GAP ON BASEMENT STAIR LANDING
ANYONE HOME?Imagine yourself running in a meadow on a beautiful sunny day, arms outstretched joyfully soaring like an eagle, tilting sideways one way, then the other. Well, that's the way it is here, except that we're not in a meadow and we're not exactly joyful. Our unit, you see, is sinking.
One can eyeball a perfect example of this by sitting in the living room and looking into the doorway of the kitchen and then the hallway with a wall partition in between. Both areas of the floor dip dangerously towards each other by several inches. The arches of the doorways follow suit. Walking can be a challenge, especially in stocking feet. It's difficult to get a grip to walk 'up' the floor angles. And it doesn't stop there. Just when you think you've got the knack, the kitchen floor dips down in the other direction towards the outer wall and slip sliding you go.
The hallway on the upper floor also slants towards the middle. When we use the washroom at night, we have to take extra precautions. In order to balance our 'balance,' we brace ourselves with the half wall and cling tightly to the other in order not to fall down a flight of stairs. Then as we continue to live in this 'Crazy Kitchen'* we notice that there is not a straight wall in this place. The window frames warp down into deep curves, walls are also curved, the kitchen counter dips down on either side, kitchen cupboards are slanted and what's really disconcerting is that it appears to be sinking more on a daily basis. So much for the building consultant's expertise!
The basement cracks which the maintenance man painted over are revealing themselves again in all their glory. The efflorescence has been flaking off leaving huge pitting (spalling) damage in the concrete. The humidity in this unit is very high sometimes going up to over 95%. With the heat being on, the humidity is now reading between 70% - 80%. In the springtime and summer though it will soar back up into the 90% range. Indoor humidity should be between 30% - 50%. The unit is uninhabitable as is.
We had disconcerting incidents of being dripped on when we used the upstairs toilet. When we investigated, a torrent of water came pouring through the fan cut out in the ceiling. I wrote the Office Co-ordinator on November 16th reporting this water leak and also enclosing photos of unit deficiencies, like the ones above shown. She wrote back and said that she'll have to take our concerns to the Board of Directors.** To date we have heard nothing.
Also of note, the platform we step onto to descend into the basement is detached. It's just propped up on the posts below. We can see clear down to the basement. It's kind of like stepping out into thin air. Where will I land?
Our kitchen linoleum has huge air pockets all over and the seams are lifting. The maintenance man has seen this three times. Each time he has stated that he'll bring in the contractor - to no avail. I subsequently tracked down the contractor who was working in another unit. He came by and said that he'd return the following week to fix the problem. I told him that the unit had been unoccupied for a very long time. He said that it had been too cold in this unit for the glue to stick. He, too, has not returned.
In my email of November 16th, I also reported smelling sewer gases, as did my neighbour. I notified the co-op that it is the co-op's responsibility to clean out the sewer lines from each unit out to the main roadway. Failure to maintain regular maintenance on the sewers will result in sewer back ups and damage to the units, personal property, as well as health and safety concerns. I asked the co-op to install a one-way valve in our basement. To date we have heard nothing back from the co-op. We have installed our own one-way valve.
We are arranging our belongings and trying to call this place 'home', but it is not home, it's a warehouse. We are being merely being stored until next Spring, when, the Co-ordinator has warned, we'll be reassessed once again.
* Museum of Science & Technology gravity exhibit.
** Members have been notified by 'The Editor' (name unknown) not to bother the Board of Directors; that our Office Co-ordinator is the person in charge.
One can eyeball a perfect example of this by sitting in the living room and looking into the doorway of the kitchen and then the hallway with a wall partition in between. Both areas of the floor dip dangerously towards each other by several inches. The arches of the doorways follow suit. Walking can be a challenge, especially in stocking feet. It's difficult to get a grip to walk 'up' the floor angles. And it doesn't stop there. Just when you think you've got the knack, the kitchen floor dips down in the other direction towards the outer wall and slip sliding you go.
The hallway on the upper floor also slants towards the middle. When we use the washroom at night, we have to take extra precautions. In order to balance our 'balance,' we brace ourselves with the half wall and cling tightly to the other in order not to fall down a flight of stairs. Then as we continue to live in this 'Crazy Kitchen'* we notice that there is not a straight wall in this place. The window frames warp down into deep curves, walls are also curved, the kitchen counter dips down on either side, kitchen cupboards are slanted and what's really disconcerting is that it appears to be sinking more on a daily basis. So much for the building consultant's expertise!
The basement cracks which the maintenance man painted over are revealing themselves again in all their glory. The efflorescence has been flaking off leaving huge pitting (spalling) damage in the concrete. The humidity in this unit is very high sometimes going up to over 95%. With the heat being on, the humidity is now reading between 70% - 80%. In the springtime and summer though it will soar back up into the 90% range. Indoor humidity should be between 30% - 50%. The unit is uninhabitable as is.
We had disconcerting incidents of being dripped on when we used the upstairs toilet. When we investigated, a torrent of water came pouring through the fan cut out in the ceiling. I wrote the Office Co-ordinator on November 16th reporting this water leak and also enclosing photos of unit deficiencies, like the ones above shown. She wrote back and said that she'll have to take our concerns to the Board of Directors.** To date we have heard nothing.
Also of note, the platform we step onto to descend into the basement is detached. It's just propped up on the posts below. We can see clear down to the basement. It's kind of like stepping out into thin air. Where will I land?
Our kitchen linoleum has huge air pockets all over and the seams are lifting. The maintenance man has seen this three times. Each time he has stated that he'll bring in the contractor - to no avail. I subsequently tracked down the contractor who was working in another unit. He came by and said that he'd return the following week to fix the problem. I told him that the unit had been unoccupied for a very long time. He said that it had been too cold in this unit for the glue to stick. He, too, has not returned.
In my email of November 16th, I also reported smelling sewer gases, as did my neighbour. I notified the co-op that it is the co-op's responsibility to clean out the sewer lines from each unit out to the main roadway. Failure to maintain regular maintenance on the sewers will result in sewer back ups and damage to the units, personal property, as well as health and safety concerns. I asked the co-op to install a one-way valve in our basement. To date we have heard nothing back from the co-op. We have installed our own one-way valve.
We are arranging our belongings and trying to call this place 'home', but it is not home, it's a warehouse. We are being merely being stored until next Spring, when, the Co-ordinator has warned, we'll be reassessed once again.
* Museum of Science & Technology gravity exhibit.
** Members have been notified by 'The Editor' (name unknown) not to bother the Board of Directors; that our Office Co-ordinator is the person in charge.
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