Fire Alarm System testing is set for Tuesday, January 4th at 12pm

Our semi-annual fire alarm system test is set for Tuesday, January 4th at 12pm.

The company will test just a couple heat sensors in the units on each floor but also would like to visually look at each heat sensors in the units located on the 3 and 4 floors. The visual inspection is to make sure the sensors are not compromised in any way (not painted, damaged or covered).

Residents of the units 32, 33, 34, 35, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45, please make sure we would have access to your units. If you cannot be home please reach out to Alex. 

Thank you
Alex

Fire Alarm Test for Wednesday Dec. 29 @8am (scheduled tentatively)

Our Fire Alarm service company is trying to schedule a semi-annual fire alarm test for this Wednesday at 8am. From their email I can see that they are planning to do more thorough test on the 3 and 4 floors but they did not provide details.
I am waiting for clarifications and, hopefully, I would be able to reschedule it to the middle of the day or another date.
Please stay tuned, I should be able to give you more updates tomorrow.

Thank you
Alex

Driveway Pawing Project is cancelled (for this year)

Unfortunately the company we selected for pawing of our driveway was not able to complete the project.
Initially, as an excuse, they told me that Quincy Police Department were short on their officers and they could not schedule police detail.
Looking back, I think it was not entirely true. Over the past 3 months I called Hatch Asphalt for status updates almost every week and gradually learned that some of their key workers left the company (like, one of the project managers and then a project coordinator). It feels like the company is going thru some tough time and they tried to keep our project on a back-burner hoping to regroup and get things done. I guess it did not worked out.

When I called them last week they started asking if we would like to reschedule the project to the spring but I was not comfortable dealing with them again. The company will be refunding 50% down-payment we made and we will be searching for a new contractor again once the snow melts.

As a heads-up, within next few days we will be patching the pothole in the driveway in front of our garage gates to keep our area safe till the driveway is finally refinished.

Thank you
Alex

Status update on the paving project

On October 6th I received the following update from our paving contractor (Hatch Asphalt company):

Hi Alex,
Just wanted to touch base and let you know what's going on.
Right now we are waiting for the Quincy police dept. They have been in a training camp for about three weeks, and because of that they aren't able to fill the details. I spoke with detective Lauren Lambert who handles the details and this should be over end of the week. Once I get the green light from the police dept. we have to resubmit the payment and book your dates. As soon as I have anymore information I will let you know.

If you have any questions please let us know
Katie

Here is what happens when gates were left open

Our gates were out of service and remained open for a couple days waiting for a fix.
This "gentlemen" who drives a Ford SUV with MA license plate 1LZW42 took it as an invitation to relief himself on inside - YouTube video.

Please remember to close the gates each time.

I have more videos from our security cameras that can give you better impression on what sometimes happens in our condo. Please let me know if you would like me to make them available on the condo YouTube channel.

Thank you
Alex

Hancock Garage parking during paving project

I spoke with Hancock Garage manager and he said he can let us park there for 2 weeks for half of their monthly pass price. For two weeks it will be $87.50.
If you are interested you can leave me your name, license plate number and a check for 87.50 and I will make a list of our residents and then send them one payment for all.

You can, of course, pay to the Garage directly but they said it would be more convenient to have all our cars on one list for easy tracking.

They can wait for us when we have paving project dates set.

Thank you
Alex

Garage Gates Service on Tuesday

I found a company who claims they have the spring we need in stock. It is Lynoka company (Braintree): https://lynokagaragedoor.com. They have 5-stars rating with 68 reviews on Google.

Repair service is scheduled for Tuesday, September 28th from 2pm to 4pm.
Fingers crossed.

 

Thank you
Alex

Garage Gates are out of order

Our garage gates are out of order again. It happened because one of the springs snapped. It is the same spring that snapped a few weeks earlier and was temporary fixed by installing a clamp.

Unfortunately, back then our vendor was not able to replace the spring with a new one because the New England suppliers were out of stock. It was something to do with shipping delays from China and pandemic.

I reached out our vendor to see what options we might have this time.

Right now the gates would not close and I powered them down. I had to left them open because without the second spring they are too heavy to move up manually.

The Trustees recommend keeping your cars locked and all valuable items removed from parking places.
Please remember that Burns Manor Condominium Trust is not responsible for missing or damaged personal property.

Thank you
Alex

Paving is delayed

Quincy Police Department was not able to provide police detail for our project. This is because of extensive road work being done in our city and they do not have available officers.

According to our contractor, the project is being delayed for at least two weeks and till the moment when police assistance is available.

It was frustrating for me to hear, especially with all the prep work done by us in the building.
I am sorry I had to bring you this last-minute change.
 

Thank you
Alex

Paving project - September 23-24

Finally, I was able to get the exact dates of our paving project.
Our contractors should be here on the 23rd (Thursday) from 7am to 10am for excavating and prep work. Actual paving will be done the next day, the 24th (Friday).
After that, in order to allow asphalt to cure, access to the driveway will be closed for 10 days.
 
