Mid-rise owners need to know that installation of a new AC/heat pump unit requires hiring a crane to lift the unit onto the roof. The cost is generally included in the overall contract price leaving owners blissfully unaware of the need or process involved. “Getting it done” for our owners was just another quiet service capably performed by our CAM, Ms. Grossman, who found working with most HVAC contractors, and the crane services they hired, to be cooperative, making the process routine. This customarily includes a preliminary, on-site meeting of all the vendors involved to coordinate the effort with special emphasis being placed on determining a lift location that will least disrupt the tree canopy and landscaping in the vicinity. Occasionally, some limb trimming is necessary at Association expense and under the CAM’s supervision.
That is no longer the case when owners have engaged Artic Air of Fernandina Beach to install their unit. To be precise, that is no longer the case when Artic Air has hired Coker Crane & Rigging of Yulee to perform the lift. After years of accommodation by other crane companies, Coker’s continuous insistence on extensive limb trimming raised alarms resulting in an inquiry. It has been learned that Coker’s equipment is unnecessarily large to perform the work. Its demand for extensive tree trimming does not originate from the need to allow adequate equipment involved but rather to accommodate the equipment Coker chooses to bring to the job. In one case, when informed and pressed, Arctic Air retained another crane service with smaller, more suitable equipment to perform the task without the need for trimming. We have no assurance this will continue.
Beach Wood’s tree canopy is treasured. Trimming at any time is not taken lightly. Publication of these events and findings is not meant to be a reflection on the services of Arctic Air or Cocker. It is meant to remind mid-rise owners of the “lift” portion of the installation process and the Association’s role in assuring that it is done properly in all respects. However, plans will not be approved and operations will be halted where the concerns of the Association are not met or disregarded.
Owners are reminded that a $500 construction security deposit must be paid before the installation can be approved and scheduled.