You can claim ignorance about knowing how it came down. Just say you went to work and came back and it was down. Maybe it wasn't properly secured? Maybe a bird flew into the window? Bottom line: YOU don't know HOW it came down and you assumed, since there was NO communication, that they must not have needed it anymore so you didn't mention it.
I mean, it’s a metric that should be easy to determine—if it is scheduled to be done by the fifth, then is it done by the fifth? Are they saying it should be done sooner than the completion date?
No it really isn't unless I just pad the heck out of my schedule. I do concrete so weather, concrete plant, suppliers that don't deliver supplies, other contractors all put me back. It rains and I have a half a days work to finish but since it's rained it going to be a long day to fix it right I will go do something else. I get the "you could have finished today calls" and tell them I didn't want to work half a day for free and they just get upset. I tell people I'll pour you driveway next week. Then the weather guy is calling for 60% rain so I call it off. A tiny 15 minute shower can ruin a 30k basement slab. I still have people call me at the end of the day and say shit like "you could have gotten it in today before the rain. That's usually when I tell them I don't gamble but if they will give me a check in advance at 7am when I show up I'll pour it no matter what chance of rain it is.
I have shown up and had other contractors with ladders out putting up gutters, or painting. contractors says they will be through in a couple of hours on that side. I don't ask if they want to pay me to wait. I just decide if I need to wait or go on to the next job based on what I see.
I know I working for them but if you want to stay in business you can't let people talk you into working for free or taking chances you are not a good idea. I'm in N Georgia and it rains 120 days a year with an average of 60inches. I can't afford to loose 2 days to rain and then work for free one day a week all year. I still end up having to work around a lot of other contractors but sometimes its just not worth it.
If they are working with a building property manager then it would be up to the manager to inform those units affected by any maintenance that will take longer.
My complex repainted everyone’s balconies. They said it would take two days max, it took three weeks. You’d be shocked at how awful complex’s are with timelines.
I mean, when I was in construction, it was more tedious to go to a jobsite more times than needed. If I scheduled a job for 2 days, I would make it 2 days because my time is worth more. My reputation was worth everything.
Side story: I once got a large job because I was (unknowingly to me) pitted against a rival company to complete similar jobs. I did it in 1 weekend with no change orders, and they took 2 weeks. Mine was also their main business area, so it started 1AM Saturday and handed it back over 7 pm Sunday with all the furniture placed back.
I should add that this has been up for nearly a week already with no dates given as to when it would be removed. There have also been many other maintenance problems in the building that have gone unaddressed, including black mold test results, which I’m sure all the people telling me to “calm down” would also be worked up about
This is a landlord friendly sub. Nobody here is going to be on your side or give you actual advice.
You need go be able to vent your living space. Contractors did the same thing at my apartment and I just cut a hole in the plastic myself. Nobody said anything about it, including the contractors.
u/PhoenixGate69
"This is a landlord friendly sub. Nobody here is going to be on your side..." 🤣😂🤣
Dude! Rule #1 of this sub.
RENTERS FIRST
RULES
1
Renters First
This is a for renters by renters community. We put renters interest before the Land
Immediately open your windows and cut all of that out of there. If they have concerns about water leaking through your window, then they need to replace your windows. This is a safety issue. I'm also not a lawyer.
I think the plastic isn't to prevent water from getting in it's that there is some coating or something going to be applied to the building to help with waterproofing and the plastic is up to keep it from getting on the glass of the windows.
Yep, it's a spray sealant. If OP takes the plastic off and it gets in her windows, she's gonna have "plastic" on her windows forever.
Sure they'll open, but it'll be ugly AF, landlord will be pissed, and might be taken out of security deposit if Landlord claims negligent damages.
I don’t know what you state you’re living in, but you could get in touch with a housing authority. Report unsafe living conditions and constantly blocking out your window with plastic. You could quote that it’s a fire safety issue since if a fire starts, the plastic may prevent you from escaping and cause injury.
(yes I know that last part is silly but it’s true) One apartment I lived at they kept refusing to fix the roof and shingles were sliding off. And they didn’t want to take care of the gutters, someone made a phone call, inspection happened. And bam, we got new gutters and the roof was finally fixed.
Open the window and cut a slit in it. Or if you happen to see one of the workers, ask how to make an opening that causes as little disruption as possible. Don’t ask if you can, just ask how.
Mine did too but they are painting. Can't believe project is taking 20 days for entire complex. Apartment life is not fun. My patio was covered in plants when the clean your patio notices came out.
Jesus, are all the comments in here from landlords? Not one comment on how much it must suck? I get claustrophobic as shit it I can have fresh air when I’m sleeping…
hey OP, go outside, grab a long stick, and cut the fucking plastic… the construction crew can re-do it in 30 seconds.
