1. Chapter 10 Maintenance and Energy Conservation

2. I. Your Maintenance Program MAINTENANCE is the upkeep of property. It involves cleaning, repairing and servicing of the property to obtain the use benefits needed at the present time and in the future. The best form of maintenance, ideally, would be preventative maintenance.

3. I. Your Maintenance Program (cont.) A. EMPLOYEE VERSUS CONTRACT SERVICES The authors have had extensive experience with both contract and employee services and strongly recommend contract cleaning services. B. YOUR OWN MAINTENANCE COMPANY Use of your firm’s maintenance organization should NOT be a requirement of management. C. PRIORITY OF REPAIRS D. STANDARDIZATION The “Standardization” of items makes them easy to repair by employee maintenance personnel having a supply of parts.

4. I. Your Maintenance Program (cont.) E. DEVELOPING CONTRACTOR RELATIONS Property management should NOT regard price alone in determining maintenance and repair contracts. Reliability is every bit as important. F. PATCH-AND-HOPE REPAIRS G. THE 10-DAY WEEK Maintenance Schedules tend to get in a rut when tied to calendar dates. H. MAINTENANCE RECORDS Property managers, including on-site managers, must keep records of all maintenance requests and complaints. I. IDENTIFY YOUR MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL Employee maintenance personnel should be uniformly dressed to make their presence evident to tenants. J. STAFFING

5. II. Specific Maintenance Tasks A. ROOFS (New) The most widely used built-up roofs may come with a 15- year or 20-year guarantee. The roofs seldom have to be replaced. B. ROOFS (Repairs) You can often determine likely spots for future leaks by visually checking a roof as well as where the current leak starts. If roof repairs become a regular event, you should probably consider a new roof to preserve the structure.

6. II. Specific Maintenance Tasks (cont.) C. PLUMBING Minor plumbing work can be performed by general maintenance personnel. D. FURNACES AND AIR CONDITIONERS E. PAINT Owners are thrilled when you save them money. This is the type of savings they’ll tell their friends about.

7. II. Specific Maintenance Tasks (cont.) F. CARPETING Where you can save on carpeting is by obtaining a competitive price on installed, per square yard carpeting based on quality and pad. When evaluating carpeting, experts will look at the backing. G. AIR FILTERS Dirty air filters reduce the flow of air, increase cooling and heating costs and place unnecessary strain on air conditioning and heating systems.

9. II. Specific Maintenance Tasks (cont.) H. PRESSURE WASHING I. GRAFFITI J. EXTERMINATORS For apartment units, we recommend negotiating a price per unit for monthly extermination service. K. PIGEONS The most effective way to eliminate the pigeons is to cut off their source of food.

10. II. Specific Maintenance Tasks (cont.) L. GULLS, DUCKS, AND GEESE M. CLEANING By attending trade shows, you will discover equipment and products that can make the cleaning jobs more efficient as well as provide labor savings. N. TEMPORARY CLEAN-UP WORK NEVER hire the jobless who congregate in the early morning hours at the local 7-11 store or other locations. You could create a worker’s compensation problem should any hired worker be injured.

11. II. Specific Maintenance Tasks (cont.) N. ALUMINUM WIRING Aluminum wiring was used from the 1960s into the early 1970s because it was cheaper than copper.

12. III. Improvements A. DEFINITION IMPROVEMENTS are additions to property. Improvements are more than just repairs because you are giving the property something that was not there before. A property owner would prefer that your monthly statement show work performed as a repair rather than as an improvement.

13. III. Improvements (cont.) B. ECONOMIC AND UNECONOMIC IMPROVEMENTS An overimprovement is NOT a good economic choice

14. IV. Mechanic’s Liens Unpaid contractors, subcontractors and material providers can place a lien against property for which they supplied goods or services if they have not been paid. This is called a MECHANICS’S LIEN, unlicensed contractors cannot file a mechanic’s lien.

15. IV. Mechanic’s Liens (cont.) As the property manager, your failure to protect the owner could subject you to liability. In many states, prior to filing a lien, a contractor must serve a preliminary notice on the prime contractor, the lender, and the owner.

16. V. Energy Conservation From a strictly economic sense, the reduction of energy costs to property owners is a benefit as it increases the bottom-line return on an investment.

17. V. Energy Conservation (cont.) A. HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING ENGINEERS A heating and air conditioning engineer can evaluate your building and make energy-saving recommendations. B. GOING TO INDIVIDUAL UNITS C. AUTOMATIC DAMPER CONTROL D. ELECTRIC USE CONTROLS

18. V. Energy Conservation (cont.) E. WATER HEATERS All water heaters should be wrapped with an insulation blanket. F. LIGHTS More light for less energy is possible by using exterior mercury or sodium vapor lighting.

19. V. Energy Conservation (cont.) G. FIREPLACES H. SOLAR HEAT Talk to owners and managers who use particular solar systems about any savings and/or problems. I. SOLAR LIGHTS J. WATER CONSERVATION Resident managers should be on the alert to shut off sprinkler systems when the grounds are saturated by rain.

20. V. Energy Conservation (cont.) K. VENTING Wind-powered, rotating turbine-style vents are a low cost way to solve the problem. L. INSULATION 1. Ceiling The additional insulation will probably be cost-effective in energy savings within three years.

21. V. Energy Conservation (cont.) L. INSULATION 2. Walls Place your hand on the inside of an exterior wall and on an interior wall. If you feel little difference in the temperature then the insulation is probably adequate. In the past, foam insulation forced into exterior wall cavities caused toxic fumes, creating an allergic reaction in many people.

22. V. Energy Conservation (cont.) L. INSULATION 3. Caulking and Weatherstripping Savings in heating and cooling costs can be achieved by using tubes of caulking, that cost about a dollar each. Any exterior painting contracts should include caulking 4. Windows Consider double or triple glazed window units that provide extra insulation when windows are to be replaced during remodeling.

23. V. Energy Conservation (cont.) L. INSULATION 5. Basement Walls 6. Basement Windows 7. Insulation Paint 8. Duct Work M. COMPUTERIZED BUILDINGS

24. Chapter Summary Your Maintenance Program Specific Maintenance Tasks Improvements Mechanic’s Liens Energy Conservation