Access should be fully restored on October 5th.

Please remember that we have an emergency exit door located in the back of the garage. You can also use this door to get into the garage from outside (the lock will open with the same key you use for other doors).

Thank you
Alex

Elevator is out of service

Our elevator got stuck on the ground floor and the door would not open. We requested a technician from Atlantic Elevator (our vendor) to get it resolved.
Please use the stairs till the issue is fixed.
Thank you,
Alex

Please Separate Trash for the next 2-3 weeks

We are a few days away from our driveway paving project which should start next Wednesday, September 22nd (the exact date is still to be confirmed, it could be the 24th).

During the project we would not be able to roll dumpsters out for emptying and we are going to miss two or three trash pickup days (our dumpsters are emptied on Fridays at 7am).

We do not want to have bad smells in our garage for the next two-three weeks.

Please, starting tomorrow, Friday, September 17th start taking extra efforts to separate trash.

Here is what we can do to help ourselves:

1. Pack TIGHT anything that can go rotten and cause bad smells in plastic bags and leave them in the grey barrels that will be available the dumpster area. These barrels will be taken out thru the garage back door and onto the sidewalk for trash pickups on Fridays.

2. All other household trash that will not go bad and cannot cause smells can be left in the dumpsters.
Please remember that the dumpsters will not be emptied for 2-3 weeks. It is important to compact trash to save space.

3. Please recycle!
Our "Single Stream Recycling" bins will be taken outside on Fridays thru the back door.
Our green bins are for  CLEAN and DRY glass, plastic, metal, paper, cardboard boxes.
Please NO FOOD and NO LIQUIDS in there, packaging must be cut or flatten to save space.

Thank you
Alex

1. I called our paving contractor and explained that we cannot have 5 days gap between two stages of the project. This is because it restricts use of our driveway for 12-15 days (vs 7-10 announces earlier) and is way too many. Plus we are going to miss two trash pickup days.
Saidie, the scheduling coordinator from the Hatch company was understanding of our situation and said she would try to close the gap between stages for the project. This means they can ether move the whole project closer to 22nd of September or closer to the 27th. Or, perhaps, to move it to the next week.
I will follow up with the company one more time later this week to get actual dates.
Please stay tuned for updates.

2. Work on bathroom remodeling in unit 14 starts on Thursday, September 16th. The owner is aware that no loud work can be performed outside of work hours (9am to 5pm). I would assume there might be some noises from tile saw and power tools heard across the building.

Thank you
Alex

Paving is scheduled for September 22 - 27

Hatch Asphalt company, which we picked for our driveway paving project, set September 22nd for the first stage when they plan to remove existing layers, put gravel, level and then compact it. I think on that day they will also put the first rough layer of asphalt.
Then they plan co come back 5 days later on September 27th to put the final layer of asphalt.

It is not clear how our driveway will look like for these 5 days. I hope they are not planning to leave it with just compacted gravel, which is not going to be acceptable for us.

On Monday September 13th I will be calling a project manager for details. I do not know why they decided to add the 5 days gap between the stages. I think it makes more sense if the whole project is done in two consecutive days. I will discuss this and possible would be able to  adjust the schedule.

I will post an update as soon as I have new information.

Thank you
Alex

Updates on driveway paving and unit 14 remodeling

1. As of end of the day September 9th we still do not have exact dates for the driveway paving project, which is tentatively scheduled for the next week.
We reached out to the company and then to project manager directly but have not heard back from anybody yet. We expect to get more details on paving on Friday.

 

2. Some carpentry work is planned in the unit 14 on Monday September 13th.

 

3. Google discontinued email notifications for blogs they host so we had to switch to a MailChimp.com service instead. Notification about this post will be the first that goes thru MailChimp.com.
Format of a notification email you receive might look different from what it was before.

 

Thank you
Alex

Condo Blog Subscription Changes

Starting this month Google (who hosts our blog) discontinued email subscription services. We switched to a new subscription service via mailchimp.com.
All existing subscribers will be migrated to mailchimp.com on September 8th and a test blog post will be created to make sure you get your emails.

Thank you

 

Cutting old trees

On Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 8am a tree company will be here for cutting two trees on the east side of our property and one dead tree on the west side.

The company will be using driveways of our neighbors to get access to our backyard.

We are proactively removing these trees because they reached their maturity and maximum height and they are getting old and weak.

All trees are Norway Maple and they are known for weak wood.

In the past there were multiple occasions when branches from these trees were falling into our backyard, especially after storms, and we feel we need to protect the garage roof waterproofing membrane from its potential damage.

Thank you

Gates service call is scheduled for Saturday at 8am

Please note that our regular service technician Jim Buchan will be here on Saturday at 8am to fix the gates (replacing of a snapped spring).

Thank you

Garage Gates Problems

Today one of the springs that support our garage gates snapped.

