Windsor Gardens Homeowners Association

Thank you for contacting me regarding Ms [redacted] complaint When I received your notification, I contacted our Facilities Manager and requested he visit Ms [redacted] condo The Windsor Gardens Community has condominium units When a resident has a maintenance concern, they are asked to turn in a work order There are several ways to accomplish this from calling the main office, calling our community response officers, placing it online or through an automated phone system Whenever a complaint or maintenance concern is called in, it is placed in the work order system When I received the filed complaint, I did a search in our work order system to discover how many times Ms [redacted] had contacted us regarding her heat concerns Prior to our visit to her unit that resulted from her complaint, Ms [redacted] had not placed a work order since February That work order was for a strange odor in her bathroom Since Ms [redacted] purchased her unit in 2008, she has placed work orders Of those were heat related the most recent being Our system indicates what the problem was and how it was remedied On each of those maintenance calls, our maintenance personnel noted that the heat was working in Ms [redacted] home I additionally researched the work order system to determine if other residents in the same building as Ms [redacted] had reported heat maintenance issues this winter Of the other condominiums in Ms [redacted] building, I found other work orders for heat issues One reported degrees in the unit, the other involved a bad battery in a thermostat and the thermostat was replaced When our Facilities Manager, Bill W***, visited Ms [redacted] he was greeted with “why are you here, I didn’t call you” MrW [redacted] let Ms [redacted] know that he had heard that she was experiencing no heat in her unit and he wanted to see if he could help resolve the problem She informed him that she knew that a new boiler was needed What MrW [redacted] found in Ms [redacted] unit was carpet rolled up under the register blocking heat flow, a covering placed in front of her door which blocked the air circulation of warm air from the hallway into her unit and created a vacuum that pulled cold air in through her windows as well as a space heater set up directly below her thermostat causing the thermostat to read warm MrW [redacted] reported that Ms [redacted] unit was at degrees at the time of his visit He shared his suggestions with her regarding what would help her heat situation and also will send her a written report The boiler in Ms [redacted] building is currently working efficiently and without problem No one from the maintenance department has indicated that there are problems with the boiler We take building maintenance very seriously at Windsor Gardens and make every effort to keep things running efficiently It is common in a community of our demographic to have residents who would like to be warmer than to degrees We have advised Ms [redacted] to call in a work order whenever she believes her unit is not being heated properly The following is an article placed in our community newspaper that explains the inner workings of our heating system and suggestions for better usage which Ms [redacted] will receive as wellIn previous articles I have mentioned that the heating systems in our buildings were designed to provide degrees in the apartment when the outdoor temperature is at zero degreesThis engineering was calculated under ideal conditions when the registers were new and there were absolutely no restrictions to the flow of air through the heating elementIdeal conditions are a sealed room with no leaks from windows or doors, in an environment where the air pressure is staticMost of the units I visit have any number of items that negatively impact the heating system and make conditions far from idealLet’s take a look at what impacts your heat and maybe you can make the necessary adjustments to help your system be more effective in keeping you warmAir circulation It’s all about circulationWe see drapes, sofas, bookcases, china hutches and any number of furnishings blocking the air flow to the registersThese are the obvious culprits for you to look for, but if you take a closer look you may find dust, pet hair or lint on the surface of the aluminum fins of the baseboard registerThis debris may seem insignificant, but it does reduce the efficiency of the baseboard unitWe also often see carpeting tucked up under the registers, which has a severe impact on the circulation of heated air into the living spaceCarpet should be firmly on the floor and not tucked up behind the register against the wall A few degrees of temperature can make the difference in being comfortable or being chilly Small improvements in the circulation of air can make that differenceOpen or cracked windows or lanai doors The leading causes of cold air intrusion are windows or sliding lanai doors that are not closed properlyWe need to completely eliminate the intrusion of cold air in order to help our system heat your unitDon't cover the gap under your unit door Probably the most misunderstood component to our heating system is the gap under your unit door to the main hallwayBlocking the gap under your door to the main hallway creates a vacuum in your apartmentInstead of pulling warmed air from the hallway under the door into your unit, you are pulling cold air in from around the air conditioner, the windows, or the sliding lanai doorPlease do not cover the gap under your door to the main hallway – leave it open so that warm air can be introduced to your unitdegrees During the cold weather months please keep your thermostat set at degrees or above to avoid frozen pipesHopefully, after you utilize a few of these ideas your unit will resemble a warm winter paradiseUntil next month – stay warm

Complaint: ***
I have been told all of this before. There were three other people on my floor who were cold and told me they would "back me up." My carpet has been in this condo since 2008. Never been told before it was installed wrong. There is room between the carpet and the heating system. I've been told to cover the vents in my bathrooms over the tubs, this being one of the problems. I was told once that a window was open a crack and this time I was told the patio door was open a crack. Neither time was the case. It is warm in here when the weather is mild, however one night after the technician was here, I had to run the space heater all night. I have a feeling nothing will really change. I will not ask you to pursue this a n y further. It is a lost cause as far as I'm concerned. By the way they have been replacing boilers in other buildings at Windsor. There have also been many complaints from our residents in this building that there have been several time when there was no hot waterConsider this my request to end communications
Sincerely,
*** ***

