Dear Maintenance Men:
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Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a garage door with a broken hinge. Is this a do it your self project or should I hire a professional?
Up for a Challenge
Dear Up:
Garage doors can be tricky and heavy, but well within most DIY skills. One thing to remember, garage door hinges are installed on a closed garage door and never use existing holes. Also don’t use the old hinges as a guide for installing the new hinges; the new hinges are not the same size and will make adjusting the door almost impossible. Another tip which will make installation easier: buy a 12” extension for your ratchet wrench, when removing and installing the 6” lag bolts to hold main bracket, it will save your knuckles and a lot of time. Now for the best advise… buy a Holms Garage Door Company hinges, when you get it to the job site, carefully open the garage door hinge box, remove all the parts and line them up. Don’t throw away the box and while no one is looking, carefully READ THE DIRECTIONS printed on the box. If you follow the directions word for word, you will be able to hang the perfect garage door the first time around. The Holms Garage Door Company’s directions are that good! Remember; don’t ever use old hinges or springs, and throw away any used springs to stop the temptation.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a rotted wood fence that I am replacing at my apartment building. How do I avoid the posts from rotting in the concrete footing? The fence I’m taking out is not that old and I feel it should have lasted much longer.
Mark
Dear Mark:
Your problem is most likely poor drainage. The posts just rotted away because of excessive moisture. For a long-term installation, use either redwood or pressure treated lumber. Dig your posthole at least 6 inches deeper than normal. Fill the bottom six inches of the hole with ˝”sized gravel. Then set your post in place, level it and pour in another 2 or 3 inches of gravel. Fill the balance of the hole with Ready-Mix or Post-Mix concrete. Taper the top of the wet concrete at a slight angle to the post; that will help drain water away from the post. For added protection, you may want to consider water proofing your post with Thompson’s Water Seal or equivalent. That should help keep your post healthy for much longer.
Dear Maintenance Men:
My building has a 100 gal water heater. My residents complained they had little hot water in their units. I have since cleaned out the calcium build-up in the bottom of the tank, checked the thermostat, thermocouple and gas valve, but the residents are still complaining about not getting a lot of hot water. What is the problem?
Frustrated
Dear Frustrated:
One of two things may be happening. The first thing is to check your circulation pump. If the pump is working correctly, the copper lines on either side of the pump should be warm to the touch. If the lines are too hot to touch, the pump may not be operating, or the circulation may have stopped because of a blockage in the line between the tank and pump. Remove the pump, clear any stoppage, reconnect the pump and test.
Another place to check is the gas orifice leading to the burner. To locate the gas orifice, follow the large gas line from the thermostat down under the tank, the gas line will then open allowing you to see through the pipe. This is the location of the gas orifice. The pipe section can easily be removed for inspection. The orifice will screw out of the pipe. Use a paper clip or pipe cleaner to clean the hole. Gunk or spider webs will occasionally obstruct the orifice. Re-install the gas orifice and test. You should see a great improvement in the flame size.
Trivia: Place a piece of charcoal, chalk, or several mothballs in a toolbox to prevent rust on tools. This will attract any moisture present. (Source: absolutetrivia.com)
Bio:
Jerry L'Ecuyer is the owner of JLE Property Management & Buffalo Maintenance and is a licensed contractor & real estate broker. He is currently on the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Education Committee for the Apartment Association of Orange County. Jerry has been involved with apartments as a professional since 1988 and can be reached at (714) 778-0480. Frank Alvarez is the Operations Director for Buffalo Maintenance. He has been involved with apartment maintenance for over 13 years. Frank can be reached at (714) 956-8371 or visit the office at, 202 E. Broadway in Anaheim, CA 92805. Please visit our web site at: WWW.JLE1.COM