2022-06-01 - Facility Manager Log

I had our main contractor come in to get me quotes for some work to be done around the building.

Building Envelope

The building envelope is what separates the interior of a building from the exterior. It keeps out rain and humidity. If the building envelope is compromised, then moisture starts to accumulate and cause problems. For example, moisture could lead to unpleasant smells, mold, or corrosion.

I have noticed that the expansion joints around the building seem to be cracking and separating from the masonry. Not all the joints are like this. But, enough are that they would allow moisture into the building facade. While walking around, we also noticed that some of the wall blocks have been cracked. We will have the mason suggest what to do, whether he can seal the cracked blocks, or replace them with whole blocks.

Related to this, I need to contact the window company that installed our windows. We had a storm recently that showed that our windows are still not sealed completely. We had water seep in.

Outdoor Tables

I have some outdoor tables that have started to rust. I asked if he could get me a proposal to remove the rust and paint the furniture. He mentioned that they could spray them with a rust inhibitor prior to painting.

Lighting

Our building mostly has LED lighting. I was surprised to learn that in one room the lighting is with fluorescent tubes rather than LED tubes. We are going to try swapping out the fluorescent tubes for LEDs. If this doesn't work, we may have to have the electricians rewire the fixtures to work without ballasts. Then, we'll swap out all the fluorescent lights for LEDs.

We also have some recessed lights that have failed. These are also LED lights. Some are emergency lights, which means that they have a battery that powers the lights in the event of a power outage.

The trouble with many of these LED light fixtures is that their long life means that they are sold less frequently. As a result, they tend to go out of production relatively quickly, compared to their 20 year life expectancy. So, it is difficult to source the exact same kind. You either have to replace them with mismatched lights, or change out a whole lot of them at once so that they match.

I'm ordering a few extras so that I don't end up with several different kinds as other lights start to fail.

Water Aerators

Our faucets have aerators that slow down the water flow when you turn on the faucet. Currently, we have 0.5 gallon/minute aerators, which are too slow. I've requested that they be replaced with 2 gpm aerators. The parts themselves are plastic. They don't go bad. What happens is that we have hard water in our city. In time the aerators become clogged with lime and sediment. Rather than pay somebody to spend time trying to clean them out, it is much easier to have the aerators swapped for new ones.