Dear
Maintenance Men:
Dear Maintenance Men:
The insurance company I use has scheduled a physical
inspection of my building. I have
heard horror stories about being cancelled for the smallest item. What can I do
to prepare my property and avoid failing the inspection?
John
Dear John:
This is an increasing problem for apartment owners. In the not so long ago old days, insurance companies often sent a courtesy notice of what failed and then requested that you repair the problem. Now they send a cancellation notice.
Exterior items to look at which may fail your property.
1. Balcony picket spacing and horizontal climbing hazards. The spacing of the pickets should be no more the 4 inches on center and any decorations welded to the balcony railings which may allow a child to climb over the railing needs to be removed.
2. Sidewalk and driveway cracks, bumps and uneven trip hazards. Fill all cracks, remove bumps, uneven pavement and asphalt deterioration.
3. Peeling paint around the building.
4. Graffiti anywhere on your building.
5. Dirty trash area, graffiti on the trash bin.
6. Trash and papers lying around your property.
7. Missing or torn window screens and broken windows.
8. Exterior water leaks causing slip and fall hazards.
9. Roof in poor condition .
10. Water heater straps.
11. Dirty laundry rooms.
12. Oil in the parking areas
13. Mold or any area of potential moisture problems.
14. Loose or missing gutters.
15. Electrical extension cords. ie: between laundry room to garages/units etc.
Interiors:
1. Dirty units.
2. Torn carpets.
3. Furniture in front of the wall heater.
4. Non-working wall heaters.
5. Water leaks in the kitchen or bathroom
6. No shower door or curtain.
7. Broken blinds or torn drapes.
8. Out of control tenants.
9. Water stained ceilings.
10. Holes in walls or doors.
11. Mold or any area of potential moisture problems.
12. Unidentified electrical circuits in sub or main panels.
The above list is only partial and many other items
can be added. The insurance company
is looking for obvious defects and proof of proper management of the building.
Many of the above items such as paper on the ground or a tenants cleaning
habits is an indication of good or poor management and a source of liability to
the insurance company.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have been battling Bees for a long time at my
building. I have sealed every hole, crevasse
and crack I can find. Yet,
the bees still find a way of getting into the units. What I’m I missing or are
these bees just too smart?
Unwilling Bee Keeper
Dear Unwilling:
We have had a similar problem at one of our properties. We also sealed everything we could think of and still the bees found a way in. You may want to look at your roof vents that service the bathroom & kitchen exhaust fans. The bees come down the vent and go into the voids between the ceiling and roof. Most fan boxes are not well sealed below the fan blades. Once they are in the ceiling, it is easy for them to travel to different units, find a hole and drop down into the apartment’s living area. Because the bees are discovered in an area far from the original entry point, it is hard to track down where they first came in. We now install screening at all bath and kitchen exhaust vent tubes. The material used is 1/8 inch square metal screening and is attached to the top of the vent tube at the roof level. Be sure to extract hive and any honey you find or you might not only continue to have a bee problem, but an ant problem also.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I own 8 units and enjoy doing minor maintenance around my building. One of my current projects is to repair three persistent leaks on my roof. The property has a flat roof. Can you give me some advice on tracking down these leaks?
Don
Dear Don:
Flat roof leaks can be extremely tricky to trouble shoot. Water intrusions tend to travel, then drop at the lowest point of your roof and ceilings. A careful inspection would include the checking following:
1 Flashing around vent stacks and gravel stop roof edges.
2 Exposed roofing nail heads.
3 Drainage systems on the roof or directly adjacent to the building.
4 Exposed roofing that is devoid of grave or stone cover.
5 Roof seams or laps.
6
Blisters and water pooling areas on the roof.
Some solutions and preventative maintenance:
a. Caulk all flashings and exposed roof seams with roofing Heney’s 208. It comes in gallon or tube form.
b. Caulk any exposed roofing nails.
c. Score blisters with a utility knife and inject Henry’s 208 with a caulking gun into the blister opening. Apply pressure until cement oozes out of the cut. Install desired size of cap sheet as a patch.
d. Cover any exposed roofing material with gravel or stone. (This keeps the sun from rotting the material.)
e. Secure any loose gutters and clean out drainage systems.
f. Seal any cracks in the stucco, water can wick into these cracks.
g. You may want to consider installing roof drains in the areas that rain water pools the most.
h. To
help keep cracks from coming back, use fiberglass webbing with your patch
material.
Good luck and be careful on the roof.
Bio: