Annual Meeting Tomorrow

Just a reminder, the annual meeting is tomorrow at 7:00PM at the NPS Visitors Center next door.  If you won’t be able to attend and haven’t yet turned in your proxy form, please try to drop it at the office ASAP or send it to the meeting with a neighbor tomorrow.

Hope to see you all there!

A Word About Second Generation AC/Heat Pumps

Now that the air conditioning has been turned on for the summer, people might be interested in this info from a fellow resident (Thanks Craig!):

My downstairs heat pump wasn’t cooling very well this week, so I had A1 Maintenance Master come out and have a look. (978-937-5526). Turns out, historically, when old heat pump units have to be replaced with newer ones, as was done years ago in my unit before I bought it, it’s common that the new hardware’s radiator doesn’t align with the old vents in the bottom of the exterior panel that covers things. This often isn’t a problem, but, apparently, when the building system is finally working at 100% with maximum cooling in the system, this can cause frost to build up over the radiator fins in some units, and keep the “cool” inside the building system from reaching the air in the apartment. You can check this yourself by removing your exterior panel (by turning the screws at the top corners a quarter turn to release the catches) and having a look at where your radiator might be relative to the vents.

The immediate work-around is to remove the exterior panel and turn things off and wait for the fins to defrost. (You can speed this up with a hair dryer or just using the heat pump fan). Then, just turn things back on with open air flow and things will be nice and cool right away. The long-term fix is to fabricate new vent openings that better align with the radiator. A1 is doing that for me, but any metal shop might do the same. (I recommend A1 for all of this, of course, but others may have additional good recommendations).

Keep cool!
Best,
Craig.

Loading Dock Safety Issues

The management sent out an e-mail last Saturday regarding a safety issue in the loading dock area but apparently not everyone received it.  I apologize for not posting the information at the time; here it is now.

Last evening a metal cover, over a shaft into the tunnels below the roads and parking lot, located at the base of the rear loading dock stairs was found down in the shaft, leaving the hole open. The cover was retrieved and put back in place and an additional piece of metal placed over it with caution cones. 

Until the structural integrity of the area can be evaluated, no cars or trucks may use this area for any reason. If you are expecting a delivery please use the side door toward the front of the building or the lobby door. Please use only the freight elevator, not the passenger elevator for large items. Walking over the area to get to and from the rear door is not a problem, just exercise caution walking over the plate.

I want to thank those residents that took the time to call me about this dangerous hazard so it could be promptly attended to.

Construction and Unwelcome Visitors

Since last fall a few units have had mice, which is unusual for Canal Place. The source of the problem is the construction in the adjacent building which is displacing the mice and they are taking up residence in Canal Place.

Here’s what the management suggests:   “To prevent mice entering your unit we recommend that you seal all wall openings, particularly those under your kitchen and bathroom sinks and in the laundry room, where the pipes come thru the wall. An easy way to do that is with a spray can of “Great Stuff”. It sprays on like whipped cream and quickly dries hard like Styrofoam. This will prevent any mice in the walls from getting into your unit. We also suggest that you place traps in those same locations.  Cans of “Great Stuff” are available in hardware stores, Home Depot, Lowes and similar stores.”

As the weather warms up, one hopes that any mice will relocate outside, and that the construction to the rear of the building will be much further along and properly battened up before next fall.

 

 

Sorry Folks, More Elevator Problems

The back elevator transformer needs to be replaced. The part needs to be ordered and the freight elevator will be out of service for the rest of the weekend and probably for a period of time on Monday.

Please be patient.

Thank you!

Also, it’s worth mentioning that the problem with too many lights coming on in the front elevator is still under investigation. It appears to stem from a combination of issues involving the aging local power grid and our not-so-new elevator.  Possible solutions are being explored.