On the Level
by Terry F. Meany
Hot enough for you? As I write this, San Francisco and the rest of the country is experiencing an extreme heat wave. If the more-than-plentiful Bay Area dogs, whose owners apparently form an independent branch of the local government, can realize that staying in the shade is a logical course to follow in this heat, one must wonder why humans can’t figure it out as well. This is hardly the time anyone wants to think about fall building maintenance, but think we must, for this soon will pass and the fog and the drizzle will return, as will the weeping and gnashing of tenants’ teeth over leaks, drafts and deferred maintenance.
Some maintenance is season specific and some can be done anytime. The fall is as good a time as any to do many of the repairs I’ll be discussing since you’ll be tooling around your properties anyway. The basics never go away: roof, foundation, water problems and sealing up the exterior. Attend to these and your building can last for centuries (your great-great-great-grandkids will thank you).
Up on the Roof
A roof, very simply, keeps water out. It must be able to shed water freely down its drains and gutters and not be impeded by leaves, twigs and bird nests. Check that your drains, gutters and downspouts are clean, and scoop out any obstructions. Run a hose down the downspouts to confirm the water isn’t clogged further down.
Remove any debris caught behind the chimney and the plumbing vents as well. Debris holds water and this promotes deterioration. Look at the chimney, vents and skylights themselves. Is the flashing intact? What about the chimney mortar? If it’s crumbling, repoint it now before it absorbs any more moisture and you start losing bricks. Remove any deteriorated caulk around skylights and reapply with new material.
Rooftop gardens are one thing, uninvited moss and algae are another. Moss develops a root system that holds water and keeps roofing wet when you want it dry. Prepare a solution of oxygenated bleach and hot water (half and half is fine when using liquid bleach, otherwise follow the instructions for powdered bleach) and liberally soak the affected areas for 15 minutes. Working your way down from the top of the roof, lightly brush off the moss using a small scrub brush attached to a painter’s extension pole. Dip the brush occasionally in a bucket of clean water and don’t brush too aggressively, especially on older roofs, as you can loosen too many of the granules from the shingles. Rinse off each roof section when finished.
If any shingles are loose, press a small amount of roof cement under the loose tab and hold until it stays flat. Remove any surface rust from sheet-metal flashing with a wire brush or sandpaper. Clean off all dust and coat with Rustoleum or with a paint formulated for metal roofs.
On flat roofs, sweep away all debris and check for blisters. If you’re comfortable with roofing cement and patching fabrics, cut an “X” into any blisters and allow them to drain and dry if necessary. Lift each cut section up, trowel in some roofing cement and press the sections down into the cement. Coat the top of the cut sections with a second coat of cement, extending about six inches beyond the patched area. Press patching fabric into this section of roofing cement and then apply a final coat over the patching fabric, extending a couple of inches beyond its edges.
On Your Way Down
Touch up any paint-challenged sections of the exterior. If any wood is bare, prime it first and then apply a top coat of latex paint (two coats are better). I’m not a big fan of fast-dry primers on large exterior areas, but they work all right for spot repairs. Window sills on older buildings often crack and need repainting more often than the siding. You might plan on doing all the sills on the weathered sides if you have ready access to them, even those that appear intact. Scuff them up with 80D sandpaper, wipe off the dust and recoat. Reglaze any windows with missing or about-to-be-missing glazing. The glazing—DAP 33 works well and is available everywhere—must be painted and sealed to the glass, otherwise it will shrink and allow water behind it. Glazing can be sealed right away with a fast-dry oil primer and then top coated with paint.
If your building is three stories or shorter, give it a bath. Forget the pressure washer and the chances of shooting water inside the wall or breaking window glass. All you need is a washer system—a series of aluminum poles that screw together with brush attachments—that attaches to a hose and some liquid soap. Taller buildings could use a wash now and again as well, but require more logistical work because you can’t reach the top from a ladder. Removing the dirt and pollutants from your building’s exterior will extend the life of the paint and measurably improve its appearance.
Stucco building? Unless you’re repainting, it’s tough to fill multiple hairline and larger cracks and touch up the paint without it showing against the remainder of the painted wall. If repainting is in the near future, don’t worry about the hairline cracks, but attend to any larger ones by shooting in some high-grade acrylic latex caulk and brushing over it with a paint brush dipped in water. Once the caulk has dried, apply a narrow coat of exterior paint and brush at a 90-degree angle to the paint line (instead of following it) with a dry brush. This helps blend it in with the surrounding paint so it doesn’t stick out quite so much.
Back on Terra Firma
Snoop around your foundation for evidence of rodents, insects and poor drainage. You want your landscaping sloped away from the wall, not towards it. Pull up the downspouts, run a hose full force into the drain line and check that it can handle the water volume. Shrubs and trees planted too close to the building promote mold and mildew growth. Trim them back so you have 18 inches or so of clear space between the plants and the walls.
Inside with the Usual Suspects
Fall weather means interior painting will dry faster than during the damp winter. The same is true for carpet shampooing. Do these tasks now, at least in common areas. Call your furnace contractor now if you need to do a regular servicing. You and everyone else will be chasing down the same service techs the first cold day of the year when your heating system shuts down and challenges you to get it going again.
If you don’t have a regularly scheduled time to replace smoke detector batteries and check fire extinguishers, do it now. You can’t rely on tenants to replace batteries and it will come back to haunt you if there’s a fire and a detector doesn’t function. Turn the main water shutoffs off, and then on again, to be sure they’re still alive and kicking. Ideally, you should schedule a trip into all your units at this time and check: all the shutoffs; ground-fault-circuit-interrupter receptacles in the bathrooms and kitchens; exhaust fans (Are they clean or clogged?); drains, door locks and tile grout; and window operation. Pull the refrigerators out and vacuum the dust from the coils for more efficient operation and a longer appliance life. Leaky faucets? You’re paying for the water, so replace the washers.
Drain a few gallons of water from each hot water heater. This will tell you if there’s corrosion at the bottom of the tank and remove any sediment at the same time. Water inside the traps of unused drains (basement floor drains, for instance) will evaporate and allow sewer gases into the immediate area. Pour some water down these drains and refill those traps.
A once- or twice-a-year maintenance binge does more than keep your property fine-tuned. These trips allow you to observe how your tenants live and to educate them. Despite the sometimes adversarial landlord-tenant relationship in a rent-controlled town, both parties have a lot at stake and anything you can do to promote better care and use of your property is a good thing for all concerned.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Terry F. Meany is a former contractor and landlord. He is cost-conscious but not cheap and knows deferred maintenance always costs more in the end. He can be reached at tfmeany@msn.com. Copyright © 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.