Dear Maintenance Men

Rough Work, Assembly, Detail Work

Written by Jerry L'Ecuyer and Frank Alvarez | 16 May 2013

Dear Maintenance Men:
I am a new income property owner and will be acting as my own general for organizing the work on my vacant unit's rehab. Can you give me a time line of sorts when rehabbing a unit? In other words, does carpet or paint come first?
Bob

Dear Bob:
It might seem obvious at first glance; however, we have often seen people install carpet before they paint. Not only do they run the risk of damaging the new carpet, they spend more time and money trying to protect the carpet. The work order should always be as follows:

Tuff Turf

Written by Jerry L'Ecuyer and Frank Alvarez | 11 April 2013

Dear Maintenance Men:
I would like your thoughts on a landscape makeover I am planning. My rental property is 90 percent grass and very boring. I want to cut down on my water consumption and change the current "look" of the property. What do you recommend?
Robert

Dear Robert:
The single greatest consumer of water in your landscape is the turf. Reduce the grass area to ease the burden on water.

Pool Acid and Water

Written by Jerry L'Ecuyer and Frank Alvarez | 07 March 2013

Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a large brick patio with a number of flower containers on the brickwork. The gardener is not careful enough when he waters and this has resulted in some calcification of the bricks. I want to clean up the patio bricks and remove the calcium buildup with a solution that will not kill the grass surrounding the patio. Thanks for your advice.
Douglas

Dear Douglas:
There are a number of methods to getting rid of calcium build-up on your bricks. Any product that will not harm the grass might not be strong enough to remove the buildup. Lime-A-Way in a spray bottle and a brush would be the easiest and safest to try first.

We Love A Good Mystery

Written by Jerry L'Ecuyer and Frank Alvarez | 07 February 2013

Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a conundrum! My roof is in good shape, however I have a mystery leak, or to be more precise, I have a moving mystery leak. In other words, when it rains, the roof does not always leak in the same place. This is driving me crazy.
Sam

Dear Sam:
A good roofing trouble shooter is worth their weight in gold. Here at Dear Maintenance Men, we love a good mystery! First things first. Have your building inspected by a reputable roofing company or roofing inspector. The inspection will eliminate non-issues and help point you in the right direction and may even solve the leak mystery.

Trouble With The Pipes

Written by Jerry L'Ecuyer and Frank Alvarez | 23 January 2013

Dear Maintenance Men:
I have a residence built in the early 60's and it has the original cast iron drains. The last time I had a clog, my plumber said cast iron pipes have a 50-year life expectancy. During the auguring process he said they felt rough inside and may backup more frequently. Last year we replaced a ruptured pipe with a plastic pipe. The main drain, part of which is above ground, is rusty and tends to flake away. What are the possibilities for this situation—replace when they fail, replace before they fail, reline the pipes to prevent trouble, or some other option? Long term, what makes sense financially?
Korey

Dear Korey:
We recommend calling a plumbing company that specializes in sewer pipe inspections using a camera snake. The camera snake will be able to tell you the actual condition of the pipe and where there are trouble areas, breaks and clogs etc. The snake will be able to pinpoint the location, depth and direction of the sewer line. If part of your system is failing now, chances are the rest of the sewer line is not far behind.

Dear Maintenance Men

Rough Work, Assembly, Detail Work

Tuff Turf

Pool Acid and Water

We Love A Good Mystery

Trouble With The Pipes

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