Stress less capital improvements

Fall Preventative Maintenance

My favorite time of year used to be the fall.  I love the smell of burning leaves, the color of the trees, pumpkin pie, and comfort food.  Then I began working maintenance and I no longer liked it as much.  Fall can be one of the busiest times of the year for a maintenance crew, and should be if things are done right.

Why is autum so busy? You would think it would be a little slower considering unit turns are not as common, no pool is there to be delt with daily, and the summer rush is over.  To the contrary, a well run maintenance team will start to prepare for winter during this "slow" time of the year.

Preventative maintenance is different for every property depending in the systems, weather, and resident profile but there are a few things that every property should be doing this time of year.  Performing these tasks will make your life easier during the winter months and allow you to keep up with the daily tasks during the holiday season and during snow removal, for those of you that are unlucky enough to have to deal with it.

Heating
Performing preventative maintenance on your heating systems is one of the most important tasks getting ready for cold weather.  This should be performed in late July to early August.  The tasks to be performed will vary depending on the system (if your not sure what to do to get your system ready establishing a relationship with a local heating contractor is a good first step, then you can ask them what they recommend).  Here are a few example of things to do:
1) Change the furnace filters.  Sounds simple but you would be surprised how many properties I have been to that don't do this simple task.  Changing the filters regularly will help prevent clogged a-coils, keep burners free of debris, and keep your flame burning clean.  It will cut down in the number of no heat calls drastically.
2) Clean your system.  Whether it's an electric, forced air, or hydronic system every system needs some sort of cleaning.  Cleaning the system will help prolong the life of the equipment and cut down on the number of service requests you get.  Check with a local heating contractor to see what is recommended for your particular system.
3) Change thermostat batteries.  Again, pretty obvious but it never hurts to point it out.
4) Start up the heating system and run through at least two cycles.  When I do this I bring the most common parts with me, such as flame sensors, limit switches, ect.  That way things can be repaired quickly if any problems are found.
5) Change smoke detector batteries.

Windows and doors
When checking the heating systems it's always a good idea to check the seal on windows and doors.

General repair check
While going through apartments for the heating check I like to check for general repairs.  We check all toilets, faucets, lights, and doors for proper operation.  Any job that will take under 5 minutes can be repaired while in the apartment, other jobs get a work order wrote up and are taken care at a later date.

Gutter cleaning
Getting the leaves and debris out of the gutter should be done once the majority of the leaves have dropped.  Clogged gutters can trap water which will freeze during the cold weather and could break gutters and down spouts.

There are many more things that can be done such as lighting checks as it starts to get dark earlier.  Look over your property and see what other ideas you can come up with.  Everything you can take care of during this time will save the midnight calls and take some of the stress out of a busy work week around the holidays.

Post any other tasks you can think of below to help others keep those residents happy!

Top ten day ten!

My ten day turned two year adventure is finally coming to a close.  Don't worry I will soon have more articles coming up, I got a few new tools to share with you and have some good stories to tell.  I will also be attending the International Home Builders Assc. Show in Las Vegas in February and will be attending 3 days of classes so I will have lots to share!

Onto the subject at hand...the final tool to have in your tool bag.  I'm going to cheat here a little bit.  I thought about doing hammers, tape measures, razor knives, multi-tools like a Leatherman, and some other ideas but one thing I have been itching to bring up is my tool bag itself.

I have about 20 tool bags in my shop right now (I'm not exaggerating). I have everything from a 13" Craftsman bag to a duffel bag with about 150 pockets on, in, and around it.  I have hard sided, soft sided, metal, and bucket bags.  I have poured through magazines, store catalogs, and store shelves looking for the perfect bag and I think I may have found it.

Tough Built 8" tote and universal clip on pouch.  This entire system is one of the most versatile systems I have ever come across, at least in my price range.  The bag is small enough I don't overload it with a bunch of unnecessary tools and yet fits my essentials perfectly.  The bag comes with an extra clip (that thing the arrow is pointing at) which goes on your belt so the pouch can clip onto you belt.  I can fit a hammer, my Rockwell driver, screw drivers, chisels, nail sets, pliers, Knipex Pliers, wire strippers, multi-meter, a small container of fasteners, hack saw, flash light, head light, caulk gun, a small tube of spackling, electrical, plumbing, and gas tape, and other misc tools all in this bag.  For the average maintenance call this bag does it.  The construction is heavy duty, the rubber feet keep me from scratching countertops, and it comes with a handle and hook ups for a shoulder strap.  I have had my bag for two years now and it's still holding strong.

