Category: Maintenance

The lobby of the SoHo building where Stephen DeCordova, an actor, owns a co-op is almost too small to be noticed. A tiny vestibule leads to a narrow hallway where you’ll find the stairs and elevator. Four years ago, this entryway was dark a…

Spring: Glimpses of forsythia overhanging the walls of the Central Park transverses, dogwoods and magnolias blossoming in the Strawberry Fields and crocuses sprouting from sidewalk planters. For many, spring is a rebirth, a reaffirmation of…

Recently many northern tier cities have enacted building façade inspection laws to ensure public safety. One of the primary reasons for these laws has been aging and deterioration of the ornamental on older buildings, which is made from arc…

In the past few years, new products have become available that offer many advantages to co-ops and condos. Here are just a few of the products that we have found most beneficial from the standpoint of economy and reliability. Infrared M…

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…