On the Level

Fix It Now or Replace It Later

by Terry Meany

Over time, I’ve come to observe one recurring difference among people: there are those who understand the day-to-day chores of maintenance, cleaning and keeping their properties in good condition and those who don’t. More often than not, the latter tends to be “we boys” who like to build stuff and then walk away from it, looking for something else to build (or knock down—we like doing that, too). A society needs both, but if you are an apartment owner, you need to understand maintenance. This is especially true in the fall with the winter rains approaching. For instance, you will find maintenance much easier if you inspect and patch a potential roof leak now rather than waiting until you get a weekend phone call from an annoyed tenant.

Aside from the periodic repairs requested by tenants, you should have both a regular- and long-term maintenance plan, including regular inspections. Knowing you will need to repaint the exterior every seven to ten years, lets you budget in advance, which means fewer surprises later. Carpet, roofs, heating systems, paint and finishes, kitchen appliances and water heaters all have predictable working life spans, even with the best maintenance. A master plan will let you know the refrigerator in unit 4-A is approaching the short end of its working life and might need replacement soon. If it goes five years beyond the far end of this range, consider this as money in the bank and your good fortune.

With the change in the weather coming—okay, some San Francisco summers aren’t all that distinguishable from its winters—the time has come for you to climb up on your roof. Clean away all debris, especially behind vents, HVAC units, pipes and other roof penetrations. Debris will retain water and quicken roof deterioration. Check flashings for corrosion. Remove any rust with a wire brush and seal with Rustoleum. Look inside all vent pipes for bird nests (bird-proof vent caps are available if birds are an issue). Scrape and clean away any deteriorated caulking and recaulk with polyurethane caulking.

Gutters should be cleaned and secured to the building. Remove or trim back any vegetation, including pesky leaves. Water test all roof drains and snake them out if they drain too slowly. Inspect your chimney and repair any loose or missing mortar. Take a look for birds’ nests here, too. While you’re at it, look at your parapet walls as well. The edge metal that frames the roofing material should be secure and tight to the roof.

Cracks, separations, holes, and other less than secure looking areas on your roof can be repaired with quality roof cement, which contains a plasticized asphalt base and fiberglass fiber, in combination with woven fiberglass reinforcing fabric. Is your roof slowly turning green without your permission? Wash the algae down with a diluted bleach solution and rinse with a hose, not a pressure washer.

This is a good time to remove any outdated and unused television antennas, cables or satellite dishes and seal up the holes made during their installation.

Working your way down the building, inspect your windows. Do any of them need glazing or caulking? Are they closing properly? Any cracked glass? The worst problems will be on the weathered sides, with the most maintenance required on wood windows. Any missing glazing will lead to wood deterioration. Spot prime and paint any bare wood.

Autumn is the usual time to wrap up your landscaping and major yard work. Clip, trim and clean out beds and planting strips. This gives you an opportunity to check for holes and openings along the outside walls. These are welcome mats for rodents. Stuff the holes with steel wool and patch over with epoxy filler. Poorly fitting rubber weather-stripping on the bottom of a garage door also allows for rodent access.

How’s your trash situation? Do the trashcan lids secure tightly to the cans, and do your tenants know to keep them on? Loose, easily available garbage is four-star dining for a rat.

Wood entry doors can take a beating, especially if they’re exposed to the elements. Refinishing a dark, weathered, turn-of-the-century oak door will surprise your tenants while preserving the door at the same time. Old varnish can often be removed more quickly and thoroughly by power sanding than it can with paint remover. Follow up with wood stain and three coats of spar varnish. Warning: each coat of varnish must dry thoroughly before closing the door, so you’ll have a security issue while it’s drying if you keep the door in place during the refinishing. This is
normally six-to-eight hours per coat, longer in damp weather, making this is a three-day job. Varnish can be prickly to apply and comes with a list of demands regarding temperature, humidity and dust, but the results are well worth the effort.

Is your entry door lock system tight and secure? Too many keys floating around, including some you don’t know about? If you end up working on the door, now is the time to consider a lock upgrade or rekey the existing lock. Check your outdoor lighting for broken globes, loose fixtures and burned-out bulbs. Surprisingly, tenants won’t always tell you when the lights are out.

Broken or raised sections of sidewalk are dangerous and potentially very expensive should someone take a tumble. New York City, for example, is well aware of this and pays out tens of millions of dollars a year in sidewalk injury claims. Sidewalk maintenance in San Francisco—including sweeping—is the responsibility of all fronting property owners. Major repairs will require permits before the work can be performed.

Of course, as you know, fire escapes must be kept clear of obstructions and the ladders lubricated, free of corrosion and in good operating order. Several local contractors specialize in this type of maintenance and usually recommend yearly servicing.

Inside your building, all security systems, egress doors, egress windows and smoke detectors should be checked and tested. Most of us had fire drills in elementary school, but you’d be surprised how many adult tenants ignore a building alarm.

Walk the halls. If you need to clean the carpets, get to them now before the weather gets too damp and even more grit and grime get dragged in. Invest in a good entry doormat and make it a big one.

To have your house heating system go out and inconvenience you and your family is one thing, but quite another to affect an entire building full of tenants. Have your system inspected and serviced before the heating season starts and before a breakdown occurs. I had tenants who waited two days—until a Friday night in December—to inform me the furnace wasn’t working. Fortunately, I was able to get it repaired over the weekend, but only after several trips by service personnel. Meanwhile, everyone froze.

Ifyou’re scrupulous about your fall maintenance and inspection, you’ll be mostly home free until spring-cleaning comes around.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine.Terry Meany is a former contractor and landlord. He is now a full-time writer and author of Working Windows: A Guide to the Repair and Restoration of Wood Windows published by Lyons Press. He’s cost conscious, but not cheap, and knows deferred maintenance always costs more in the end. He can be reached at tfmeany@msn.com. Copyright © 2003.