Exterior holes: the example with the ac unit bracket that was removed…the holes were made in the
brick exterior of the building, if the bracket for the ac unit was replaced but the holes were still visible
is silicone caulking a remedy for that? Or some type of construction material plug that has been
sealed into the holes but the holes are still visible or is the presence of the caulking no longer makes
the holes “holes” as they are no longer empty but you can see where the holes were?
Filling small holes
Re: Filling small holes
Up until a few years ago you could literally fill a hole with anything… chewing gum, Elmer’s Glue,
bathtub caulk… and REAC’s instructions to the inspector were to cite a hole (or crack) only if there was
an open hole (or open crack.) Then, REAC came out with the “non-industry standard repairs” policy
which stated that a repair made in way that was not professional and workmanlike would be considered
a defect. Yet, REAC refused to NAME any industry standards that should be applied – they left it up to
individual inspectors to decide whether something looks like it was done properly or not.
My advice – NOT the advice of REAC – my personal advice - is that we have to make professional repairs
according to original materials and good common sense; if we do not believe that we know what would
be a good professional repair, then we need to ask a professional who specializes in that type of
repair. The thing REAC is trying to discourage here is the long standing practice of some landlords to just
let their maintenance person fudge whatever repairs he is willing to fudge to save a few bucks.
Example: the maintenance person who is not a licensed plumber installing water heaters to avoid paying
a licensed plumber to do the job. He has no knowledge of code for pressure relief valves and gas flues,
but he kind of knows how to connect pipes together.
So – a small hole in brick that once served as an attachment point for an AC bracket: we could simply
put the screws/bolts back into the holes when we remove the bracket. Most inspectors would walk
right past that. We could fill those with silicone, but we’d prefer to see that done with a gray mortar
repair caulk instead of a bright white bathtub caulk. If we were filling a long crack in brick we would
require this to be done with a specialty caulk designed for this purpose. A REAC inspector will, quite
often, cite a defect for visible caulk in a crack, even if we think it was done properly. In such cases, you
might need to appeal that.
bathtub caulk… and REAC’s instructions to the inspector were to cite a hole (or crack) only if there was
an open hole (or open crack.) Then, REAC came out with the “non-industry standard repairs” policy
which stated that a repair made in way that was not professional and workmanlike would be considered
a defect. Yet, REAC refused to NAME any industry standards that should be applied – they left it up to
individual inspectors to decide whether something looks like it was done properly or not.
My advice – NOT the advice of REAC – my personal advice - is that we have to make professional repairs
according to original materials and good common sense; if we do not believe that we know what would
be a good professional repair, then we need to ask a professional who specializes in that type of
repair. The thing REAC is trying to discourage here is the long standing practice of some landlords to just
let their maintenance person fudge whatever repairs he is willing to fudge to save a few bucks.
Example: the maintenance person who is not a licensed plumber installing water heaters to avoid paying
a licensed plumber to do the job. He has no knowledge of code for pressure relief valves and gas flues,
but he kind of knows how to connect pipes together.
So – a small hole in brick that once served as an attachment point for an AC bracket: we could simply
put the screws/bolts back into the holes when we remove the bracket. Most inspectors would walk
right past that. We could fill those with silicone, but we’d prefer to see that done with a gray mortar
repair caulk instead of a bright white bathtub caulk. If we were filling a long crack in brick we would
require this to be done with a specialty caulk designed for this purpose. A REAC inspector will, quite
often, cite a defect for visible caulk in a crack, even if we think it was done properly. In such cases, you
might need to appeal that.