Category: Maintenance

The Off-Season: Keeping Your Boiler Efficient Through the Spring, Summer and Fall Now that winter is drawing to a close, residential and commercial buildings will soon be switching their heating systems off and their air conditio…

Imagine living in a building where your neighbors do whatever renovation work they want with no restrictions. Some believe they are do-it-yourself electricians and they move wiring within the apartment. Others put kitchens in the basement. …

It’s three o’clock in the morning and your building’s boiler has just broken down. Your property manager is woken from his sleep by a phone call from the superintendent telling him that there’s a catastrophe at hand. You’re left shivering i…

When the clock strikes 12 on January 1 of next year, what will happen? Many warn of impending chaos as microchips failing to recognize the date bring us back to the beginning of the century. If you're overwhelmed by Y2K gloom and doom, it m…

Imagine this. Your contractor has finally completed the renovations to your bathroom - taking three months rather than the three weeks he promised. The wallpaper, special order wall and flooring tile match perfectly, and although you excee…

They say that April showers bring May flowers. For the New York area's aging brick buildings, spring sprinkles and summer storms can bring much worse. From interior leaks to the liability nightmare of a crumbling and falling facade, the eff…

There was a time not long ago when New Yorkers could throw just about anything away and not give it a second thought. But in the late 1980s, the federal government enacted strong environmental legislation, including the closure of many land…

If you had to name the single most valuable individual to your co-op or condo, who would it be? Certainly, your board president, managing agent, corporate counsel and accountant are key players. But boards and residents should never underes…

Cost of living increases can be felt everywhere, from the theatre to the supermarket to the gas station. So it may come as a surprise to many co-op and condo residents that one place you don't have to expect an increase is in your monthly m…

Management experts and others in the real estate industry are always cautioning their co-op and condo clients to keep an eye on the water consumption in their buildings. The water and sewage bill received quarterly from the New York City …