Dear Maintenance Men:

By: Jerry L'Ecuyer and Frankie Alvarez

 August 2001

Dear Maintenance Men:

I have to replace a damaged bedroom door, but I have already ruined one door with my carpentry skills. It looks easy when I watch someone else do it. Why can’t I hang a door?

Doorman in Distress.

Dear Distress:

Hanging the perfect door is true art, learned after years of experience.  A good door hanger is worth his weight in gold.  But enough of all that fancy artist stuff … here is a short cut for the secret door hanger inside all of us.  When you go to Home Depot or other hardware store, you only need to know three little words;  “Pre Hung Door”.   Even a first timer can now hang a perfect door.  What you buy is a door that is already attached to a door frame and casing.  Before you buy your pre-hung door, remove the old door, frame and casing.  What is left will be a rough opening, with exposed wood. This may sound drastic, but it is easier to remove and replace, than to simply hang the door.  Once you have your rough opening, measure the thickness of the wall “outside drywall to outside drywall”.  Typically it should measure five or six inches. The pre-hung door should correspond to your measurements.  Now, on to the installation. 

Step 1. Set the door in place.  If the door comes with shipping braces, keep them intact while setting the pre-hung unit into the rough opening; place the unit in the opening so that it’ll swing in the desired direction.  Residential interior doors usually swing inward.  Remove the braces, then check the clearance between the top of the door and the head jamb: It should be uniform 1/16 to 3/32 inch, or about the thickness of a dime.

Step 2. Attach the jambs.  Use a level to plumb the hinge jamb on the face and edge, inserting shims behind the jamb at the points to be nailed.  Adjust the shims as needed.    Before attaching the lock and head jambs, recheck the tolerances.  Remember, the space should be a uniform 1/16-inch between the jamb and door.  If the lock side is too tight, adjust the shim under the lock jamb to correct the situation.  Plumb, shim, and nail the lock jamb framing; then shim and nail the head jamb at the center to prevent sagging.

Step 3. Trim the shims.  Once you’ve attached the jambs, cut off the protruding parts of the shims around the door with handsaw.

Step 4. Installing Casing. You are know ready to install casing.  Most casing comes mitered.  It should fit properly into your newly hung door. Caulk and paint.

Dear Maintenance Men:

Dear Maintenance Men:

I have a Pebble Stone walkway and pool deck. My problem is the deck and walkway is missing some patches of stone and causing a trip and fall hazard.  The deck was beautiful when first installed, but now it looks dull, ugly and there are loose stones everywhere. Can this surface be repaired and rejuvenated and can I do it myself?

Stoned in Rockland

Dear Stoned:

We will assume your deck material consist of 3/16" or 5/16" stone.  First determine what type of stone you have by removing some loose pieces.  Take them to your local landscape or brick material supplier. He should be able to match the stones in your deck.  Purchase the amount needed.  Next; go to the hardware store and pick-up an appropriate amount of two-part epoxy.  (150 lbs of stones to 1 gal of epoxy.)  One such supplier is Florock Super Pebble Stone Systems.  These particular systems are #5000 – 5100 – 5200 A U-12 Catalyst is also offered to increase cure time in cool temperatures.   Guidelines for preparation should include removal of any algae, or other organic growth. Using a high-pressure water spray, power clean the deck.  (The deck must be thoroughly dry before proceeding).

Using a concrete mixer or a wheel borrow, mix your blended epoxy and stone together. Mix only until all the stones are covered with epoxy.  Dump into place and use  a trowel and form to the desired thickness. Mix only enough for the current patch and don’t let the resin dry in your mixer.  Cure time is 72 hours.

You should rejuvenate your deck once every two years as follows: Mix a two-part epoxy into a roller pan and spread with a short nap roller. Do not allow epoxy to puddle. Cure time is 72 hours. Your deck should now look as good as new and if you are not sticky from head to toe, you didn’t do it right!

Maintenance Tip:

Since all of us will be on our roofs this summer patching that leak that has cost us a fortune in emergency calls.  Here are eight basic safety rules to follow when using a ladder.

1.      Do not over lap the extension of a 2-piece ladder less than 3 rungs.

2.      Set the ladder on even, firm footing.

3.      Extend at least 3 rungs up over the eaves of the roof.  You want to step from the ladder onto the roof.  Do not climb over the eaves and guttering onto the roof.  The extension hooks must be hooked. Double Check.

4.      Watch out for overhead power/phone lines.

5.      Climb the ladder one rung at a time.

6.      On the ground, the ladder should slope about one-fourth its length from the side of the house.

Example: If the ladder is 16 feet long, it should be pulled out at the bottom 4 feet from the side of the house.

7.      Check the rungs for safety by walking on the rungs with the ladder flat on the ground.

8.      If the ladder even appears damaged, do not climb it under any circumstances.

Bio:

Jerry L'Ecuyer is the owner of JLE Property Management & Buffalo Maintenance.  He is currently on the Board of Directors and First Vice President 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 reach 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