Highland Meadows, Homeowners Association, Colleyville, Texas, HOA, News Archived Articles

The Great Wall Of Highland Meadows

Published: August 18, 2021

By The Numbers

A History by Ray Allee

In 2012, an inspection of the wall revealed a lot of damage and that the wall needed a lot of work to repair that damage. No maintenance or repair work had been done on the wall since it was built. The original engineering estimate was that it would cost over one million dollars to do all the repair or rebuilding of the entire wall along Pool Road and Hall Johnson. The HMHOA Board of Directors decided to prioritize the repairs starting with the section in the worst shape. It was also decided to do the work on a pay as you go basis, only do what could be afforded out of the current year budget, and only do the necessary repairs to save money. In other words, it would be a multiyear effort with no special assessments levied for wall repair.

The wall sections are numbers. Sections 1 through 4 are along Pool Road. Sections 5 through 8 are along Hall Johnson Road.

Specifications and requests for proposals were sent to the following contractors asking them to bid on the multiyear wall repairs.

The proposals were evaluated and two contractors were selected to make presentations to the HMHOA Board of Directors. The board selected Reconstruction Experts (RE) to do the repairs and rebuild the wall over the next several years. The repair work started in 2013.

The north half of section three was in the worst shape. Trees had lifted the foundation, wall panels and columns were cracked and in danger of falling down. Caps had been knocked off the wall by the tree limbs.

The foundation had to be dug out and a new foundation poured. The brick used in the Highland Meadows wall is no longer available, so new brick had to be custom cast. It was decided at that time to go ahead and replace the monument signs with new cast concrete signs on the north and south sides of the Highland Drive entrance. Also the south part of the section three wall was power washed and sealed. New LED lights were installed on the north and south sides.

The total cost for this project was $110,412.

In 2014, the HOA received an estimate for the repairs of section 5 of the wall. The HOA did not have the available funds, so the project was put on hold.

In 2015, the funds were available so work commenced on the repairs to section five of the wall. The work consisted of installing NP-1 sealant in 10 wall cracks, completely rebuilding 3 columns, partially rebuilding 4 columns, resetting 16 column caps, replacing 2 broken caps with new cast caps, resetting 4 wall caps, grinding and tuck pointing ladder wire, partially rebuilding one panel, and tuck pointing stair step cracks. New LED lights were installed. Section 5 panel 2 and the foundation had to be rebuilt.

The total cost for this project was $45,635.

In 2016 repairs commenced on section six of the wall. The work consisted of installing NP-1 sealant in 8 wall cracks, partially rebuilding 9 columns, resetting 10 column caps, replacing 4 broken column caps with new cast caps, reset 10 wall caps, fill joints between 14 columns and panels with NP-1 to provide for expansion, inspect column foundation to determine cause of column shift. Repair damaged brick at the monument 3 flower bed. Section 6 panel 11 remove exposed ladder wire and tuck point the affected area. Section 6 column 13 cut vertical expansion joint and apply NP-1 to both sides of column. Section 7 panel 19 fill vertical crack with NP-1. Section 7 column 22 partial panel rebuild.

The total cost of this project was $22,533.

In 2017 Sections 7 and 8 were cleaned with Enviro Clean “ReVive” soiling remover to remove the mold and mildew. There is 866 linear feet in Section 7 and 276 linear feet in section 8. After the washed wall dried Prime-a-Pell masonry sealer was applied to help resist biological growth. In section 7 columns 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 35, and 37 install NP-1 sealant to provide for expansion. Reset column caps 35,36, and 72. Partially rebuild columns 32 and 36. Tuck point panels 32, 34, and 37. In section 8 remove and reset planter bed brick. Install NP-1 sealer to the sides of columns 3 and 10 to provide for expansion. Reset column 3 cap. Reset panel 9 and 10 wall caps. Tuck point panel 8. Section 1 planting bed repair and power wash and seal.

The total cost for this project was $33,188.

In 2018 the letters were stolen off several of the monument signs. The board moved getting new monument signs to the top of the priority list for wall repairs. The entrance signs posed a unique problem. Not all radiuses are the same. And openings are not all the same size. Each sign had to be custom cast. The first set of cast signs were unacceptable. New ones had to be cast at the contractor’s expense. The project was not completed until early 2020. The total cost for the new monument signs includes the insurance portion.

The total cost for this project was $62,760.

Additional repairs to section 7 include filling the joint between columns and panel with NP-1 to provide for expansion. Reset panel top cap, and tuck point column and adjacent panels, at C21, P21, C20, P20, C19 and P19.

The total cost for this project was $2,100.

The work in 2019 was on the priority monument sign replacement project. Part of this was the rebuilding of the damaged panel that held the monument sign in section3. Tree roots had split the foundation and a very large crack ran all the way to the top of the panel. The panel had to be taken down. The foundation had to be demolished. A new foundation was poured, the wall panel was rebuilt and the new monument sign installed.

The total cost for this project was $9,750.

The only thing currently on the2020 project list is washing and sealing sections 5 and 6, along with a light power wash of section 7 to remove any dirt and dust. There is 803 linear feet in section 5 and 933 linear feet in section 6.

The total cost for this project was $46,208.

The grand total for all wall repairs and rebuilds since 2012 is $344,436.

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Highland Meadows HOA