The primary reason the renovation project needs to move forward “now” is the Poly-B piping issue in the buildings. For those who are unaware, 14 of the 17 buildings at SVV were built using pipes constructed with a type of plastic known as polybutylene (“Poly-B”). Poly-B was approved construction piping common at the time throughout North America that was subsequently discovered to have failure issues related to heat and ultra-violet radiation (the latter being a result of storage prior to use).

It would be nice to simply address failures as they occur, but for those owners who have experienced a water leak, the cost of reacting to a leak is far greater than proactively fixing it. In addition, the operational problems related to relocating guests and managing the unavailable inventory when units are offline for repair are significant.

Perhaps just as critical, as Poly-B pipe problems are a known issue (similar to a pre-existing condition for health insurance), any significant claims will make it uninsurable which will mean that anytime there is a leak that must be fixed, insurance will not cover any damage directly attributable to the leak. Currently, SVV experiences approximately 6 – 10 leaks per month and as a result monitor each building daily.

For those owners who would like to understand the history of Poly-B pipe, why it is a risk to the resort, and why it needs to be fixed, the following links* provide a good summary of the issue:

  1. http://www.repipenews.com/ – A US website which provides a good explanation of what Poly B piping is and the issues related to it.
  2. The Government of Alberta Fact Sheet on Poly B piping.
  3. A British Columbia article that describes the Poly B issues.
  4. https://scm-rms2.ca/classact/ – The primary class action lawsuit settlement for Canada. This site provides additional information to highlight the extent of the issue and that recourse was achieved against the developers of the pipe. The site also highlights that the resort may have been eligible for partial reimbursement from the class action had the previous property manager acted on the issue by 2005.

* NOTE: The above links refer to sites external to Northwynd Resort Properties Ltd. and are provided as a convenience only. Third party website information may change at any time and as a result, Northwynd Resort Properties Ltd. cannot guarantee the continuity or accuracy of the information provided therein. If a link provided no longer refers to the expected information, please contact Vacation Ownership Services so we can remove or update the link.

On January 17, 2013, we had a major failing as a result of the Poly-B piping issue. This was one of the worst of the many leaks experienced as a result of the Poly-B piping. A ¾ inch pipe burst resulting in water damage that required closing units 803, 807 and 810 for repair.

Attached are pictures from those units to highlight the issue.