Re-siding an occupied building: how we keep residents in place safely

Do residents have to move out during a re-side?

Usually not. At the pre-start meeting with your manager or board, we work through three questions for each building:

• Can every unit stay usable? Power, water and heat stay on, the wall stays weather-protected, and residents have a safe way in and out that doesn’t cross the work zone.
• What’s restricted, and until when? Balconies, patios, parking, walkways and shared spaces, each with the condition for reopening.
• What happens if conditions change? Who can pause work, who assesses the problem, and who arranges and communicates any temporary accommodation.

We don’t promise uninterrupted occupancy until each building’s plan supports it. We ask the manager to collect access needs privately (a step-free route, equipment that needs power) and plan around them. Those details stay out of community notices.

How do you sequence the work around residents?

We break the property into buildings and elevations (the individual sides of each building). Before opening the next zone, we agree how much wall can be open, how it’s protected overnight, and which routes stay available. If damage, inspections or weather shift the sequence, we update the schedule and the notices.

Every phase has a checkpoint and a record your manager keeps. This is the worksheet we use at the pre-start meeting:

Phasing across budget years is possible. We show you how unfinished edges are protected between phases and what repeat mobilization costs; your board confirms its governing documents, approvals and budget. The siding bid and scope review keeps that scope clear.

How are parking, access and noise handled?

We map resident routes and work zones together. Staging, debris and overhead work compete with entrances and sidewalks, so we set the route residents use, make sure it works for the people who need it, and re-check it whenever the crew moves. If an entrance has to close for a period, the notice says so.

OSHA’s construction egress standard requires unobstructed exit access and proper exit marking. We stage around the building’s required exits, and any temporary exit arrangement is confirmed with the local authority before we rely on it.

Each building notice covers:

• Parking spaces out of service, where to park instead, and how to ask for help.
• The entrance and route to use, any balcony or patio that’s off-limits, and a simple map.
• Work hours and the noisy stretches residents should expect.
• When the next update comes and who announces reopening. A barricaded area stays closed until we release it, even if it looks finished.

At the end of every day the crew walks the area and logs what’s protected, open and still restricted. Your manager is welcome to walk it with us.

Will utilities stay on throughout the project?

For most of the wall, yes. Siding around service attachments, meters, exterior wiring, plumbing and vents can need another trade or the utility. We list each affected system, who’s responsible, whether an interruption is expected, and what has to happen before service returns.

For Evergy-served properties, Evergy’s construction and service resources handle meter and service requests and include separate multifamily service documents. Its repair-responsibility guidance explains which equipment is the utility’s and which is the customer’s, and how the electrician, inspection and reconnection steps fit together. We confirm each property’s actual provider first.

Meter and service work is done by the electrician and the utility, never improvised by a siding crew or a resident. The resident notice names the affected units, the confirmed window, who reports a delay, and the plan for anyone who can’t stay in the unit during it.

What if tear-off reveals hidden damage?

Rotted sheathing under old siding is common, and most of it is a limited repair done the same way with residents home. Damage that reaches structural support, the interior, a required exit or building systems is a different call. We agree on this exception process before mobilization:

1. Secure the area. The crew protects the opening and pauses that part of the work.
2. Document it. Building, elevation, affected units or routes, photos, and what’s still unknown.
3. Get the right expert. A designer, engineer, specialist, utility or code official assesses the finding as needed. Board approval of the cost is a separate step from technical sign-off.
4. Approve the revised scope. Repairs, price basis, inspections, schedule effect, and any change to access, services or accommodation, in writing.
5. Update residents, then resume. Restrictions stay in place until the revised conditions are confirmed.

Ask every bidder to separate a priced repair allowance from how work beyond it gets approved.

Does an older painted building need lead-safe work?

If the work disturbs painted surfaces on housing built before 1978, lead renovation rules can apply, and we sort that out before tear-off. EPA’s RRP overview covers included work, exceptions, certification and work practices.

Kansas runs its own authorized state RRP program, and EPA’s firm-certification page directs Kansas firms there. Because the metro spans two states, we confirm which program and qualifications apply to each building’s location.

EPA’s Renovate Right guide says residents must stay out of the work area and may need other arrangements, sometimes a temporary move. This is one of the few cases where occupancy can change, so we plan containment, access, cleaning and reopening for the actual work. For covered work, EPA’s common-area notice guidance sets what information affected occupants must receive. EPA also notes an exterior common area can affect residents in other buildings, so we work out who must be notified rather than emailing only the nearest units.

What goes in a resident communication plan?

We write notices from confirmed phase decisions: an initial announcement, a building-specific notice, change updates, and a reopening notice. A cadence that works well is three to four weeks before mobilization, about a week before each building, and a reminder before work reaches an elevation, adjusted to any notice requirements in your leases or governing documents.

Every building notice answers six things:

1. Building and elevation, expected start and duration, and the next update date.
2. Parking and balcony restrictions, with the resident route and access map.
3. Any planned service interruption and who’s coordinating it.
4. What residents need to do and by when, plus a private way to ask for help.
5. A routine project contact and a separate urgent-safety procedure.
6. Who confirms reopening and how changes are announced.

The resident communication and access plan has notices you can adapt. Keep a dated copy of every notice and who got it, so the next shift, manager or board member works from the same information.