Category: Maintenance

Living in a dense urban area like Chicagoland can be something of a dirty job. And the task of cleaning off months (or years) of accumulated grime and dirt from the exterior of a building takes much more than a scrub-brush and a bottle of …

Ask any realtor what their customers are looking for in a condo or HOA and they will quickly point out the importance of the latest and greatest 21st Century technology as one of the top requests. Much like the inherent evolving nature of …

As readers of this publication surely know, well-run condo buildings and HOAs need to have adequate amounts of money in both their operating funds and their reserve funds. The operating fund covers most of the day-to-day costs of run…

Nothing lasts forever, and though you can’t predict the moment a piece of building equipment will break down, you can prepare for it. Even the toughest boiler, HVAC unit, or elevator will eventually tucker out and need major repairs, or ju…

In a multifamily building with scores, possibly hundreds of people living under one roof, cooking, cleaning, dusting and breathing, it’s no surprise that the airways, chutes and garbage rooms of these buildings can get clogged and dirty ov…

Modern cities are amazing creations, pulsing with life 24 hours a day, and built to cater to every need of residents. Take away just one of any city dweller’s basic necessities like plumbing, electricity or heating/air conditioning, though…

Any building in Chicago taller than, say, five stories usually has an elevator—and often, new buildings of even three stories have an elevator. If you live in a high rise co-op or condo building on Lake Shore Drive or elsewhere in Chicagol…

 It’s end of a sunny day in June, and the sun is setting over the Windy City. A  gentle breeze is coming off Lake Michigan, and a gorgeous evening beckons. You  pour a glass of wine and throw open the door to your condo's balcony to take i…

 It's a common enough story: the condominium was relatively new, but from the  start its board of directors was stingy with maintenance and repair dollars.  Then the recession struck, and the percentage of unpaid maintenance fees  spiked. …

 As spring dawns anew on a frigid Chicago landscape, many condo dwellers will get  their first prolonged looks at Mother Nature’s wintery ravages. Nowhere is this better seen than on a property’s exterior siding, much of which might need c…