Everyone,
Apologies for lumping so many items into one update, but there’s a lot going on here at Grand Bel Manor!
Even if you’re not like me (living in a top floor unit with no shade), the current weather probably has you wondering when we’re getting A/C for the season. The short answer (as has been posted on billboards) is next Monday, but with the caveat that Tuesday and/or Wednesday it will likely be briefly down as maintenance is done on an impeller. Unless you’re new, you’re well aware that we have approximately a week of downtime between seasons when switching from heat to A/C and vice versa. This is an unfortunate requirement of the system that was installed when the complex was built – it uses a water-based heating or cooling system, meaning it can only handle one at a time. Unfortunately, you can’t quickly switch from one to the other without risking thermal shock, which severely weakens the pipes, and frequently breaks them. The downtime also allows for maintenance work to be done on the system. Unfortunately, estimating the optimum time to arrange that week break, especially when temperatures can fluctuate so drastically, is a bit of a guessing game, and that intermediary time period can be quite an ordeal.
Next up, as the residents of 3800 and 3802 have already learned, we’ve begun instituting what I guess you could consider all-encompassing and thorough unit inspections. First of all, I want to make it very clear that the intent of these inspections is first and foremost to inform owners and residents of potential safety hazards, it is also intended to help uncover potential points of entry and/or environments conducive to harboring pests, and it may uncover certain conditions that negatively impact the value of both individual units and the property as a whole. If items are uncovered, a course of action for resolution will be provided, and certain issues may even be taken care of by the association itself. While we understand it’s somewhat inconvenient and invasive, it is one of the prices we pay as part of living in an environment where our units can impact others. We hope to discover any issues, inform residents & owners of these issues and suggested resolutions, and allow the owners to resolve the issues.
Now on to some BIG news! While this year it only directly impacts the residents of 3800 and 3802, we are finally starting the process of replacing our roofs! Residents and owners in that building should have already been apprised of the situation (if for some reason you haven’t been, please contact management ASAP), but for the rest of us, expect to see quite a bit of construction going on with those two buildings. The disruption to those residents is unfortunate, in particular to those on the top floor, but the end results should be well worth the inconvenience! I’m honestly a bit jealous as these new roofs come with proper insulation (and many other benefits), meaning that this time next year (even potentially during the transition this fall) residents should be less impacted when the sun beams down from above. We’ll be doing an analysis of the remaining buildings, to best ascertain which are in need of replacement the most, and hope to be able to replace one set of roofs a year going forward.
Next up, I, unfortunately, don’t have the specifics on the buildings affected, but notices were posted in those that are, there will be a water shut-off next Tuesday (again, only in those buildings with notices). As a reminder, if you didn’t previously inform management, and provide the various necessary paperwork (plumber’s license and insurance) you are NOT to have any work done. Not only is that information critical if something were to go wrong, but the water will be reactivated when the work we’re aware of is finished. If we don’t know about work being done, you may well wind up flooding your (and other) units, and it will likely cost you substantially, so just don’t do it! It’s easy enough to make the schedule arrangements!
Lastly, and ideally going unnoticed, I’m going to be doing some web server work. I’ll spare you the details, but there is a slight chance there may be disruptions.
Thanks for your time,
Greg