A resident contacted me looking for advice (see below). My own heating units were both replaced shortly before we moved here so I haven’t any experience with replacing one. If anyone has any info or advice to share, please reply in the comments. Thanks!

My first floor heating/cooling unit died this week and it cannot be fixed. I am wondering if anyone in the building has replaced their system before and if so, what model they used for the new system. My system was from the ’80s. I am also wondering if I need to get the building management company involved since I don’t know if they will need access to the roof/basement. 

I’ve been asked by a fifth floor resident to put up a post soliciting advice on window operation. His message is as follows:

“I assumed for a while that the downstairs windows weren’t supposed to open, but I recently saw a picture on the site of them open, so now I know they’re supposed to open but can’t for some reason. The best I can do is move them up a couple millimeters. They won’t budge past that. 

I was hoping perhaps someone else in the building has been in this position before and could help me come up with strategies to make them work again. I imagine the best route to go would be to open them then lubricate the tracks, but it’s that first opening that I can’t manage.“

Admin here again: I’m hoping someone else can offer some helpful suggestions (in the comments, please), but my impression after watching more than one contractor open long-unused windows in my unit is that it’s pretty much a matter of brute force. Because of the depth of the sills, I usually have to climb up and kneel on the sill to get enough leverage to open even a not-stuck window (Warning: lifting from that position can be risky for one’s back). I know someone else who’s used a metal bar as a lever but that visibly bends the lift ridge of the window and could damage it permanently. I’ve thought for years that someone needs to design a mechanism that can lift these windows without damage to them or us.

That said, I can suggest the best lubricant to use on the tracks once the window is open: white lithium spray. It’s readily available at Home Depot and makes a huge difference.

One other factor that affects ease of window use is whether the glass has been replaced. Although it’s not obvious just by looking, the newer glass is twice as thick which provides better insulation but means it weighs twice as much. One can find a bit more info about our windows by clicking on the “Windows” page of this site’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor section.

A cute little second-hand store called “This and That” has opened at 10 Kirk Street, just this side of the High School. It’s an easy walk and may be worth a visit, whether to browse their very reasonably priced selection or to ask about donating some of those gently-used goods of your own that you no longer want. Their hours are Thursday and Friday from 10:30am to 3:00pm, and Saturday from 9:30am to 1:00pm.

Does anyone have advice for placing items outside for “curbside” pickup by a charity? I’ve always avoided doing it myself because most charities want you to put it out the night before and that strikes me as inviting theft or vandalism. I’ve been asked where is the best place to put items, which I would guess to be under the front overhang but away from the doors, but I’d like to know what has worked for others. Please put responses in the comments. Thank you.

Also, I’ve been asked to post the following:

Hi Everyone
We had a blockage in the garbage chute this weekend that plugged the chute as far up as the second floor. Liquid items came into contact with items (such as grout in its powder form) and clogged the chute.

It is very important that ANYTHING that is tossed down the garbage chute needs to be securely tied in a plastic bag before it thrown down the chute.  NO single items—be it regular garbage, paint cans or half-empty grout bags—should go down the chute without first being placed in a tied plastic bag.

The BEST thing to do with liquid items or items that can clump if they come in contact with a liquid, is to walk it down to the basement and dispose of it directly into the appropriate dumpster—still securely tied in a plastic bag. Cans of still-liquid paint should NOT go in the trash—even latex paint can contain toxic chemicals. For the right way to dispose of paint, see here.

Please DO NOT toss a large commercial-size plastic bag down the chute. If you have to ‘stuff’ the bag down the chute, it is too big for the chute and needs to be taken down to the basement and placed directly into the dumpster assigned for garbage.

And, just as an extra note, there are always lots of move-ins and move-outs at the end of a month, as well as deliveries arriving in boxes throughout the month. PLEASE EMPTY AND FLATTEN ALL CARDBOARD BOXES AND PLACE THEM IN THE BASEMENT DUMPSTER DIRECTLY UNDER THE SIGN FOR CARDBOARD.  Alternately, you can take them over to the DPW and recycle them there.

