A shower of sparks was the figurative nail in the coffin. I'm definitely going to look into moving out in the fall.
I've never had so many problems in a rental suite before. Let's recap:
- When we first moved in the cleaners had done everything but the windowsills and blinds, which were disgusting and black for the bottom 2 feet. We called the landlord and requested he have them cleaned, which he did. But the cleaners still didn't do the windowsills very well.
- A week after we move in we notice a slight ladybug infestation. It could be worse, so we systematically removed them from the apartment one by one. I later discovered the point of entry was through the windows, where a large gathering of them had decided to camp around the window seals.
- 1 month after moving in the toilet in the suite upstairs sprung a leak and bored a hole through my bathroom ceiling. It took 2 months to finally get somebody in to fix the hole, and then another 2 months for him to come back and finish the job by sanding and painting. But he did a half-assed job and left all the sanded plaster all over the bathroom for me to clean up.
- 3 months after moving in I notice a lot of water forming a puddle behind the toilet. Thinking it's a pipe leak, I called the landlord. His plumber checked it out and said it was all because of the condensation running down the outside of the toilet and dripping off the pipe in the back. Okay, fine, no problem. I notice around this same time that the windowsills are literally filling with water from condensation. I soak up the water using paper towel, and go through 2 rolls doing so. The suggested fix for both was running the bathroom fan all the time. Refusing to run the fan 24/7 for electricity reasons (see next bullet point), I decided to set the humidity control in the hallway. 2 months later the puddle in the bathroom is still a problem and so are the windowsills.
- 4 months after moving in we recieved our first power bill in the amount of $191.00. We called Hydro to find out what's going on. They blamed the electric heating. So we turned the thermostats down by 3-4 degrees in every room. When our power bill came last week it was $213.00. That's almost $20 more than the previous one, after turning down the heat. We called hydro, but again they blamed the electric heating.
- 5 months after moving in the puddle problem in the bathrooom persists, despite the automatic humidity control turning the fans on every few hours. The control is currently set at 65% and is still triggering the fans, which is a sign of far too much humidity. I then decide to clean the windowsills, which are filled with water again. While doing so I discover black mold starting to form around the edges of the window. I also find a large mold growth on the back of the toilet. I contacted the landlord last week, and am still expecting somebody to come look at the windows, which I suspect are the source of at least three of these problems (the electric bill, the condensation, and the mold).
Now on to the newest exciting disaster:
So last night I'm sitting in the living room playing X360 like I often do. Suddenly I hear a very loud electrical buzzing and look up to see a shower of sparks spewing from the ceiling-fan light fixture. I scream and leap across the the room to the switch, turning the lights off to avoid starting an electrical fire. We check the breaker box, but it's not clear which breaker the fan is on. So instead we put tape over the switch as a reminder not to touch the lightswitch under any circumstances.
But the landlord is gone away for the weekend and the building management are MIA as well.
*Sigh*
3.22.2008
3.17.2008
Rental Suite Woes
And speaking of my landlord...
So we still haven't done that dinner thing. It's just as well. I think the next time I talk to him I'm going to try and bow out gracefully. Thanks, but no thanks.
That will probably happen tommorrow, since I have to call him anyways. It all started with a really high power bill.
Our electric bills have been excessively high that last 4 months. After talking to hydro and messing with breakers and trying to sort out the problem, my best guess is that we're just losing heat through our single-pane windows and the electric heating is working overtime to compensate.
So I started researching into ways to address the problem. I talked to a few people and made a few phone calls. I also did some online research. I went to the hardware and looked at caulking, weather stripping, and plastic coverings. And then I stocked up on cleaning supplies including paper towel, bleach, rubber gloves, etc etc.
The windows in question get a build-up of condensation. It's not just a little moisture either. It's a lot. In a matter of days I will likely have a small puddle below my windows. In 2 weeks the recesses will have become a mini-reservoir in my room.
The nasty side-effect to this is that the windows grow mold. Black mold. The toxic kind. I've also found this same mold growing on the back of my toilet where I have a similar condensation problem.
I'm not an expert when it comes to this sort of thing, but it seems pretty clear to me that something is wrong. Especially considering the humidity control automatically turns the fans on frequently and the dial is set to 65%. That's way too much humidity.