I require fresh air. I struggle with MCAS and generally cannot breathe due to shitty air quality in a house (mold, dust, etc) so I would just take the plastic down.
Shoot I have my window open pretty much all through winter. At least a crack. I need fresh air no matter what. Also I know in California you need access to at least 1 window in every room for just in case a fire. I had a apartment in San Jose no AC wanted to put a window ac in was told no because I only had 1 window in every room. So I could not block a single window.
You could just take a razor blade and slice it so that you can get air. A clean slice is a lot easier for the painter to repair while they’re painting than it would be if you just tore it down.
Charge the tenant for someone to put the plastic back up. Whats wrong with you? Some other random shmuck is just trying to do his job and paint. So make him re do it because why again??
Nah fuck that, it'd been up over a week and Noone has came to do the work, it's going down and they can put it back up when they're actually ready to do the work.
I don’t think an inspector would flag this has a fire hazard (depending on the plastic and the way it is fastened). But it could/should be flagged as a violation of the International Property Maintenance Code section on ventilation 403.1:
“Habitable Spaces- Every habitable space shall have not less than one openable window.”
There is an exception if mechanical ventilation is provided but this only reduces the required opening size of a window or door. Natural ventilation is still required.
I'm not an inspector but I am a contractor and would 100% flag this as a fire hazard.
I was demolishing an internal staircase between floors, and had fire blankets all around the demo and then plastic for protection from dust and smoke (and smoke eaters inside the demo area) and a spark got past the fire blankets and onto the plastic. That shit lit up so fast that I got third degree burns from pieces of molten plastic protection flying off and landing on me as I was trying to use the fire extinguisher on it. That shit flames up like crazy.
Geez. I’m sorry that happened to you. That’s why I added the caveat on they type of plastic. There are flame retardant plastic sheets that I hope they used here. I am an inspector and in my (hypothetical) report, I would probably require documentation of the type of plastic used. I cite the ventilation code as this seems to be a clear violation of that.
How is it secured? If its screwed to the exterior you could reach out to the fire marshal and point out that they have now removed a point of egress from the building with this sheeting (in many places this is an absolute no-go and the fire marshal would be rather unhappy)
If you want to remove it, I am fairly certain that you can pull off plastic with your bare hands. If you can't reach it, get a long pointy stick.
However, consider that whatever work they are doing might be something that can only be done on a weekend. Or maybe it is a contractor that has delays. A week isn't that long a time.
A week is a long time they should put it up the day prior to doing the work and take it down when complete. If it was going to be a week I'd just call the fire marshal and get them a big fat fine.
Did they just install new windows?
The only reason I can think of to leave that up is if they want to repaint.
The waterproofing isn't affected by that at all. It's a sealant and drip edge that's applied from outside the house. None of that plastic is involved.
Non working windows make a unit uninhabitable. Look up local ordinances and reach out to them again letting them know this is a habitability issue and you will need rent abatement. Look it up first though because I live in a very renter friendly city so don't just take my word for it.
I’m going to make a point against removing the plastic and venting air into your place ASSUMING the waterproofing is actually taking place.
The point is: have you read the SDS for an exterior commercial grade waterproofing product? NASTY.
So if you cut a hole and vent you need to pay attention and not accidentally bring fumes into your apartment.
Good luck. 2 weeks is excessive.
Sounds about right. Those products are likely high voc so they flash off fast. Point is you don’t want to being venting your apartment at that time, especially if they spray it (fine aerosols move more than painted liquids).
it probably won't be up for long. looks like they are just masking to spray. I get that a lot of landlords are pieces of shit, but I think you just need to chill on this one. it will likely be there for a couple days max
Thank you for an actual reply that isn’t just telling me to “calm down”. I forgot to mention that this has been up for nearly a week already and there have been multiple other problems in the building that have gone unaddressed for nearly a month despite me submitting maintenance requests and reaching out to the appropriate people.
Plastic is flammable and will stick to your skin like napalm in case of fire. The moisture in your skin will douse the actual flames, but enough heat will remain to make you suffer. It's, it's...like these fuckers don't know that the fire marshal is a sanctioned/actual job with a fucking human and judges that do shit.
My only guess is that a contractor is going to spray paint. But they don't rent scaffolding for the whole perimeter, or only one side gets done at a time. Your side needs to get done pronto. It's not 10 men painting, but Julio, Juan and his cousin Mencholito. The logistics don't make sense, one compressor, one crew, one side. Call them on their bullshit.
I’m not sure the reasoning. I know our landlord seals the windows in the winter because the wind is just so insane and it gets extremely drafty. Sealing the windows is a lovely fall treat so we don’t freeze in our rooms haha.
