On the Level
by Terry F. Meany
Fall is here, which means San Francisco will finally have some summer weather. Not a 105-degree-in-the-shade, asphalt-melting Arizona summer, but some warmth and sun nevertheless. Who wants to think about fall maintenance? No one, that's who; but if you buck up and get it over with, you can ignore the winter rains as they bounce off your sealed, sound rental property.
American culture is full of quips and quotes to promote thrift and admirable virtues. “A stitch in time saves nine” showed up in the 1732 edition of Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs. And before you ask, as I did, gnomologia is an anthology of aphorisms and other clever sayings, such as—conveniently for this article—“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Somehow, “Paper or plastic?” doesn't carry the same moral imperative, but it's about the best we can come up with in contemporary times. The point is to patch the chimney flashing that looks a little dicey now while the weather is warm, so you're not held hostage some wet weekend by a busy roofer whose fees could buy you a week touring the Tuscany countryside.
Take it From the Top
As long as you're checking out the flashing, look at your roof as well. Are all the shingles intact for those of you with sloped roofs? Granted, you do have more latitude with deteriorated shingles, since they will continue to shed water for some time beyond their normal lifespan because they are layered. You see, they are set at enough of an angle that water doesn't settle on them long enough to be a problem. Still, if any have blown off, you should replace them. If you don't have any spares around, you can simply slip a piece of sheet metal between the adjoining shingles in lieu of the real thing.
What about flat roofs? They are the bane of modern buildings, if you ask me; but since you haven't, look for blisters, mushiness and excessive cracking for that ever fashionable alligator look. Soft spots suggest water has seeped between the roofing layers, and this can cause the wood decking underneath to rot. These sections can be selectively cut out and repaired, until you are willing to cash in your children's college funds and have a complete strip-down done. Look closely at the flashing along the roof edges where they meet a wall. The flashing will be L-shaped or curved and will run the length of the intersection of the roof and walls. The cheapo way to flash is to pour on gallons of roofing tar, a semi-evil substance since it often cracks and hides larger problems.
However, metal flashing rules; and if yours has any holes in it, clean the area around the hole with coarse sandpaper. Then spread high-quality roofing cement over the whole, extending the cement for two or three more inches onto the sound flashing around it. Press a sheet-metal patch onto the cement and place a weight on it in order to hold the finished patch firmly in place for ten minutes or so. When the patch is firmly secured, spread more roofing cement over the patch, especially where it meets the intact flashing.
Still up there? Clean out the gutters and roof drains. Even if there isn't a tree for five blocks, gutters still collect loose roofing aggregate and general wind-blown debris, albeit small debris, that can clog up the works. Before you leave, take a look at your plumbing vents. For reasons I don't understand, birds will sometimes nest in these vents, providing some perspective to the term “bird brain,” which also applies to various local personalities who will remain unnamed.
After you've spent a sunny day on your roof, by the way, climb up on it during a rainy day and see how it's doing. You need to see it in action to know if your repairs are going to, well, hold water, both literally and figuratively, and whether it's draining properly or not.
Does your building have wood siding or wood windows? Trees live happily for years, shedding water with thick bark and, in normal times, keeping most insects at bay. Remove this bark (at the mill), and all we have left to protect naked wood is 98-lb.-weakling paint, all the more galling at $30 a gallon. Clean, prime and coat any bare spots with new paint. To make your patches look more even, paint an entire length of siding or trim board. Replace any missing window glazing—that's the putty that seals the glass to the sash—and prime and paint it as well. Be sure to use oil primer, preferably fast-drying, so you can paint it the same day. Broken glass gets replaced all over this town with unpainted glazing compound that eventually shrinks and falls out. You can't really expect a glazier to paint it, for it's not in their job description, but it definitely needs to be done.
Speaking of Paint
Wondering what to do with all those leftover odds and ends of paint? I know Kelly-Moore antique white latex is normally recommended as the end-all answer to apartment painting, and it's not a bad solution. But you can do better and get rid of all those partially filled gallon and quart cans that have been kicking around your storage areas and avoid disposal costs at the same time. Although, according to the National Paint & Coatings Association, latex paint is not defined as hazardous waste under current federal regulations, it is considered hazardous waste in California; and to legally dispose of it, you must haul it to a Class I hazardous waste landfill.
Mixing similarly colored paints together is an excellent way to make good use of otherwise unused coatings and keep your painting budget down. You'll probably end up with some shade of beige, the vanilla of paint colors. If you have quite a bit of paint, but not quite enough of any color to finish a job, empty everything into a clean 15-gallon trash container (if you want to keep your clean-up to a minimum, line it with a plastic trash bag first) and mix thoroughly. Some paint a little lumpy? Stretch a piece of window screen across the top of each can and tape it tight around the edges. Turn several cans over at once, so all the paint drains through the screen and catches the dried gunk; the usable liquid will dribble into the trash container below.
Pour your now custom-mix into clean 5-gallon buckets and paint away or store it for future use. Don't worry about mixing small amounts of enamel with flat wall paint; it should be diluted enough that the difference in sheens won't be noticeable. Although paint companies do not recommend mixing interior and exterior paints, I've never had any problem with it. The main limitation is not to mix oil and latex—it won't work, although I wouldn't put it past those who often follow another old maxim, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” to try it.
No leftover paint? Consider recycled paint, which has come a long way from the one-color, flat-latex-only products of years past. Current coating technology offers a variety of pigments and is mixed to meet a range of specifications. Unlike mixing your leftovers in a single batch—this is known in the industry as consolidated or reusable paint—recycled paint is reprocessed paint that goes through filtering and mixing processes to render a quality coating. Cost savings over new paint averages 30% and can run higher depending on your source. One listed source for consolidated paint in South San Francisco is Early American Paint & Varnish Company at 650-583-9055. Kelly-Moore also sells recycled paint at selected stores in California.
Rather buy new? Every paint store and home center has mismatches and unpaid-for paint that sells at a discount, sometimes quite steep. If you're not adamant about color, this paint can be a terrific bargain, especially the 5-gallon cans. Who knows, maybe your tenants will really take to Deep Periwinkle.
When Disaster Strikes
Mesdames Katrina and Rita awakened the country to a bad match—the party-hearty town of New Orleans with local and state politicians who took the city's reputation too much to heart. FEMA wasn't much help either. But whenever disaster strikes, self-reliance and preparedness are your new best friends. Are your buildings and tenants prepared as well? Do you have an emergency evacuation plan the next time the earth shakes, rattles and rolls? Have tenants been warned where not to go? Although the Boy Scouts marching song “Be Prepared!” has nothing on San Franciscans for whom earthquake vigilance has been preached for years, a quick trip to the U.S. Geological Survey's quake site quake.wr.usgs.gov can be instructional. Be sure your water and gas shutoffs are in good working order as well as your fire escapes.
You hope it never comes, but some planning ahead sure beats waiting for someone in a motorboat to come by and help you off your roof.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Terry F. Meany is a former contractor and landlord. He is a full-time writer and is the author of Working Windows: A Guide to the Repair and Restoration of Wood Windows, published by Lyons Press. He is cost-conscious but not cheap and knows deferred maintenance always costs more in the end. He can be reached at tfmeany@msn.com. Copyright © 2005 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.