Thank you for contacting me regarding Ms. [redacted] complaint.  When I received your notification, I contacted our Facilities Manager and requested he visit Ms. [redacted] condo.  The Windsor Gardens Community has 2690 condominium units.  When a resident has a maintenance concern, they...

are asked to turn in a work order.  There are several ways to accomplish this from calling the main office, calling our community response officers, placing it online or through an automated phone system.  Whenever a complaint or maintenance concern is called in, it is placed in the work order system.  When I received the filed complaint, I did a search in our work order system to discover how many times Ms. [redacted] had contacted us regarding her heat concerns.  Prior to our visit to her unit that resulted from her complaint, Ms. [redacted] had not placed a work order since February 2016.  That work order was for a strange odor in her bathroom.  Since Ms. [redacted] purchased her unit in 2008, she has placed 12 work orders.  Of those 4 were heat related the most recent being 2015.  Our system indicates what the problem was and how it was remedied.  On each of those maintenance calls, our maintenance personnel noted that the heat was working in Ms. [redacted] home.   I additionally researched the work order system to determine if other residents in the same building as Ms. [redacted] had reported heat maintenance issues this winter.  Of the 48 other condominiums in Ms. [redacted] building, I found 2 other work orders for heat issues.  One reported 70 degrees in the unit, the other involved a bad battery in a thermostat and the thermostat was replaced.  When our Facilities Manager, Bill W[redacted], visited Ms. [redacted] he was greeted with “why are you here, I didn’t call you”.  Mr. W[redacted] let Ms. [redacted] know that he had heard that she was experiencing no heat in her unit and he wanted to see if he could help resolve the problem.  She informed him that she knew that a new boiler was needed.  What Mr. W[redacted] found in Ms. [redacted] unit was carpet rolled up under the register blocking heat flow, a covering placed in front of her door which blocked the air circulation of warm air from the hallway into her unit and created a vacuum that pulled cold air in through her windows as well as a space heater set up directly below her thermostat causing the thermostat to read warm.  Mr. W[redacted] reported that Ms. [redacted] unit was at 70 degrees at the time of his visit.  He shared his suggestions with her regarding what would help her heat situation and also will send her a written report.  The boiler in Ms. [redacted] building is currently working efficiently and without problem.  No one from the maintenance department has indicated that there are problems with the boiler.  We take building maintenance very seriously at Windsor Gardens and make every effort to keep things running efficiently.  It is common in a community of our demographic to have residents who would like to be warmer than 70 to 72 degrees.  We have advised Ms. [redacted] to call in a work order whenever she believes her unit is not being heated properly.  The following is an article placed in our community newspaper that explains the inner workings of our heating system and suggestions for better usage which Ms. [redacted] will receive as well. In previous articles I have mentioned that the heating systems in our buildings were designed to provide 70 degrees in the apartment when the outdoor temperature is at zero degrees. This engineering was calculated under ideal conditions when the registers were new and there were absolutely no restrictions to the flow of air through the heating element. Ideal conditions are a sealed room with no leaks from windows or doors, in an environment where the air pressure is static. Most of the units I visit have any number of items that negatively impact the heating system and make conditions far from ideal. Let’s take a look at what impacts your heat and maybe you can make the necessary adjustments to help your system be more effective in keeping you warm. Air circulation It’s all about circulation. We see drapes, sofas, bookcases, china hutches and any number of furnishings blocking the air flow to the registers. These are the obvious culprits for you to look for, but if you take a closer look you may find dust, pet hair or lint on the surface of the aluminum fins of the baseboard register. This debris may seem insignificant, but it does reduce the efficiency of the baseboard unit. We also often see carpeting tucked up under the registers, which has a severe impact on the circulation of heated air into the living space. Carpet should be firmly on the floor and not tucked up behind the register against the wall.  A few degrees of temperature can make the difference in being comfortable or being chilly.  Small improvements in the circulation of air can make that difference. Open or cracked windows or lanai doors The leading causes of cold air intrusion are windows or sliding lanai doors that are not closed properly. We need to completely eliminate the intrusion of cold air in order to help our system heat your unit. Don't cover the gap under your unit door Probably the most misunderstood component to our heating system is the gap under your unit door to the main hallway. Blocking the gap under your door to the main hallway creates a vacuum in your apartment. Instead of pulling warmed air from the hallway under the door into your unit, you are pulling cold air in from around the air conditioner, the windows, or the sliding lanai door. Please do not cover the gap under your door to the main hallway – leave it open so that warm air can be introduced to your unit. 72 degrees During the cold weather months please keep your thermostat set at 72 degrees or above to avoid frozen pipes. Hopefully, after you utilize a few of these ideas your unit will resemble a warm winter paradise. Until next month – stay warm.