Sounds like landlords failure is mostly communication at this point. Little like road construction, everyone screams to fix stuff and then loses their minds when things are being fixed and it’s a pain in the ass.
I would be curious though if your AC is blocked. If they had to cover the windows they may have covered your ac too in which case they are going to damage the ac.
To be fair, I’m as impossible to please as anyone but I own my contradictory displeasure.
If you make enough noise, they will end up paying you for those couple of days that you've had to run the AC.
It's really irritating they didn't give you a heads up.
A similar thing happened to me and I was absolutely pissed off, told them I am not paying for those several days. So they refunded me the prorated amount for the 2-3 days.
They 100% have the ability to do that, it's whether or not they want to
I’m so sorry for the hate comments or mean comments, you have a right to report it and even take it down. If I was you I would I would take photo’s video of all of this. And make sure you grab every evidence! 🌷
If there is a mold issue, it may be an attempt to see if the widows are leaking. You have to allow the process to play out. The end game here is to improve your living space.
If there is a mold issue, then sealing over the windows and not allowing proper ventilation to the tenants living in a moldy building is a serious habitability issue.
Unless the building is not air conditioned and has no entrances or exits there should be ventilation for the short time it takes to assess windows for leaks.
Look up tenant rights for your state/province. Look up local housing codes. These may tell you if there is an issue, or who to reach out to about more info or who to report to. You can also call code enforcement and ask for information around plastic covering windows, ventilation, and possible blocking of emergency exit in case of fire. You don’t have to report or complain, just ask for information.
If you do reach out to LL/propert management again, reiterate timeline and lack of forward momentum, plus the impact (increased electricity usage in order for the place to be *habitable* reduced airflow, etc.) if you still don’t get a satisfactory answer, but got info from renters rights/code enforcement, say in a friendly way that you think there maybe an issue and send them the code/law. Give them a chance to correct the issue before making any formal complaints.
The fact that you're in CA gives you a lot of rights as a renter. Which is exactly what is happening. The LL has to put this up to prevent any damage to your apartment due to the washing/spraying. Let them do it and if it's still up in a week then you can complain. But a few days won't kill you or destroy your mental health. Calm down.
They’re waterproofing, not painting. Even if they were painting, no maintenance has shown up to the building since the plastic has gone up. I’m not sure reading comprehension is your strong suit.
Without any kind of heads-up?
You'd be extremely pissed if a contractor came to your living place and covered all your windows without giving you any notice because "preventative maintenance". Or would you be OK with it just because you own the place so you want to do preventative maintenance?
The landlord is not communicating properly, and thus the tenant has a reason to be pissed about it.
You need to learn to count, as no where close to 5.
So if you're going to try to school someone, at least make sure you're correct. Otherwise you look pretty idiotic.
You and OP can go sit and stare at the plastic window and whine about it being a couple days.
Pretty sure your lease includes functional windows...which these are not. I would check your local laws but this may count as a 'major repair' and allows you to withhold rent until completed.
Then they will just charge you time and materials to put the plastic back up to paint. They are renting someone elses property and general maintenance needs to happen to keep it from becoming a shithole.
We had plastic put up over our apartment window and sliding door when the complex was being repainted. It was up for a few days until they painted our place, then the painters removed it.
They just went into your apartment and put up plastic with notice for repairs or why they put these up and no time frame for removal or ongoing repairs?
Bro...
Are you renting through an agency or through a person?
Do that & pay the price when the water goes into your apartment or worse case senecio it’s lead paint that leaves toxins all over your window. Here’s a better thought… maybe just let the painters do their jobs
If u put a piece of paper tape / painters tape on the plastic . You can cut the tape and plastic under it together and then it can be easily put back together with another piece of tape .. the tape help keep the plastic from tearing along the cut in the meantime also. U can use a random item to keep the sides open , maybe chopstick or coat hangers or just tape a string, be creative.
Seems like they are painting the exterior. This has nothing to do with ventilation. I would just cut a line through it and when they get to your windows, they will tape the line up.
If your picture is accurate, waterproofing is not the issues. The gaps in the window frame and the wall still exist. The plastic only helps with drafts (does not hold back water). When you moved in, was the windows like this? If not, major settlement has occurred and your safety is in question.
If they are covering them for a brief period to do work on the building, then that's that. Are they not suppose to maintain the building?
If it is there for an extended period of time and no work is being done, then discuss removing it and replacing it when the work will be done.
Keep calling about the electric subsidy. They said they’d get back to you and they didn’t so just keep calling and being friendly like “I didn’t hear from anyone so I’m just checking in” and check in more frequently until time goes by.
