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Commercial · Condo CorporationsCondo Corporation HVAC — Common Areas & Corridor Make-Up Air
Condo corporation HVAC for common areas and corridor make-up air is the equipment the corporation owns and the reserve fund replaces: the gas-fired unit that pressurizes the hallways, the units serving the lobby and amenity rooms, and the garage exhaust fans with their CO sensors. It is separate from the fan coils or heat pumps inside the suites. When a board hears about cooking odours between suites, cold corridors and whistling suite doors in the same month, check the corridor make-up air unit first, because it has usually failed or been switched off.
The corridor unit is the building's ventilation system, and few residents know it exists. It sits on the roof, heats outdoor air with a gas burner and pushes it down a shaft to a grille on every floor. That keeps each corridor at slightly higher pressure than the suites, so air slips under every suite door and leaves through the suite's bathroom and kitchen exhaust. Stop the unit and the flow reverses: exhaust fans in one suite pull air from the corridor and from the neighbours.
Each complaint points at a different part of that unit. Cooking odours travelling between suites mean the fan is not moving air: a broken belt, a tripped motor or a switch someone turned off to save gas. Cold corridors mean the fan is running but the burner has locked out, so the building is being ventilated with unheated January air. Whistling doors mean a large pressure difference across the door, either because the unit is off and winter stack effect is dragging air through the gap, or because the floors are badly out of balance.
The rest of the common-element list is shorter. Lobbies, party rooms and gyms usually have their own rooftop or split systems, sized for a room that is empty most of the day and full on Saturday night. Underground garages have exhaust fans started by carbon monoxide sensors, and buildings with a central plant add heating boilers and domestic hot water, which fall under commercial boiler service. In-suite equipment is a separate question, answered under who is responsible for a condo fan coil unit.
Condo work is bought by committee, and the paperwork has to suit that. The property manager gathers competing quotes, the board approves at a meeting, and large replacements are planned through the reserve fund study, which the Condominium Act, 1998 requires the corporation to keep current with an update every three years. A belt, a burner service or a sensor is an operating expense; a new make-up air unit is a reserve fund item. Our quotes put scope, model, capacity, crane, permit and exclusions on separate lines so a board can set them beside two others.
We service common-element equipment for condo corporations across Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Hamilton and Etobicoke. Managers running several buildings should start with property management HVAC, which covers portfolio service and reporting. For one building and one problem, tell us what residents are reporting and which floors it affects.
Equipment we install and service
A gas-fired rooftop cabinet with a supply fan, burner, filters, outdoor-air damper and a discharge temperature control. Belts, bearings, the flame safeguard and the damper actuator are what fail; filters that are never changed starve the fan and the upper floors go short of air first.
Rooftop units or split systems for the lobby, party room, gym and management office. These rooms swing from empty to crowded, so scheduling and thermostat location matter as much as capacity.
Fans that clear vehicle exhaust from the underground garage, started by carbon monoxide sensors on each level. Sensors have a limited service life and need calibration; when they fail, the fans either never start or never stop.
Heating boilers, domestic hot water heaters, circulating pumps and mixing valves in buildings with central systems. Annual combustion testing and a written condition report give the reserve fund planner real numbers to work with.
What goes wrong in these buildings
- Residents on the sixth floor can tell what the fifth floor is having for dinner.
- The corridors are freezing in January and the superintendent insists the roof unit is running.
- Suite doors whistle on windy nights and owners are stuffing towels under them.
- The garage fans run all day and all night and the hydro bill shows it.
- The reserve fund study says the make-up air unit is due in two years and we hold one quote with no detail.
- The last contractor changed a belt, sent an invoice and left nothing in writing for the board.
How it works
Each unit is tagged, photographed and tested, with make, model, serial, age and deficiencies on one sheet. The board and the reserve fund planner get a copy written for people who are not technicians.
Repairs and replacements are priced separately, each with scope, equipment model, capacity and exclusions spelled out. Where repair and replacement are both reasonable, both are priced, with our recommendation and the reason for it.
Shutdowns of the corridor unit, crane lifts and work in hallways are booked through management with enough lead time for notices to go up. Replacement of a gas-fired unit includes any permit the municipality requires and start-up testing, and the board receives the start-up report.
Common questions
Is the corridor make-up air unit supposed to run all the time?
Yes. It is the ventilation supply for the building, and the suites' exhaust fans depend on it for replacement air. Switching it off overnight or for the winter to save gas moves odours between suites, lets corridors go stale and can make exterior suite doors hard to open. If gas cost is the concern, the fix is burner tuning and a sensible discharge temperature.
Who pays for a repair: the corporation or the unit owner?
The declaration decides. Equipment serving the common elements, such as the corridor unit, lobby and amenity units and garage fans, is normally the corporation's cost. A fan coil or heat pump inside a suite may belong to the owner or to the corporation depending on how the declaration draws the unit boundary, so management should check before either side authorizes work.
How long does a gas-fired make-up air unit last?
Many run 20 years or more when the burner is serviced annually and filters are changed on time, and reserve fund studies generally plan on that order of life. Age alone is a weak reason to replace. Replace when the heat exchanger or burner section fails, when control parts are discontinued, or when the cabinet has rusted through at the roof curb.
Why do our garage exhaust fans run constantly?
Usually one of three things: a CO sensor that has failed or drifted and reads high, a controller left in manual after a service call, or a system that was bypassed years ago and never restored. A technician tests each sensor with calibration gas and checks the controller's settings. Restoring demand control cuts fan hours without reducing safety.
Related
Keep the building running.
One licensed team for installs, maintenance contracts and 2 AM calls.