The system is based on those clip on pouches.  As you can see there are many choices to expand your system to meet your needs.  Let me know what you think below and keep those residents happy!

Ten tools day 9

Hack saws are the bane of my existence.  I grew up with a dad that owned a hardware store and we always had power tools around, hack saws just seem outdated and a general pain to me but there are times you can't get around using them.  Those times include water lines buried tight wall cavities, cutting off toilet bolts (I've tried everything, saws all burnt the vinyl flooring, Dremel tool had the Sam result, oscillating tool didn't really work that well, grinder was overkill), and just making those quick small cuts without running out to your car or down to the shop (shower rod, towel bar, quarter round even though I won't admit it, ect).



I'm sure you've seen a model like the one above and probably have one.  The compact design makes them nice and they work but the cheap construction has some downfalls.  The blade is a pain to get out, especially since the screw gets rusted when cutting through water lines.  The cheap construction isn't all that comfortable and I gave had two snap in my tool bag.  I also hate bare metal in the cold of winter, no matter what tool.



So here is my solution, the Milwaukee 48-22-0012 compact 10" hack saw.  I saw this in my local plumbing supply warehouse and thought what the heck.  At $18 ($16 on Amazon) it was more than double the cheap model but still very affordable.

The quick change system is a little bulky but really hasn't got in the way for me and it works like a charm.  The comfort grip handles are awesome, they cut down on the fatigue of my hands a surprising amount.  The construction is much more heavy duty also.  The only downfall is all the solutions add to the bulk of the tool but like I said, I haven't run into a situation I couldn't use it in yet.

One thing I've learned over the past few years is that buying a tool that is more "user friendly" can be worth the extra money but you have to be sure the extra "amenities" are really something that you need.  A laser pointer on a hacksaw wouldn't be that good but a laser pointer on a circular saw can be.    This tool has really addressed the issues I had with its more generic brother and I was glad to pay the extra price for the added comfort and ease of use.

If you have any questions about the tools I post about please send me a message and I'll be happy to respond.  Have a great day and keep those residents happy!

Top Ten "Day" 7

Last year I was helping a community in Detroit get ready for an inspection, going through 100% of their apartments and fixing pretty much anything that needed to be fixed.  I worked with a team of four guys for almost three weeks preparing for the inspection.  What an interesting three weeks it was!  I could write a book of stories just from that short three weeks but there was one that really took the cake.

We were about a week into the project.  Every morning we would meet with the maintenance supervisor to discuss the upcoming apartments and go over anything of importance from the day before.  On this particular day he had to warn us of a resident in one of the apartments we would be working in.  He told us she had been a little unruly lately because she swore her heat wasn't working properly.  He asked if we could look at it, but he swore it was working.

We reached her apartment about noon on a nice fall day.  It was about 65 outside temp and when we entered her apartment we all instantly broke out into a heavy sweat.  One of my guys leaned over to me and said "It has to be 90 degrees in here.  I'm going to pass out!"

The resident immediately started in about how she couldn't get her heat to work correctly and we needed to fix it.  She swore her thermostat wasn't reading correctly.  I instantly knew I wasn't going to be able to convince this resident without physical, visual proof.  I pulled out my digital thermometer and took her outside.  After reading the temp outside and showing her it was within 3 degrees of the local news temp I stuck it into one of her heat registers.  The resulting temp was 97 degrees!  She was so shocked, she even called the maintenance supervisor and apologized. 

I have used my digital thermometer for many things, finding temp differentials for charging air conditioners, convincing residents that hot water, heat, and air conditioning is working, and even during the repair of ovens and refrigerators.  It is something that I keep in my on-call bag at all time.


I use one similar to this Cooper Atkins model, it is water proof and reads fairly quickly.  It is nice and compact and fits into the smaller pockets on my tool bag.  The hold function combined with the digital readout is perfect for proving to residents that their equipment is operational and is nice for those tight spaces.  The protective sheath is also nice as it protects the probe from damage.  Save yourself the headache of dealing with a "delusional" resident and get yourself a digital pocket thermometer quick.