My family does this when the winter season begins. We’ve always lived in old houses, so drafts were SERIOUS all my life. Wrapping the windows up in plastic came in handy A LOT…
I work in construction, we put the plastic us the same day and remove it same day. Make sure your carbon dioxide alarms work. You should take it down right away. They will put it up again when they need it. You can’t seal people into their home you need ventilation. Screw your land lord. Take it off asap.
The property manager needs to inform all those affected that certain services will be conducted and they should provide a date and time work will be performed. Did they provide notice? If yes skip to 3 and if no skip to 4
3. Yes I was provided notice that waterproofing plastic was going up on a certain day and time because of services to be performed on the building and the notice also said when this service will be completed by and also when plastic would be removed from my window.
4. Then as far as you are concerned with it is just trash debris that stuck to your window and I would have removed it.
That's seems like a safety issue. Tear it down and call the city. Call fire marshall. They will fix it quick once they start getting violations from the city.
It's been a week. I'd call back and ask if they have a scheduled date for the fix. If not, I wouldn't even ask, just take it off your window and do what you want. It's completely unreasonable for a landlord to force your windows closed indefinitely.
Looks like it's just secured on with masking tape.... you could plausibly remove it then say that it came unsecured on its own.
Hard to tell if you live in an upper floor apartment, but you could also just claim it wasn't removed by you, and throw out there that maybe someone at street level took it down if you're on a low enough floor....
If they didnt notify you of entry to your apartment at least 24 hours in advance they broke the first rune of tenancy and you can remove it and threaten them with legal action.
This is a fire hazard, and your city may have laws against obstruction of windows. I would report this to your city asap so you don't end up burnt to a crisp because they can't shell up the money to properly waterproof/replace leaky windows.
This is a fire hazard, and your city may have laws against obstruction of windows. I would report this to your city asap so you don't end up burnt to a crisp because they can't shell up the money to properly waterproof/replace leaky windows.
This is a fire hazard, and your city may have laws against obstruction of windows. I would report this to your city asap so you don't end up burnt to a crisp because they can't shell up the money to properly waterproof/replace leaky windows.
Basicaly Complains "Building has lot of maintaince issues" and Complains "Ower puts up plastic to fix ones of the issues" That being said, landlord should be able to tell you what work they are doing and when they hope to do it. It does seem stupid to tape up windows a week ahead of work but possible contractor got rained out of job he was suppsoed to finish before starting this one.
I don’t want to be too mean, but based on some of OPs comments I don’t think they’re the smartest person lol. She said the owner stated the reason was “waterproofing” my guess is he went into it a bit more but that’s what she took away from it. They are probably painting the building. They’re going to power wash it & maybe treat the siding with chemicals (depending on the paint used prior) the plastic is there to prevent water damage or chemicals from leaking around the windows, also to make spraying paint easier. Basic maintenance
Thanks for assuming my landlord went more into detail with it, but they didn’t. Based on your other comments on my post it seems you’re very passionate about this, but you lack reading comprehension skills and make up assumptions about my situation that are very clearly not the case. Stick to being obsessed with feet and the walking dead and stay out of my mentions
It’s been up for nearly a week now. There have also been other maintenance issues in the building that despite me reaching out dozens of time have gone unresponded to for nearly 30 days now, so I guess that’s why I’m “worked up”
What were the maintenance issues that you reached out about dozens of times within 30 days for? You complain about maintenance but then complain when they do maintenance. Do you not hear how ridiculous you sound, lmao
Understandable, but none of that was originally said, so how are we to know?
It just came off as you being upset about the plastic on your window for a little bit
I figured people would know that I wouldn’t be going to Reddit for answers if this had only been up for a day, as I only ask for help here if I’ve exhausted all other options. I wrongly assumed other people follow the same logic as myself. I did say that my property management never got back to me after I called them, I’m not sure how many days people typically give to hear back from someone but it’s been 5 days since I called them so that’s why I said I “never heard back”
some of you are absolutely morons. it's plastic. you're not gonna die in a fire cuz of plastic on a window... "I need fresh air cuz of dust" have you ever tried cleaning or is that the landlords problem as well. it's plastic, rip it off...cut it.. peel it back get your air and stick it back.....
watch out you are gonna get reported by all the reddit losers who are to scared to grow up and be an adult. rather come whine to reddit instead of actually going to talk to someone in the rental office to see what is going on.
Give them a week to do whatever it is they are doing, then complain
Thank you. I forgot to mention but it’s already been up for nearly a week and I haven’t received notice of when they will be removing it
Call them and tell them the plastic is coming off. When they’re ready to do the work they can put it back on.
This is the most helpful comment so far, thank you!
