Dear Maintenance Men:
Dear Maintenance Men:
I own an older apartment building with lath and plaster
walls. After doing a plumbing
repair in a wall, I’m finding I don’t have the skills to do the proper lath
and plaster repairs. What do
I do?
Jim
Dear Jim:
Fake it! Use
drywall for the repairs. Cut the
plaster walls back to the nearest wall stud.
Lath and plaster walls are usually about quarter of an inch thicker than
standard half inch drywall. Use the old wood lath you removed or furring strips
as a spacer between the wall studs and the new drywall.
The wood lath or furring strips will take up the difference in thickness
between the two wall systems. Finish
the repair by using drywall tape along the repair edges, then mud, sand and
paint. No one should know the
difference once you are done.
Dear Maintenance Men:
My building was built in the early seventies. It is in
very good shape, but the harvest gold color scheme looks very dated.
What can I do to improve my units and bring them up to a higher standard?
Dan
Dear Dan:
We deal with a lot of properties built during this time
frame. It makes us wonder what the
designers were thinking at that time. They
gave us olive colored appliances, harvest gold counter tops, burnt orange
carpets and dark walnut cabinets. It
is all so depressing! If you
want to compete in today’s rental market and maximize your rent potential,
some upgrades are necessary. First,
let’s start with the apartment unit’s wall colors. Paint over the old Navaho
white with Swiss Coffee, it is lighter than the Navaho, but not too white. It is
very fresh. Next paint all wood
kitchen, hall and bathroom cabinets the same color as the kitchen walls, ie:
Swiss Coffee. Some of you will
cringe at the thought of painting your beautiful wood cabinets, get over it! You
will be amazed at how modern and larger your kitchens will look.
Painting the cabinets alone is the single most dramatic improvement you
could do. Next comes the kitchen
and bathroom floor. Use a light vinyl color floor scheme that mimics ceramic
floor tile. A square pattern is
timeless. A floral pattern may date
the unit. Your most expensive
improvement may be the counter tops. To save money, you can replace them yourself; it is not as
hard as it looks. There are many companies that specialize in counter tops and a
remove and replace job can be completed in one day. Another option if your counter tops are in good shape is to
have them professionally epoxy color coated.
This is about half the cost of having the counter tops professionally
removed and replaced. The trade off
is cost vs. durability. We would
replace any appliances that were not almond or white in color, including the
stove vent hood. You may also want
to replace any old light fixtures with more modern looking ones and install 52
inch white ceiling fans in the dining rooms. Try to stay away from using too
dark a carpet. Even though a dark or multi colored carpet hides stains and dirt,
it also dates or makes your unit look old fashion. Doing all this work may sound expensive, but once completed,
you will be surprised at how easy it is to attain market rents and how fast they
will rent up.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a problem with moisture buildup and wall damage
in my apartment bathrooms. The
bathrooms do not have windows as they are constructed away from any exterior
walls. They do have vent fans, but
they don’t seem to do the job. How
can I solve this problem.
Bill
Dear Bill:
First things to check are whether your vent fans are
working and not clogged with lint or dust.
If the fan is operating properly, check the CFM or Cubic Feet per minute
of air movement. The minimum number should be 50 CFM.
If the bathroom is getting more than the average amount of use, you may
want to replace the existing fan with one that has a higher CFM rating.
We recommend using at least a 120-CFM fan.
And equally important, many bathrooms have two wall switches; one for the
light and the other for the fan. If
this is the case, we recommend combining the two switches into one.
That way when the resident switches on the light the fan will come on
automatically. We find most
residents will not turn on the fan if it has it’s own switch.
Dear Maintenance Men:
The four-plex I manage has concrete parking stalls that
are stained with oil. How do remove
oil, grease and stains from the concrete?
John
Dear John:
Go to your grocery store and pick up the cheapest brand of
cat litter. Spread the cat litter
on the grease stain and grind it into the concrete with your feet.
Leave the cat litter for 24 hours. Sweep
up the litter and your concrete should look as good as new.
If the oil and grease is extra heavy, you may need to repeat the
procedure.
Did you
know: Natural gas has no odor. The smell is added artificially so that leaks
can be detected.
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