You can hear that now the gates make different sound when opening or closing.
We called for the service and hope the problem will be fixed soon.

Thank you

Dumpters use when the weather is hot

Finally, hot summer days are here and it is important to pack your trash TIGHT before placing in the dumpsters.
Please double-bag food leftovers, food containers, diapers or anything that can go bad. Doing so will help with reducing foul smells in our our garage.

No LOOSE food must be put into the dumpsters. Please make sure nothing can LEAK inside of containers.

Please remember that our regular trash pickup day is Friday.

We can only make our condo better and more comfortable place to live if we do all follow these rules TOGETHER.

Thank you

Picture is copyrighted

 

Chinese:
最後，炎熱的夏天來了，在將垃圾放入垃圾箱之前，務必將垃圾打包好。
請將剩飯剩菜、食物容器、尿布或任何可能變質的物品放入雙袋中。這樣做將有助於減少我們車庫中的惡臭。
不得將鬆散的食物放入垃圾箱。請確保沒有任何東西會洩漏到容器內部。
請記住，我們的常規垃圾收集日是星期五。

只有我們所有人都遵守這些規則，我們才能讓我們的公寓變得更好、更舒適。

謝謝

 

Spanish:
Finalmente, los días calurosos de verano están aquí y es importante empacar bien la basura antes de colocarla en los contenedores de basura.
Por favor, ponga en bolsas dobles las sobras de comida, los recipientes de comida, los pañales o cualquier cosa que pueda estropearse. Hacerlo ayudará a reducir los malos olores en nuestro garaje.
No se debe poner comida SUELTA en los contenedores de basura. Asegúrese de que nada pueda FUGAR dentro de los contenedores.
Por favor recuerde que nuestro día regular de recolección de basura es el viernes.

Solo podemos hacer que nuestro condominio sea un lugar mejor y más cómodo para vivir si todos seguimos estas reglas JUNTOS.

Gracias

 

Albanian:
Më në fund, ditët e nxehta të verës janë këtu dhe është e rëndësishme të paketoni plehrat tuaj TIGHT përpara se t'i vendosni në hedhës.
Ju lutemi, mbani në dy qese mbetjet e ushqimit, enë ushqimore, pelena ose ndonjë gjë që mund të shkojë keq. Bërja e kësaj do të ndihmojë në uljen e erërave të ndyra në garazhin tonë.
Asnjë ushqim i lirshëm nuk duhet të futet në hedhës. Ju lutemi sigurohuni që asgjë nuk mund të rrjedhë brenda kontejnerëve.
Ju lutemi mos harroni se dita jonë e rregullt e marrjes së plehrave është e Premtja.

Ne mund ta bëjmë ngushëllimin tonë një vend më të mirë dhe më të rehatshëm për të jetuar vetëm nëse të gjithë ndjekim këto rregulla BASHK.

Faleminderit

 

Polish:

Wreszcie, nadchodzą gorące letnie dni i ważne jest, aby ciasno zapakować śmieci przed umieszczeniem ich w śmietnikach.
Prosimy o podwójne pakowanie resztek jedzenia, pojemników na żywność, pieluch lub czegokolwiek, co może się zepsuć. Pomoże to zredukować nieprzyjemne zapachy w naszym garażu.
Żadnych LUŹNYCH żywności nie wolno wrzucać do śmietników. Upewnij się, że nic nie może WYCIEKAĆ do wnętrza pojemników.
Proszę pamiętać, że naszym regularnym dniem odbioru śmieci jest piątek.

Możemy tylko uczynić nasze mieszkanie lepszym i wygodniejszym miejscem do życia, jeśli wszyscy będziemy przestrzegać tych zasad RAZEM.

Dziękuję Ci

Hindi

अंत में, गर्म गर्मी के दिन यहाँ हैं और डंपस्टरों में रखने से पहले अपने कचरे को टाइट पैक करना महत्वपूर्ण है।
कृपया बचे हुए भोजन, खाद्य कंटेनर, डायपर या ऐसी कोई भी चीज़ जो खराब हो सकती है, को डबल बैग में रखें। ऐसा करने से हमारे गैरेज में दुर्गंध को कम करने में मदद मिलेगी।
कोई भी ढीला खाना कूड़ेदान में नहीं डालना चाहिए। कृपया सुनिश्चित करें कि कंटेनरों के अंदर कुछ भी लीक नहीं हो सकता है।
कृपया याद रखें कि हमारा नियमित कचरा उठाने का दिन शुक्रवार है।

हम अपने कोंडो को रहने के लिए बेहतर और अधिक आरामदायक जगह तभी बना सकते हैं जब हम सभी इन नियमों का एक साथ पालन करें।

धन्यवाद

Storage rooms cleanup

By our condo rules and fire safety regulations no objects can be left in our storage rooms on the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th floors outside of the bins.

Please make sure nothing of your belonging is left outside of your bin.

All three rooms will be cleaned up after March 9^th and everything left on the floor will be removed.

Thank you