Dear Maintenance Men:
Dear Maintenance Men:
I am planning to install ceramic floor tile in my
unit’s bathroom. I know I must
used Thinset cement to install the tile to the floor, but I find installing tile
to the walls is difficult and messy using Thinset.
I ‘m applying tile to non-wet areas of the bathroom. Are there alternate methods of installation for the walls?
Sam
Dear Sam:
We have run into the same problems while installing tile in
kitchen or bathroom walls. The
Thinset cement goes everywhere. It
works great on the floor, but on the walls it is messy.
A tile professional may disagree with our method, but it has worked well
for us. We use Liquid Nails
(waterproof construction glue). It sticks to the wall and does not drip or run
down the wall. Apply the Liquid
Nails with a caulking gun directly onto the tile around the edges and an “X”
or “S” pattern in the center. While
wet it will clean up with water. It should stick like crazy once it is dry. .
After the glue has cured or dried, grout and seal the tile joints as
usual.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a funny problem with the automatic vehicle gate
at my apartment building. It gets
stuck open at odd times for no reason. I
have sent the handyman to repair the gate, but he found nothing wrong with it.
Do I have a ghost living in my gate system?!
Frustrated
Dear Frustrated:
Don’t you just hate that, it’s like when you take your
car to the mechanic to get something fixed and the car runs just perfectly for the mechanic! We talked to Jim Thomas from Alert Access (714) 518-2484, he
is an automatic gate expert. He
suggested it might be one of few things if the gate is in perfect working
condition. First, if the fire department has been called to the building for
some reason, they may use the “Knox Box” lock to open the gate, (the knox
box lock is a key box attached to most automatic gates that only the fire
department has a key to) and then when they leave the property, and if they
don’t close the gate, it will remain open.
The second possibility is a stuck remote control unit in one of the
resident’s car. What
happens is the control button is stuck on and when the resident comes home, the
gate opens automatically and chances are they are parking close to the gate.
When they leave the property and get out of range of the gate receiver,
the gate returns to normal operation.
Finding the defective remote control unit will require a bit of
investigation. You will want to
determine the range of the controller, then talk to the owners of the cars
parked within the range. A
third possibility may be that the remote receiver
has failed. The gate will
open when cars exit by driving over the gate “loops”, but will be unable to
re-enter with their remote control units. The
receiver is located near the gate motor assembly and can easily be replaced.
Good Luck.
Dear Maintenance Men:
Our two-bedroom unit has a downstairs bathroom with a
one-piece fiberglass shower stall. Water
is oozing out from under the shower pan. I can’t find any cracks in the fiberglass or leaks from the
valves. Where is the water coming from?
Marty
Dear Marty:
Be sure to check the fiberglass shower stall again
carefully, you’ll be surprised at how much water a hairline crack will suck
through. If your unit has an
upstairs bathroom, there are any number of places where water might be leaking
from such as through the caulking, grout lines, shower or bath valve bodies
or between the tub/shower and floor
Don’t forget to also check the adjacent unit next door
for leaks. The water can follow the studs and leak elsewhere.
If you still can’t find your leak source, check the shower drain
assembly. Remove the drain grate
and look at the transition fitting from the shower pan drain bracket to the
drain line. Typically, the shower
pan is installed with a rubber or ABS collar that attaches to the 2” drain
line. The collar may be loose or
damaged. Clean the drain area
thoroughly, remove any soap scum, oil, dirt etc.
Using silicone caulk, seal around the collar carefully. If that does not solve your water leaking issue, the
problem may be deeper and will require the removal of the shower stall and
repair of the trap assembly in the slab.
Maintenance Tip:
If you decided to remove an existing dishwasher in your
unit and replace the space with shelves or new cabinet. Don’t forget to plug the drain inlet on your garbage
disposal! Unfortunately they do not
sell a proper or “made-for” inlet plug for the garbage disposal.
We have had great success using a seven eights (7/8) Cane Tip.
These can be found at your local hardware store.
When installing the cane tip, use a stainless steel hose clamp.
It will help you achieve a finished look.
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 or jerry@JLE1.com. Frank Alvarez is the Operations Director for Buffalo
Maintenance. He has been involved with apartment maintenance for over 14 years.
Frank can be reached at (714) 956-8371 or visit the office at, 202 E. Broadway
in Anaheim, CA 92805. Please view our web site at: WWW.JLE1.COM