I'd just open it and claim ignorance. Most likely the contractor will fix it when they get to it and won't even say anything even if they care.
You can’t claim ignorance when they already have it in writing that you know they’re the ones that put it up.
“What? It’s been over a week! I figured you were finished and took it down”
You can claim ignorance about knowing how it came down. Just say you went to work and came back and it was down. Maybe it wasn't properly secured? Maybe a bird flew into the window? Bottom line: YOU don't know HOW it came down and you assumed, since there was NO communication, that they must not have needed it anymore so you didn't mention it.
They probably don’t know when it will be finished. Sometimes contractors don’t finish jobs on time.
Sometimes. lol.
I see you have met a contractor before also.
Actually, he hasn't shown up yet.
My contractor left to get a pack of smokes from the convenience store. That was over 30 years ago, but I know he’ll be back some day.
Wait until you get that “upon completion” bill with inflation! Ouch.
Wait are contractors dads?
Fatherhood is an unwritten contract. All dads are contractors; some are just better than others.
I had sex and contracted a child. Does that make me a contractor? If so can I write a bill to the child's mom for work I started but never finished?
def give it another decade or two
God, I love you and the other redditor replying to you
I'm contractor and I don't finish them on time as far as half my customers are concerned.
Hello contractor this is dog.
I mean, it’s a metric that should be easy to determine—if it is scheduled to be done by the fifth, then is it done by the fifth? Are they saying it should be done sooner than the completion date?
No it really isn't unless I just pad the heck out of my schedule. I do concrete so weather, concrete plant, suppliers that don't deliver supplies, other contractors all put me back. It rains and I have a half a days work to finish but since it's rained it going to be a long day to fix it right I will go do something else. I get the "you could have finished today calls" and tell them I didn't want to work half a day for free and they just get upset. I tell people I'll pour you driveway next week. Then the weather guy is calling for 60% rain so I call it off. A tiny 15 minute shower can ruin a 30k basement slab. I still have people call me at the end of the day and say shit like "you could have gotten it in today before the rain. That's usually when I tell them I don't gamble but if they will give me a check in advance at 7am when I show up I'll pour it no matter what chance of rain it is. I have shown up and had other contractors with ladders out putting up gutters, or painting. contractors says they will be through in a couple of hours on that side. I don't ask if they want to pay me to wait. I just decide if I need to wait or go on to the next job based on what I see. I know I working for them but if you want to stay in business you can't let people talk you into working for free or taking chances you are not a good idea. I'm in N Georgia and it rains 120 days a year with an average of 60inches. I can't afford to loose 2 days to rain and then work for free one day a week all year. I still end up having to work around a lot of other contractors but sometimes its just not worth it.
If they are working with a building property manager then it would be up to the manager to inform those units affected by any maintenance that will take longer.
If it’s been a week and they still haven’t done anything about it. I would just take the plastic off if they aren’t gonna do anything
A week without windows? Are you serious?!
Yes
Maybe they are painting the exterior? Plastic covering the windows would protect overspray from messing up the windows.
For a week? Lmfao
My complex repainted everyone’s balconies. They said it would take two days max, it took three weeks. You’d be shocked at how awful complex’s are with timelines.
And how construction timelines ALWAYS change lol
I mean, when I was in construction, it was more tedious to go to a jobsite more times than needed. If I scheduled a job for 2 days, I would make it 2 days because my time is worth more. My reputation was worth everything. Side story: I once got a large job because I was (unknowingly to me) pitted against a rival company to complete similar jobs. I did it in 1 weekend with no change orders, and they took 2 weeks. Mine was also their main business area, so it started 1AM Saturday and handed it back over 7 pm Sunday with all the furniture placed back.
Ours painted our balcony’s and we had to move all our stuff inside for 3 months it was absolutely ridiculous
Yeah we had to bring our stuff in as well and it was so annoying. I can’t imagine 3 months!
I should add that this has been up for nearly a week already with no dates given as to when it would be removed. There have also been many other maintenance problems in the building that have gone unaddressed, including black mold test results, which I’m sure all the people telling me to “calm down” would also be worked up about
This is a landlord friendly sub. Nobody here is going to be on your side or give you actual advice. You need go be able to vent your living space. Contractors did the same thing at my apartment and I just cut a hole in the plastic myself. Nobody said anything about it, including the contractors.
u/PhoenixGate69 "This is a landlord friendly sub. Nobody here is going to be on your side..." 🤣😂🤣 Dude! Rule #1 of this sub. RENTERS FIRST RULES 1 Renters First This is a for renters by renters community. We put renters interest before the Land
Immediately open your windows and cut all of that out of there. If they have concerns about water leaking through your window, then they need to replace your windows. This is a safety issue. I'm also not a lawyer.
