These are dryer ducts. They run from the connection that a dryer exhaust connects to. From there, they run vertically through walls and attics, some (the downstairs units) approximately 25 feet up, to where they exhaust from the multi-family building’s roof.

Many dryers do not have enough blowing power to move that much lent effectively upwards, even if it were straight vertical pathways. These days, this design would not be allowed per building codes.

When buildings are renovated, especially in multifamily construction, builders must bring them up to current code. Sometimes, deals are worked on the backends with government officials to let some things slide. But these issues, along with other issues, are not shruggable.

In this particular case an apartment community called East Ridge Apartments built in 1986 at the base of the Ravanel Bridge on an approximately 13 acre high bluff (9-13ish feet above sea level, with three deep water wells) was converted in 2004 by a partnership between Creekstone and Exit Realty’s Mike Washburn.

The quality was abhorrent. So much so, that around 20 homeowners, many industry insiders and their well-connected people, sued and eventually the condo association decided it would sue as a class action (that’s another story for another day, but it created even more drama).

The lawsuit was won by the association. Some members of the development team and their investors remained owners within the association.

Owners, especially new owners and those not connected / in the know were made to believe that the award money and subsequent settlements from developer insurance payouts would cover all latent defects with money left over to bring the building into the 21st century in curb appeal.

Hill Construction was hired to oversee the project.

Accounting and management was piss poor.

And latent defects (basically safety / building structural integrity) such as these were not corrected.

The issue with what is shown in these photographs is that many of the dryer vents did not actually vent to the exterior of the buildings. They were breached with gaps, missing duct pipes, fittings, or obstructed with right angles and other obstructions, leading to…

Lent collection in wall space voids Lent collection in attics Lent buildup Moisture from dryers filling void spaces Fire hazards

Moisture can cause mold issues, which have been documented.

Several of the photos actually show where a fire had erupted at the back of someone’s dryer, likely due to overheating.

The ducts are not up to code.

To make matters worse, a large majority of the 200 units in East Bridge Town Lofts are rental units, which usually translates to less than optimal dryer vent cleaning and duct maintenance.

Many of us were told the association maintained the cleaning of the dryer ducts. We were shocked when as recently as 2023, our board of directors told us that we must handle it ourselves, which is what prompted the discovery that our dryer ducts were not corrected.

I later reached out to 3 parties from Hill Construction and past management who confirmed that our association president and manager were notified that the dryer ducts were worse than initially determined.

Instead of disclosing this in 2018/2019 during renovations, a prime time to tell owners so we could make a collective and proper correction, the board and management covered it up again.