrades, colors, appliances, and floorings. Many homeowners took what we offered as a base package and were extremely happy, since the base package was an upgrade from what they had prior to the storm. Other homeowners opted to do some interior upgrades to improve their homes, since they were already displaced. Quality 1st Contracting called in their partners from flooring, painting and tile trades to provide upgrades to these homeowners.

Once the interior was completed, we moved to the exterior. Quality 1st Contracting renovated the siding, doors, trims and pool house. The buildings were sided with the style and color of the association’s choice; it gave the complex a great new look! The old pool house was replaced with a new and improved pool house, including a brand new deck and new set of stairs that allowed the residents to go up and over the sea wall onto the beautiful beach. The Runaway Beach homeowners are thrilled with the outcome and new look of the buildings; some even say their new homes are worth far more than they were worth before the storm!