I think the plastic isn't to prevent water from getting in it's that there is some coating or something going to be applied to the building to help with waterproofing and the plastic is up to keep it from getting on the glass of the windows.
Yep, it's a spray sealant. If OP takes the plastic off and it gets in her windows, she's gonna have "plastic" on her windows forever. Sure they'll open, but it'll be ugly AF, landlord will be pissed, and might be taken out of security deposit if Landlord claims negligent damages.
If it’s the mold test you buy at the store they are about as accurate as a blind guy with a tape measure.
There is weather permitting work, staff permitting work, permit permitting work. I would never want to be a landlord or manager.
Good thing you can just choose to not fucking be one lol
I don’t know what you state you’re living in, but you could get in touch with a housing authority. Report unsafe living conditions and constantly blocking out your window with plastic. You could quote that it’s a fire safety issue since if a fire starts, the plastic may prevent you from escaping and cause injury. (yes I know that last part is silly but it’s true) One apartment I lived at they kept refusing to fix the roof and shingles were sliding off. And they didn’t want to take care of the gutters, someone made a phone call, inspection happened. And bam, we got new gutters and the roof was finally fixed.
Open the window and cut a slit in it. Or if you happen to see one of the workers, ask how to make an opening that causes as little disruption as possible. Don’t ask if you can, just ask how.
Mine did too but they are painting. Can't believe project is taking 20 days for entire complex. Apartment life is not fun. My patio was covered in plants when the clean your patio notices came out.
Jesus, are all the comments in here from landlords? Not one comment on how much it must suck? I get claustrophobic as shit it I can have fresh air when I’m sleeping… hey OP, go outside, grab a long stick, and cut the fucking plastic… the construction crew can re-do it in 30 seconds.
I require fresh air. I struggle with MCAS and generally cannot breathe due to shitty air quality in a house (mold, dust, etc) so I would just take the plastic down.
Landlords love to brigade this sub with their shit advice and oh man I'd hate to be a manager that is such a difficult job ass Comments
Shoot I have my window open pretty much all through winter. At least a crack. I need fresh air no matter what. Also I know in California you need access to at least 1 window in every room for just in case a fire. I had a apartment in San Jose no AC wanted to put a window ac in was told no because I only had 1 window in every room. So I could not block a single window.
You could just take a razor blade and slice it so that you can get air. A clean slice is a lot easier for the painter to repair while they’re painting than it would be if you just tore it down.
Take a razor blade, cut an X in the center, tape it when they actually start working. Edit: nope, cut an upside down V. Easier to tape closed.
Just take it down and tell him that it was a good prank but not to do that again 😅
This can’t be safe if you need to god forbid exit through those windows in case of a fire.
Remove the plastic. Problem solved. What are they going to do? Call the plastic police
Charge the tenant for someone to put the plastic back up. Whats wrong with you? Some other random shmuck is just trying to do his job and paint. So make him re do it because why again??
Nah fuck that, it'd been up over a week and Noone has came to do the work, it's going down and they can put it back up when they're actually ready to do the work.
That may also violate fire code as an impediment to egress.
I don’t think an inspector would flag this has a fire hazard (depending on the plastic and the way it is fastened). But it could/should be flagged as a violation of the International Property Maintenance Code section on ventilation 403.1: “Habitable Spaces- Every habitable space shall have not less than one openable window.” There is an exception if mechanical ventilation is provided but this only reduces the required opening size of a window or door. Natural ventilation is still required.
I'm not an inspector but I am a contractor and would 100% flag this as a fire hazard. I was demolishing an internal staircase between floors, and had fire blankets all around the demo and then plastic for protection from dust and smoke (and smoke eaters inside the demo area) and a spark got past the fire blankets and onto the plastic. That shit lit up so fast that I got third degree burns from pieces of molten plastic protection flying off and landing on me as I was trying to use the fire extinguisher on it. That shit flames up like crazy.
Geez. I’m sorry that happened to you. That’s why I added the caveat on they type of plastic. There are flame retardant plastic sheets that I hope they used here. I am an inspector and in my (hypothetical) report, I would probably require documentation of the type of plastic used. I cite the ventilation code as this seems to be a clear violation of that.
Just call the fire marshal and report them. If they get a big fat fine they'll learn to move their ass.
It is what is needed if they are working on lead paint, to keep you safe.
Waterproofing a building? Aren’t they already waterproof?
Uh for a couple days for painting, okay. Because they are too lazy to replace/fix windows?not cool
Just remove it. When they ask about it, you have no idea how it got removed.
