Maintenance Winter Prep

Winter Prep

It’s that time of the year when we are starting to experience lower temperatures. As we all know how unpredictable this weather can be, I would like to advise everyone to check their drum drips, heaters, weather-exposed plumbing and faucets (mechanical, riser and pool pump rooms, stairwells, backflow preventer enclosures, etc.). Make sure all heaters are in good working order before you need them; if they are not in working order, this will give you enough time to order and replace any parts needed.

For those of you with a dry fire sprinkler system, make sure you drain all the drum drips, and make sure your drum drip valves are in good working order and end caps are in place. If you aren’t sure if you have a dry sprinkler system or you’ve never dealt with one before, please let me know before you attempt to do this and I will be glad to stop by and do it with you. This is very important, and if not done correctly or on time it can cause a lot of headaches and damage.

If you’re doing this for the first time this year, I would suggest you use a five-gallon bucket to catch the water so you can compare it with next time you do it, so you will have a better understanding of how often you need to perform this task. Every dry fire sprinkler system is different, and things like humidity will play a big part in the amount of water collected. Some areas should be drained weekly, some bi-weekly, some monthly, depending on the amount of water you collect the first few times. This is why it is important to know your dry sprinkler system so you can plan accordingly. When temperatures are below freezing this needs to be performed weekly, no matter how much water your system collects.

If you have exposed copper and CPVC pipes (faucets/ spigots) in garages/crawl spaces or on the side of the buildings, make sure you winterize these on time and/ or insulate them if you can’t fully winterize. Also, if you have exposed PVC P-traps in the garages/crawls spaces, make sure they are insulated and they have heat cords around them.

Our landscaping vendors are winterizing irrigation sprinkler systems around this time, and I would encourage everyone to reach out to your landscaping vendor just to confirm they have you on schedule, because just like everyone else, they may be shortstaffed and way behind.

EMIR SKOPLJACK

Regional Maintenance Supervisor 1, Lincoln Property Company