Ten tools day 8

When I used to work in residential construction we would have to hang really expensive doors, interior, solid oak, arched doors costing upwards of $2,000.  When your hanging a 2k door you make sure everything is perfect and in order to do that you use the right tools.  Tools like 6ft levels instead of 4ft, Bosch 83038 hinge mortise jig, and self-centering hinge drill bits.

Of all the tools that we used to put in these custom doors only one really transfers into the maintenance field, the self-centering drill bit.  All the other items are a little overkill for our jobs and don't fit into many budgets, killing a mouse with a nuclear bomb type of overkill. (Check out the price of the Bosch...ouch!)

 
Self-centering drill bits can really come in handy but the best part about them is they take the guess work out of installing a new door and speed up the process.  They can also be used to line up a misaligned hinge from another worker, installing cabinet doors, and even installing towel bars.

The bits work pretty simply:  the tip of that chrome metal sleeve that you see in the picture above retracts into the body of the bit slowly exposing the spinning drill bit.  The metal sleeve does not spin.  The tapered end of the bit keeps your bit centered in the screw hole in the hinge, all you have to do is come into your surface at a perpendicular angle and you can't miss!

There are three sizes in the kits that I buy allowing for multiple types of hinges.  The only draw back to these bits is I have had a hard time finding a long enough drill bit in the event that one breaks, but for around $15 for a kit I can live with that.

Check these guys out and see how many uses you can come up with.  If you have any great ideas please feel free to post below!

Ten Tools Day 6

Have you ever bought a tool and instantly wondered how you ever did without it?  That happened to me recently when my wife got me an oscillating tool for my birthday.  I can't believe the number of things this tool will do.

If your not familiar with an oscillating tool you may be more familiar with the name "Multi-Master" made by Fein, the original and one of the most popular of these tools.  These tools operate by vibrating a blade really fast.  Most look something like an angle grinder and are about as heavy as one.  When looking for a tool watch for the number of amps, how loud it is, how heavy it is, and how expensive the attachments are.





The tools come with a variety of attachments that will all do a different job.  Below are just a few examples.  The blades are of different quality, just like any saw blade.  Some will last just a few passes while others will last a really long time.




My wife bought me a Master Mechanic 2.5 amp tool (Model #129315).  It came with a 34 piece accessory tool kit and a carrying bag.  It is quite a bit louder than some of the more expensive brands but it fit in my price range (around $50).  I have used the tool in countless ways: cutting off nails, getting to copper pipe in tight spots, sanding, scraping old caulk off window sills, grinding out grout, and cutting through base trim when installing a door (when the new casing is wider than the old).  I have been pretty impressed with everything.  I go through the blades pretty quick but I think its a good trade off for the time saved.

If you have any other questions check out Tool Select.com and type multi-tool into the search bar.  They have reviewed of a few different tools and even posted some videos of people putting them into action.  These are great tools to have handy and I believe every shop should have one available.  If yours doesn't suggest it to them or seriously consider getting one for yourself.

Ten Tools- "Day 5"

OK, so the whole ten day thing didn't work out at all but I am going to continue with my list of Ten Tools you should all have in your tool bag.  Today's tool is a flashlight.

There is one sure thing in maintenance, if it can happen it will and it will happen at the most inopportune time.  During my first winter working as a maintenance technician I got a no-heat call from a new resident.  It was about 11pm on Friday when the call came in so I headed out without all my tools, just my on-call bag, hoping it was something simple like a flame sensor.  When I arrived I found the gas valve was sticking.  I started to take it off so I could match it up back at our shop.  Somebody had put thread lock on the union threads so it was coming off real hard.  I gave it one final twist and the whole pipe came out of the floor!  You could hear the gas running out of the 3/4" pipe and I had just snapped off the shut off valve. 

I calmly (at least I think I was calm) asked the couple to step out into the hall while I ran downstairs to find the shut off.  Nobody had trained me to where the shut offs where for the buildings so I started making phone calls but nobody answered.  Because I didn't have my full tool bag I also didn't have much in the way of light.  I went running around the building, digging through the snow next to the gas meter's with a little pen light.  I had to get down on my knees just to see with that small light.  I finally found the valve about 10 minutes later and shut down the gas to the entire building.  I was soaking wet and freezing cold and had another two hours of fixing the pipe, fixing the gas valve, and relighting stoves for the entire building (my luck, it was the only building we had not switched over to electric ignition stoves) before I could go home and get warmed up.