ONLY CARDBOARD is to go in the basement dumpster labeled for cardboard—insulation, styrofoam or packing items should NOT go into the CARDBOARD ONLY dumpster.

Your cooperation is always greatly appreciated by the maintenance staff!

A message for dog owners:

Two large boxes of various dog food have been in the mail room for well over three weeks. The person they were sent to has indicated they are not his. Instead of throwing out the boxes they were opened and the items are now being made available to anyone who wants to go down to the mail room and take some of it – if you think your dog will like it!

The crews were able to get the repairs done. The AC is up and running.

I know folks are getting increasingly anxious about whether or not we’ll have AC this weekend. Here’s the situation as I understand it: There was a serious clog found in a drain line when they tried to activate the cooling tower this morning. When I was outside earlier there were two drain company trucks and two AC company trucks out front and workmen visible on the roof, so management is clearly doing all they can to get the system running.

I believe the delay in putting out news is twofold: management doesn’t have a clear answer yet about whether the AC will be running, and they are devoting all their time to speeding up the process as much as possible and getting accurate information to share before sending anything out.

Temperatures are supposed to be reasonable through this evening and into mid-morning tomorrow but beyond that it’s going to be a very uncomfortable weekend if the crews are unsuccessful getting the cooling tower running today. I would recommend making contingency plans for yourself and your pets to keep cool should we be without AC this weekend while keeping your fingers crossed for good news later today.

From a resident:

Hi – I’m sure somebody is going to be missing this little piece of electronic connection equipment. Just found it in the lobby near the stairs leading to the atrium at about 12:40 this afternoon May 18.

Please call me at 978-764-5570 so you can put this back with the rest of your electronic equipment!

I want to apologize first for a mistake in the information I gave out last week. It seems I misunderstood something I was told early on. The line to the cooling tower had not failed and dumped debris in the system; rather, it had visibly deteriorated and clearly needed replacing. Had the cooling tower been put into use, that line could have failed and not only damaged the system, but released large quantities of water into the floors below potentially causing a whole cascade of serious issues. The result was the same—repairs had to be made before it was safe to run the tower—but my description was in error.

As for the current status of the system, here’s is the latest info:

Grinnell will be on site tomorrow at 7:00 AM to start working on the cooling tower.  This is what is supposed to happen:

Tomorrow (Wednesday) a crew will be working on the 8” pipe on the roof, returning Thursday to work on the 8” pipe on the first floor.  While a crew is working on the piping, another crew will be here prepping for the start up.  All of this should take approximately two days to complete (fingers crossed) if they all adhere to the schedule.

Residents are reminded that they should not run their air conditioning while the cooling tower is out of order.  This will only wear on the unit pumps and raise the electric bill without cooling the unit. If you are a landlord with tenants in the building, please make sure they are also aware of this; it’s possible there are gaps in the email list used for the notice that went out.

Speaking for me personally, and in no official capacity at all, I’d like to say that I’m aware that this situation has been difficult for a lot of residents, and breakdowns in communication haven’t helped, but please understand that there are multiple contractors involved, a dedicated but new-to-the-building manager, and a board working hard to get it right but new to much of this process themselves. Some problems were unavoidable; others have been learning experiences—and believe me, I’ve done a lot of learning this past week!

The Board, in conjunction with the new management and keeping an eye on the weather forecast, scheduled the switch from heat to air conditioning for mid-week this past week, a week earlier than the switchover last year. With lows in the 30s as recently as Sunday night and highs in the 80s a few days later, the timing was trickier than usual this year.

Unfortunately, as the switch was being made, it was discovered that the cooling tower had suffered damage over the winter; a line was damaged and there was debris in the system. The repair company was here yesterday and will be returning Monday or Tuesday to finish the work and turn on the AC. Labor shortages and supply chain issues being what they are, an immediate, emergency repair does not appear to be an option.

Your Board has been discussing the situation and regrets the delay; they realize it’s frustrating for everyone and particularly uncomfortable for folks on the upper floors. It’s the Board’s intention to make a regular May 1st inspection of the cooling tower part of the building’s maintenance schedule going forward. As for now, today should be the worst of the current heat wave; lower temperatures are predicted for tomorrow and the following days.