Dear Maintenance Men:
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have trouble keeping the moisture levels down in the
bathrooms of my apartment units. All
the bathrooms have exhaust fans. I
have even rewired the fan and lights into one switch to ensure the fan is used
every time the light is turned on. Do you have any other solutions?
Ron
Dear Ron:
The problem lies in the fact that the resident will use the
shower, cause a moisture build-up and then leave the bathroom turning off the
light/fan combo switch. The
moisture is still present, but the fan is off and mold now has a chance to grow.
We have recently discovered a solution to the fan/light dilemma.
It is called a Fan/Light Time Delay switch.
What this switch does is incorporate a time delay for the fan when the
light switch is turned off. The
time delay can be set from five minutes to sixty minutes.
This will allow adequate time to exhaust the moisture without the
resident turning off the fan prematurely. The
time delay switch is hidden behind the switch plate, which should keep resident
tampering to a minimum. Now
where do you find such a versatile fan/light switch?
The only place we were able to find it was at Energy Federation
Incorporated, (800) 876-0660 (push #1 for wholesale) or in any internet
search engine type in: “EFI Fan/Light Time Delay switch”.
Cost is about $39 or less depending on the amount purchased.
Compared to the cost of a Mold Attorney the price of the switch is cheap!
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have just replaced the rubber seals
in a bathroom faucet, but the faucet still leaks.
I like the two handle faucet and don’t really want to replace it with a
new one. Why is it still leaking?
Dave
Dear Dave:
We will assume you are working on a standard faucet with
brass valves. Chances are the
“Valve Seats” are worn, cracked or chipped.
When you replace rubber seals in a brass faucet, always replace the valve
seats. They are located in the body
of the faucet below the valves. When
you go to the home improvement store, ask for a “Faucet Seat Removal Tool”
it cost less than $5 dollars and is “L” shaped. Insert
the tool into the faucet body, unscrew, and remove the seat.
Match your existing seat with a new one and reinstall.
If the seat can't be removed, resurface it with a seat-dressing tool (The
seat-dressing tool is a small hand valve seat grinder).
This should solve your leaking problem.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I have owned a 6-unit apartment building for approximately 30 years. I’ve always been careful to maintain its original construction and preserve the original design. Lately, I have found that in my goal to achieve higher rents and better quality residents, my building is competing more and more with newer, up to date and better looking properties. Feeling a bit architecturally challenged, what can I do to compete in this new market. I don’t want to spend a fortune, but some changes must be made.
Morgan
Dear Morgan:
A tri-color paint scheme can go a long way to update your
building and keep the cost down. Another
major factor may be 30 year old landscaping.
Sometimes you just need to start over from scratch.
Rip everything out and start fresh.
Both of these ideas will help, but only to a point.
You still have a late 50’s to 60’s-era building.
To truly transform your apartment building and compete with the newer,
fresher properties of today, try using what is called
“Architectural Foam”. This
foam is used to give your building more dimension or detail.
Architectural foam can be used around windows, doors, and garages, even
on the corners of the building. With
simple inexpensive foam shapes, you can transform your 50’s or 60’s era box
building into a modern, more desirable property.
Think of it as plastic surgery for your building.
This project can be a Do It Your Self project if you are familiar with
construction and stucco applications and methods.
Essentially, the foam shapes are glued or attached to the building and
stucco is then applied over the shapes. The
building is then painted to suit using the new architectural shapes as accents.
A local manufacture we use is: VEFO Incorporated (909) 598-3856.
They can supply a catalog of shapes and additional information.
Do you know a Right Hand Door from a Left Hand Door?
If a door opens toward you and the knob is to the right, the door is
right-handed. If a door opens
toward you and the knob is on the left, the door is left-handed.
Bio:
Jerry
L'Ecuyer is the owner of JLE Property
Management & Buffalo Maintenance,
Inc. 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, Inc. 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 sites at:
www.JLE1.COM & www.BuffaloMaintenance.com