Introduction

Remember the good 'ol days of the small town handyman?  You know, the jack of all trades who could fix everything from a leaking sink to the 40 year old freezer that stopped working after it made a loud "clunk".  He not only knew your name when he saw you on the street but also knew your kids, parents, and neighbors as well.  He always had just the right tool and just the right technique to get the job done.  Always pleasant and with a seemingly endless supply of knowledge he is the only person you even thought of calling when things went wrong with the house.
 
Whatever happened to those guys; those saints wielding screwdrivers, masters of the hammer, wrench turning geniuses?  i would like to argue they are present in every apartment community masquerading as maintenance men.  The people who residents can call at any time day or night to get their lives back on line, fixing everything from a plugged toilet to a broken furnace, all with a smile.  They know the residents better than most people know their own family.  Not only do they know our names but when and where we work and what type of car we drive.  We see them when we leave for work and when we get home, sometimes we even see them on the weekends and holidays as they diligently go about their duties.

Ok, I might be a little overindulgent when talking about maintenance men but I kinda favor them.  I am one.  My name is Darrin and I am a maintenance supervisor in Lansing, Michigan.  I know that in order to handle all these tasks; to be able to fix all the problems that could ever go wrong in someones home; we need to know our stuff.  We need to keep up on the latest methods and news in our trade, and yet be versed enough to diagnose and fix the relics that are limping by on some of our properties.  We need to know how to use the latest tools and materials to speed our work up to handle the ever increasing demand to be there "yesterday" whenever a call comes in.  We need knowledge in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and many other areas.  Even if we are not doing the work ourselves, such as pouring concrete for a sidewalk, we need to be able to recognize if the contractor we hired is doing his job right.

I have scoured the web looking for a site that provides this information, tailored to my industry.  I might not need all the technical mumbo jumbo when I read about a gas valve for a water heater or the frills in a sales ad for a double hung window.  In this industry we need to know a few very specific things when looking at these products, tools, processes, ect.  We need to know if it will be quick, easy, adaptable to our varying situations, and cost effective.  I have yet to find a site dedicated to apartment maintenance technicians so I decided to start this blog.  I hope this turns into more someday, I would like to see discussion boards and product reviews; a catalogue of information easily and quickly "searchable" and organized to meet our needs.  For now though, my hope is I can provide a great resource that work for the apartment maintenance field.

Before I get into the real fun I need to say the one thing everybody in our job should know.  The most important part of our job is customer service.  Our job is dependant on keeping residents happy and satisfied.  We come into contact with more residents than any of our co-workers and can be a huge part of leasing and renewals.  That said, I will not be discussing the customer service aspect of our job frequently.  I will not totally refrain from the topic but I have noticed in the conferences and training that I have attended focus mostly on the customer service aspect of our job.  I want to see more technical information, tips and tricks when dealing with the mechanics of our job, information that will help us perform well when working on the problem the resident has presented us. 

I will try posting a new blog once or twice a month.  Right now I have about a dozen ideas ranging from "The Basics of Fan Limit Switches: New and Old" to "10 Tools Essential to All Maintenance Men".  These articles will be researched but will by MY OPINION ONLY!  I am not licensed in any of these fields (unless you count my E.P.A. 608 Universal Technician Certification) so always consult with a licensed professional when needed.  I will be relying on my 6 years as an estimator and sales representative in the building materials industry, 3 years in residential remodeling, 2 years as a contractor account manager in a plumbing supply house, a year in residential framing, classes in architectural/ construction technology and business management at Baker College, and experience and training in masonry, light electrical, roofing, door and window installation, drywall, ceramic tile installation, carpet installation, finish trim, plumbing, HVAC, and countless others.  I started this list of experiences working alongside my mother and father in our family owned, small town hardware and, after they sold the business, learning from my dads experience as a maintenance supervisor in a state prison.

I used all this experience to get to where I am at today; a 264 unit property built in 1972 and poorly maintained for the past five or so years.  Sounds horrible, huh?  Actually I love it!  We are going to turn the property around and impress a lot of people doing it.  I have been fortunate to work alongside some very knowledgeable and talented people in this industry and have just the right people in place to get this monstrous job done.  Working alongside these people is my inspiration for this blog.  Without them I wouldn't be where I am today so I am hoping I can put their spirit of helping their fellow co-workers into this blog.  I hope I can help others the way they have helped me.