Adding a roof exhaust

It makes sense from the building's perspective. What if there's a leak nearby? The shareholder would say it's not related to the exhaust, the building would say it is related to the exhaust. It's awfully hard to pinpoint exactly what caused a leak, so this removes any doubt and just says the entire roof is the shareholder's responsibility no matter what.

The building gains nothing here while you gain a bathroom. Makes no sense for the building to take on any additional risk.

Thank you flarf for your input. I see what you are saying.
I know there was a roof leak in the winter and they said they would fix it. I wonder if prior to starting the work I should request some proof it was addressed? I would hate for them to be waiting for my work to be completed and then I get stuck with the roof repair.

I think your first step should be speaking with an attorney. Roofs have finite lives; you may be OK with taking on responsibility for repairs, but I would want to carve out routine maintenance. This gets beyond an architect's expertise and could make a difference of tens of thousands of dollars later on. An attorney who specializes in NYC co-op board/shareholder issues will have experience here and keep this from becoming a big headache one day, especially when you sell the place. And yes, you'll be on the hook for the building's attorney to review any documents as well.

We tried like hell to get a vent through the roof from our kitchen hood, but the board said no -- wasn't even up for negotiation. Now we can barely boil water without setting off a smoke detector. At least you have the option.

Seasy, Do you really want to take responsibility for whole roof? That is nuts.

A reasonable compromise is do the work to very high standards and pay the building for any related leaks. It is not that hard to determine what caused the leak. Your insurance will cover it. Insurance companies do it all the time. Otherwise get on the board and then do the exhaust.

@300_mercer I do not want to take responsibility for the roof. I am going to try to negotiate something.

Does anyone think this is a good idea? A roof inspection done prior to agreeing to this?

I have access to the roof as I am the top floor apartment. I feel if the inspectors find the roof is in disrepair, I can bring that to the table. I'm thinking a roof inspection can cost 500-1k but will def give me more bargaining power. Especially if the roof is current not maintained well.

Puncturing the roof membrane is never a good idea, even for something 'small' like a vent, and may actually void the roof warranty. I am frankly surprised your board is considering allowing this to happen at all.

If you have access to the roof, isn't roof maintenance building into your higher number of shares? Do you really want to pay twice. Why not run exhaust via opening in the stairs rather than punching the roof?

In many coops if you "own" the roof then you are already responsible for the maintenance of it.

I assume that your roof already has exhaust vents for all of the other bathrooms/kitchens in the building? Don't know the size of the building, but roof repairs are expensive, and inevitable. I could not imagine taking on that responsibility, unless as 30yrs says this is already your roof, in which case it is already your problem. Are there other top floor units?

Look at your proprietary lease re: roof responsibilities. Generally a PH unit shareholder (or other shareholder with private use of the roof) is responsible for things like keeping the area free of debris from snow, leaves, and the like but NOT for actual maintenance of the membrane itself. That is the co-op's responsibility.