I'm not sure how to solve this since there seem to be quite a few different things going on that are all related. But they all need to be fixed. Soon. I just wish I knew what kind of professional I'd need to consult to get the answers I need. But since I don't, I'll let the landlord figure it out. It's his responsibility anyways. (Although frankly I think he's just as clueless as I am. He doesn't even live in the building. He just collects the rent from my bank account every month.)
And before my lease runs out in September, I think I'll start looking for a new place to live.
So we still haven't done that dinner thing. It's just as well. I think the next time I talk to him I'm going to try and bow out gracefully. Thanks, but no thanks.
That will probably happen tommorrow, since I have to call him anyways. It all started with a really high power bill.
Our electric bills have been excessively high that last 4 months. After talking to hydro and messing with breakers and trying to sort out the problem, my best guess is that we're just losing heat through our single-pane windows and the electric heating is working overtime to compensate.
So I started researching into ways to address the problem. I talked to a few people and made a few phone calls. I also did some online research. I went to the hardware and looked at caulking, weather stripping, and plastic coverings. And then I stocked up on cleaning supplies including paper towel, bleach, rubber gloves, etc etc.
The windows in question get a build-up of condensation. It's not just a little moisture either. It's a lot. In a matter of days I will likely have a small puddle below my windows. In 2 weeks the recesses will have become a mini-reservoir in my room.
The nasty side-effect to this is that the windows grow mold. Black mold. The toxic kind. I've also found this same mold growing on the back of my toilet where I have a similar condensation problem.
I'm not an expert when it comes to this sort of thing, but it seems pretty clear to me that something is wrong. Especially considering the humidity control automatically turns the fans on frequently and the dial is set to 65%. That's way too much humidity.
I'm not sure how to solve this since there seem to be quite a few different things going on that are all related. But they all need to be fixed. Soon. I just wish I knew what kind of professional I'd need to consult to get the answers I need. But since I don't, I'll let the landlord figure it out. It's his responsibility anyways. (Although frankly I think he's just as clueless as I am. He doesn't even live in the building. He just collects the rent from my bank account every month.)
And before my lease runs out in September, I think I'll start looking for a new place to live.
3.01.2008
In Case You Don't Hear From Me...
I'm leaving to meet my landlord for dinner 15 minutes from now. He's treating us (my roommate and I) to steak at the Keg.
He's been trying to arrange this dinner since before christmas. We've had to cancel a few times for various reasons. But he's persistent and keeps trying to reschedule. He's a very nice guy, but the idea of dinner with your landlord is just a little bit strange. Not only does if cross the imaginary professional relationship barrier, but what could we possibly even have to discuss over dinner?
I figure we'll go tonight, get it over with, and be done with it, and hopefully not have to think about it again. And maybe I can convince him to get somebody in to fix the seals on my windows.
In any case, if you haven't heard from me in 24 hours, it means I've been murdered and ended up as the Keg's feature special of the week. Should this happen, please inform my family.
_____
UPDATE: We didn't make it to the Keg, so I'm still alive. We had agreed on a 6pm dinner, which got pushed to 6:30pm, and then to 7pm. And of course the landlord didn't take into account that it would be busy on a saturday, so we would have had to wait until 8pm to eat. We didn't want to wait that long, so we cancelled at the last minute and rescheduled for later in the week. I'd like to be happy that we've postponed this dinner since I'm not really excited about it, but I'd rather just get the whole thing over with.
He's been trying to arrange this dinner since before christmas. We've had to cancel a few times for various reasons. But he's persistent and keeps trying to reschedule. He's a very nice guy, but the idea of dinner with your landlord is just a little bit strange. Not only does if cross the imaginary professional relationship barrier, but what could we possibly even have to discuss over dinner?
I figure we'll go tonight, get it over with, and be done with it, and hopefully not have to think about it again. And maybe I can convince him to get somebody in to fix the seals on my windows.
In any case, if you haven't heard from me in 24 hours, it means I've been murdered and ended up as the Keg's feature special of the week. Should this happen, please inform my family.
_____
UPDATE: We didn't make it to the Keg, so I'm still alive. We had agreed on a 6pm dinner, which got pushed to 6:30pm, and then to 7pm. And of course the landlord didn't take into account that it would be busy on a saturday, so we would have had to wait until 8pm to eat. We didn't want to wait that long, so we cancelled at the last minute and rescheduled for later in the week. I'd like to be happy that we've postponed this dinner since I'm not really excited about it, but I'd rather just get the whole thing over with.
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