Why Condo Policies Prevent Your from Drilling Holes
Why Condo Policies Prevent Your from Drilling Holes
Condo owners looking for flexibility in interior design and to save space can often be frustrated by condo association policies that prohibit drilling into walls or pillars. Often, condo owners may want to hang a piece of art they cherish or mount a TV to clear up valuable space in their units. While these policies can be frustrating, condo associations have them in place for a number of important reasons.
First and foremost, condo associations set no-drilling policies for safety reasons. No matter what type of material your walls, columns, and pillars are made of, drilling into them can cause structural damage and weaken the structural integrity of your unit and the building as a whole. Drilling into these structures can cause cracks and weaken load-bearing structures. And oftentimes, there may be hidden pipes or electrical conduits that are housed in walls and pillars, and homeowners may inadvertently cause major damage to their unit and their buildings if they damage these elements. With these concerns in mind, condo associations will often have policies in place to discourage drilling, and as a unit owner, you may lose your valuable homeowner’s warranty if you violate them.
Additionally, drilling into walls and pillars leaves unsightly holes that may be difficult and costly to repair. You will either have to spend money fixing any holes you drill, or if you move, your condo association will need to fix them and will charge you high fees to do so. Even when the holes are patched, they can still be unsightly and may cause loss of value to the property or may make selling or renting the condo more difficult because of the unsightly look or because of structural damage.
In additional to safety and aesthetic concerns, drilling into walls and other structures can be noisy and messy, especially in concrete. Drilling into concrete takes special tools that are loud and can cause a disturbance for others living near your unit. Additionally, drilling can cause a mess and release dust and other harmful particles into the air of your unit and into the air duct systems, meaning these allergens and harmful residues can be transported into other condo owners’ units.
When condo owners are looking for options on where and how to hang artwork or where and how to mount a TV, choices can be limited. You can either buy a bulky entertainment unit that takes up space in your unit and may not achieve the clean design you’re looking for, or you can choose to violate condo association policies and risk safety and hard earned money by invalidating your home warranty.
Current options on the market for TV mounting that don’t cause damage are limited, but there are some emerging options on the market that may give condo owners more flexibility for damage-free mounting solutions.
