Page 19 - amm1

DEAR MAINTENANCE MEN
Dear Maintenance Men:
I am a new owner of a 1965 four-plex. I am living in the front owners unit. It truly is a great place to live but I am quite concerned about my privacy and the fact that I can hear my tenant’s conversations, their TV or radio through the common wall between the units. I figure if I can hear them, they can hear me. I do know I probably lack insulation but do not want to make the expense of ripping drywall out and so on. Do you have any other suggestions?
- Tom
Dear Tom:
We agree, the worst job to do in an occupied unit is significant drywall work. The dust and debris are awful no matter how good your dust control method. Fortunately, in your case you can address this problem by using a product called Acoustic-coat #150 which is basically a lightly textured water based flat latex paint, formulated with hollow ceramic micro spheres and sound absorbing fibers and resins. To spare our readers a crash course in chemistry, we will give you the basic highlights.
Acoustic-coat #150 is a sound reduction paint, which can reduce sound transmission by 30% and will
also dramatically reduce sound echo in the room. Acoustic-coat #150 can be used on walls and ceiling and also has excellent insulating properties. This sound reduction paint is most effective for speech range frequencies.
The paint can be bought premixed or as a powdered additive and added to your paint. Please refer to this web site for more detailed info: www. ceramicadditive.com.
Dear Maintenance Men:
I would like your advice. My husband and I are installing new interior doors in our vacant unit. My understanding is using pre-hung doors is better and easier and my husband insists that buying a door slab is cheaper and faster. We’ve never installed doors before and want to do it right the first time.
- Maurine
Dear Maurine:
We have found that there are no two doors hung alike. They are all unique to their doorways. Let’s start with our husbands plan. When you buy a slab door, it does not have a hole for the door knob or latch; it also does not have the hinges attached.
Please turn to page 20
By Jerry L'Ecuyer & Frank Alvarez
Frank Alvarez is licensed contractor and the Operations Director and co-owner of Buffalo Maintenance, Inc. He has been involved with apartment maintenance & construction for over 20 years. He is also a lecturer & educational instructor and Co-Chair of the Education Committee of the Apartment Association of Orange County as well as being Chairman of the Product Service Counsel. Frank can be reached at (714) 956-8371 Frankie@ BuffaloMaintenance.com For more info please go to: www.BuffaloMaintenance.com
Jerry L’Ecuyer is a licensed contractor & real estate broker. He is currently on the Board of Directors and Past President and past Chairman of the Education Committee of the Apartment Association of Orange County. Jerry has been involved with apartments as a professional since 1988.
AMM1/6 APARTMENT MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE - AUGUST 2021 19