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| Rick Eatherly Community Association Manager |
Ghertner & Company property manager Rick Eatherly knew he had to do something to lower the frequency of water leaks that occurred at Fairsted Park Condominiums on Hillsboro Pike. When one owner’s air conditioning unit was not working properly and overfilling the drip pan, or when the condensate line became blocked in one unit, multiple units would suffer water damage.
There were several design flaws when the equipment and condensate lines were initially installed in 2004. Rick knew that the condensate lines should be separate for each unit in order to prevent a blockage from affecting more than
one unit. Also the condensate lines had a one inch diameter which increased the likelihood of the line getting clogged.
At Rick’s recommendation, the Association hired a local contractor to separate the condensate lines and to install bigger pipe with a two inch diameter.
In addition, the Board of Directors encouraged all owners to purchase float switches for their condensate pans. The float switches sense the presence of water at a certain level and shut down the air conditioning system, thus forcing attention to the problem before water spills over and damages the unit or any units below. While not mandated, 35 of the 46 unit owners have purchased the auto cut off system that costs approximately $350, including all materials and labor. This expense is a lot less than the price of damaged property.
Now, instead of about five incidents per year related to the condensate lines, the Association has had none. Great job Rick!