The moral of the story is:  There are times when you need light and a lot of it.  I see most people using the flashlight from their cordless kit, which is great but they don't fit into an on-call bag very easy.  I would suggest everybody carries a quality hand held flashlight that isn't too bulky.  I have a Craftsman LED 160 lumen flashlight (Model #41-5900) that I love.  It is made of aircraft grade aluminum, is water resistant, and has a battery level indicator.  The flashlight puts out a ton of light also.  The aluminum is durable yet light and the design of the flashlight makes it real easy to put into your small bag. 

I have found that you can never have enough light.  Whether your crawling through a crawlspace, climbing through an attic, or stuffed into a base cabinet nothing is more frustrating than not being able to see that tiny screw head that has 10 layers of paint over it.  That is why I look for tools which incorporate a LED light. 

My screwdriver, cordless drill, and even my multi-meter feature a tiny work light.  I covered my cordless drill and multi-meter in my previous posts so I'll let you go back and look at those if you wish, however I think I should mention my screwdrivers here.  I have two screwdrivers which feature LED lights built into them.  The first is a Craftsman 6-1 lighted screwdriver (Model #35722).  It features a #1 and #2 Philips and slotted bit along with a 1/4" nut driver.  The handle is aluminum with rubber grips which is great for its durability but not so much fun out in the snow or when around electrical wires.  I also wish it had a 5/16 nut drive with it.  The three l.e.d. lights work great.  I also have a very similar screwdriver from Kobalt but I lost a bit and can't find the proper replacement.

Another great source of light is the head lamp.  I have had one in my small on-call bag for the last few years and they can be great while working on a furnace or under a sink.  Hands free operation is the key here.  I would suggest looking beyond the cheaper models here and go into a sporting goods store.  They sell high quality headlamps to sportsman for night fishing and animal tracking.  These models are heavier duty and more comfortable than the "Harbor Freight" specials. 

There are many different types of flashlights out there and I have tried a ton of them.  Tiny pen lights that you can keep in your pocket, magnetized, hooked, and flexible lighting, tripod lights, lights in your baseball cap, and even some that clip to the side of your glasses.  You are going to need to find out what is most comfortable for you.  Just remember not to just jump into something because it looks cool sitting on the hardware store counter.  Look at lumen, battery size, and other features to make sure that light is going to work the best for you.

I'm Back

Ok, so things got really crazy for the last couple of years but I am going to try and update this a few times a month from now on.
Here's the update:

I no longer work maintenance :(  It was a hard decision but I got a job offer to work as a construction manager from one of my vendors.  I have always been passionate about the construction industry and this was my chance to switch into the field I studied for.  However, I haven't strayed far from multi-family housing.

My new company acts as a general contractor for rehabilitation projects on apartment communities!  My experience working as a maintenance supervisor was one of the major reasons they hired me.  My job is to help organize and run a job from the planning stages right up to handing the keys over to the customer. 

The last year has flown by.  Along with learning a new job the company has paid for training for me which has included getting my builders license and fire and smoke restoration training.  I have been meeting a lot of new people in the industry and running all over the state gearing up jobs.

Right now I have two jobs going on, the first is a $4.6M rehab on a property which consists of 167 units in both a 3 story mid-rise and 18 townhomes.  We have been replacing cabinets, doors, shelving, electrical services, countertops, appliances, tubs, toilets, sinks, faucets, windows, flooring, ect, ect, ect.  The list is pretty extensive.  The second job is a $2.4M rehab in a 100 unit, 5 story mid-rise senior community.  The list is pretty much the same as above.

This job has been fun in that I get to know different maintenance teams and see how they operate.  I can also take my experience in the field and apply it when planning the jobs.  For instance we upgraded the bypass hardware to a system that more resembles pocket door hardware; the door has two- four wheeled trollies which can not fall out of the track.  This cuts out all the work orders for doors that have fallen off track.  The supervisor said they could get upwards of 10 per week before the change! 

So that's my update.  I start a new job in a few weeks and will get busy again.  Right now both of the jobs are winding down, which gives me some time to organize the future jobs and rest up for the next long haul.