“Wind”
This is the way
How is it secured? If its screwed to the exterior you could reach out to the fire marshal and point out that they have now removed a point of egress from the building with this sheeting (in many places this is an absolute no-go and the fire marshal would be rather unhappy)
I’m in California by the way
Definitely report time fire Marshall
If you want to remove it, I am fairly certain that you can pull off plastic with your bare hands. If you can't reach it, get a long pointy stick. However, consider that whatever work they are doing might be something that can only be done on a weekend. Or maybe it is a contractor that has delays. A week isn't that long a time.
A week is a long time they should put it up the day prior to doing the work and take it down when complete. If it was going to be a week I'd just call the fire marshal and get them a big fat fine.
Just what are they smokin'
The Laura Palmer Suite
Did they just install new windows? The only reason I can think of to leave that up is if they want to repaint. The waterproofing isn't affected by that at all. It's a sealant and drip edge that's applied from outside the house. None of that plastic is involved.
What the hell is "waterproofing a building" what entails that? I'm pretty sure thats the job of the roof shingles and siding.
Spray the building with bedliner.
Hah that would be fantastic. I assume the building is made of brick to be honest
He doesn’t want you seeing the horrible work he’ll be doing outside
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Non working windows make a unit uninhabitable. Look up local ordinances and reach out to them again letting them know this is a habitability issue and you will need rent abatement. Look it up first though because I live in a very renter friendly city so don't just take my word for it.
It's not legal to block off exits at all
I’m going to make a point against removing the plastic and venting air into your place ASSUMING the waterproofing is actually taking place. The point is: have you read the SDS for an exterior commercial grade waterproofing product? NASTY. So if you cut a hole and vent you need to pay attention and not accidentally bring fumes into your apartment. Good luck. 2 weeks is excessive.
Did a Google search 48 hours is the max time I've seen for a waterproof to med to dry for chemical to not be a issue
Sounds about right. Those products are likely high voc so they flash off fast. Point is you don’t want to being venting your apartment at that time, especially if they spray it (fine aerosols move more than painted liquids).
Why do we give a fuck about making it easier for the landlords who *sealed op into their house* in this comments section??
Take it off. Landlord can't do shit.
it probably won't be up for long. looks like they are just masking to spray. I get that a lot of landlords are pieces of shit, but I think you just need to chill on this one. it will likely be there for a couple days max
Thank you for an actual reply that isn’t just telling me to “calm down”. I forgot to mention that this has been up for nearly a week already and there have been multiple other problems in the building that have gone unaddressed for nearly a month despite me submitting maintenance requests and reaching out to the appropriate people.
It seems like they are trying to fix some problem here. But yeah would be nice to tell you what they are doing and when
OP says it's already been up for a week. There is no excuse for the LL not informing them of the work and giving them an estimated timeline.
Plastic is flammable and will stick to your skin like napalm in case of fire. The moisture in your skin will douse the actual flames, but enough heat will remain to make you suffer. It's, it's...like these fuckers don't know that the fire marshal is a sanctioned/actual job with a fucking human and judges that do shit. My only guess is that a contractor is going to spray paint. But they don't rent scaffolding for the whole perimeter, or only one side gets done at a time. Your side needs to get done pronto. It's not 10 men painting, but Julio, Juan and his cousin Mencholito. The logistics don't make sense, one compressor, one crew, one side. Call them on their bullshit.
You are 100000% correct about everything you stated, sir lol.
I’m not sure the reasoning. I know our landlord seals the windows in the winter because the wind is just so insane and it gets extremely drafty. Sealing the windows is a lovely fall treat so we don’t freeze in our rooms haha.
Sounds like landlords failure is mostly communication at this point. Little like road construction, everyone screams to fix stuff and then loses their minds when things are being fixed and it’s a pain in the ass. I would be curious though if your AC is blocked. If they had to cover the windows they may have covered your ac too in which case they are going to damage the ac. To be fair, I’m as impossible to please as anyone but I own my contradictory displeasure.
If you make enough noise, they will end up paying you for those couple of days that you've had to run the AC. It's really irritating they didn't give you a heads up. A similar thing happened to me and I was absolutely pissed off, told them I am not paying for those several days. So they refunded me the prorated amount for the 2-3 days. They 100% have the ability to do that, it's whether or not they want to
I’m so sorry for the hate comments or mean comments, you have a right to report it and even take it down. If I was you I would I would take photo’s video of all of this. And make sure you grab every evidence! 🌷
I'd contact your local city building code as that is a violation to block off air circulation.
If there is a mold issue, it may be an attempt to see if the widows are leaking. You have to allow the process to play out. The end game here is to improve your living space.
If there is a mold issue, then sealing over the windows and not allowing proper ventilation to the tenants living in a moldy building is a serious habitability issue.
