Council-At-large member / Maintenance report 07/27/2010

During the month of July most of the time I spent on maintenance was spent on the following activities:

1. Inspections for rotten wood, woodpecker damage, and re-grading.

2. Inspections for proposed work-orders. Question: when is the homeowner required/expected to do subsequent maintenance? For instance, there is a work-order to correct a problem with some window wells. The house has a basement and window wells that are deep enough to accommodate the 'under ground' windows. There is a clear covering 12 inches or so above the well at ground level. During the fall the dead leaves find their way into the well and in time clog the drains that were provided when the house was built. During hard rains the wells fill with rain water causing water damage. The work-order would 'correct' the drains and change the grade of the surrounding lawn. I wonder how long it will take for the drains to fail again if nobody will clean up the leaves. So either the correction to the wells include some means to prevent leaves from getting into the wells, or the homeowners must clean out the wells so the drains can work (or both). Another question; should the windows of finished basements allow persons to get out if the basement door is stuck or fire in the upper floor?

The End