ETI has been engaged to complete an emergency restoration project at Presidential Towers, a multi-tower apartment complex in the West Loop. The Towers are managed by Waterton, a property management company ETI has worked with in the past.

“Working with a repeat client is always a rewarding feeling,” says ETI President Ivan Tello. “It tells me that we’re meeting client expectations and have earned their trust by providing consistent quality work, delivered on time.”

ETI and Waterton have previously collaborated on other multi-family restoration projects, including the fire restoration project at the Oaks at Willow Hill apartments in the South Suburbs of Chicago.

Built in 1986, Presidential Towers is composed of four 49-story high-rises and over two thousand multi-family units. The current project at the Towers is an emergency restoration of 50 apartment units that sustained significant damage from a multi-level water leak.

“There was a fire in one of the units, and that triggered the sprinkler system,” says Tello. “Thankfully no one was hurt, but a significant number of units sustained water damage.”

The scope of work for the project, estimated to take 6 to 8 weeks, involves removing and replacing any drywall, baseboard or trim that has sustained water damage, or has detectable moisture embedded into the surrounding area.

“Water restoration projects are tricky,” says Director of Construction Mario Miranda. “You really don’t know the extent of the damage just by looking at a piece of drywall or trim. From an exterior view, everything may look okay, but there could be moisture buildup behind the drywall that can be difficult to detect.”

Testing moisture buildup levels is a vital process of any water restoration project. Moisture-compromised building materials need to be detected and replaced in a timely manner.

Other work involved in this project includes painting, removing and reinstalling damaged cabinetry and ceramic tiling and repairing damaged trim.

One of the biggest challenges of working in a high-rise setting with a large number of units is coordinating the repair schedule with management and the residents who have been impacted.

“Our goal is to be as unobtrusive to the residents as we can,” says Miranda. “Fifty units need to be repaired, so there’s definitely a sense of urgency on our end regarding efficiency and precision.”