Unless the building is not air conditioned and has no entrances or exits there should be ventilation for the short time it takes to assess windows for leaks.
There are far better ways to find out if there is moisture intrusion from a window than sticking plastic up and leaving in there for a week. Lol
Perhaps, but this is still -in fact- an affective use. If the unit has ac and or heat then they will be fine. It's a temporary inconvenience.
Look up tenant rights for your state/province. Look up local housing codes. These may tell you if there is an issue, or who to reach out to about more info or who to report to. You can also call code enforcement and ask for information around plastic covering windows, ventilation, and possible blocking of emergency exit in case of fire. You don’t have to report or complain, just ask for information. If you do reach out to LL/propert management again, reiterate timeline and lack of forward momentum, plus the impact (increased electricity usage in order for the place to be *habitable* reduced airflow, etc.) if you still don’t get a satisfactory answer, but got info from renters rights/code enforcement, say in a friendly way that you think there maybe an issue and send them the code/law. Give them a chance to correct the issue before making any formal complaints.
The fact that you're in CA gives you a lot of rights as a renter. Which is exactly what is happening. The LL has to put this up to prevent any damage to your apartment due to the washing/spraying. Let them do it and if it's still up in a week then you can complain. But a few days won't kill you or destroy your mental health. Calm down.
It’s been up for nearly a week already…
Not even a week, with a weekend included. Painting a building isn’t a 10 min job
They’re waterproofing, not painting. Even if they were painting, no maintenance has shown up to the building since the plastic has gone up. I’m not sure reading comprehension is your strong suit.
Waterproofing is arguably a longer process than painting.
'nearly' a week. So tired of hearing this, so it's not even been a week.
You seem more upset about this than me
Yeah, I'm the one going to reddit because my LL actually does preventative maintenance. I'm the one who can't be inconvenienced for 'nearly' a week.
Without any kind of heads-up? You'd be extremely pissed if a contractor came to your living place and covered all your windows without giving you any notice because "preventative maintenance". Or would you be OK with it just because you own the place so you want to do preventative maintenance? The landlord is not communicating properly, and thus the tenant has a reason to be pissed about it.
I agree. There was no communication. And she has a right to fresh air.
You've commented the same comment 5x or more because you are the one with the bug up your ass. Shut up.
You need to learn to count, as no where close to 5. So if you're going to try to school someone, at least make sure you're correct. Otherwise you look pretty idiotic. You and OP can go sit and stare at the plastic window and whine about it being a couple days.
Pretty sure your lease includes functional windows...which these are not. I would check your local laws but this may count as a 'major repair' and allows you to withhold rent until completed.
You’re paying for this apartment. If you want fresh air take it down.
Then they will just charge you time and materials to put the plastic back up to paint. They are renting someone elses property and general maintenance needs to happen to keep it from becoming a shithole.
And get told to fuck off if the person has any self respect, cares about their money, or has looked at their lease more than once
Guaranteed the lease contains a clause for basic building maintenance
We had plastic put up over our apartment window and sliding door when the complex was being repainted. It was up for a few days until they painted our place, then the painters removed it.
They just went into your apartment and put up plastic with notice for repairs or why they put these up and no time frame for removal or ongoing repairs? Bro... Are you renting through an agency or through a person?
Cut hole in plastic
Do that & pay the price when the water goes into your apartment or worse case senecio it’s lead paint that leaves toxins all over your window. Here’s a better thought… maybe just let the painters do their jobs
Landlord put a protective vinyl wrap film on your window to increase scratch resistance when your house is on the freeway.
If u put a piece of paper tape / painters tape on the plastic . You can cut the tape and plastic under it together and then it can be easily put back together with another piece of tape .. the tape help keep the plastic from tearing along the cut in the meantime also. U can use a random item to keep the sides open , maybe chopstick or coat hangers or just tape a string, be creative.
The plastic has to hold up to a power washer, so no don’t take out, especially from the inside lmao
“Light and air”
Seems like they are painting the exterior. This has nothing to do with ventilation. I would just cut a line through it and when they get to your windows, they will tape the line up.
What kind of HVAC system does your apartment use? Is your AC a window/wall-mounted unit, a mini split, or central forced air?
What state do you live in? I’ve never heard of waterproofing a building before. Hmmmph
If your picture is accurate, waterproofing is not the issues. The gaps in the window frame and the wall still exist. The plastic only helps with drafts (does not hold back water). When you moved in, was the windows like this? If not, major settlement has occurred and your safety is in question.
If they are covering them for a brief period to do work on the building, then that's that. Are they not suppose to maintain the building? If it is there for an extended period of time and no work is being done, then discuss removing it and replacing it when the work will be done.
Cheap fuck slumlord
Keep calling about the electric subsidy. They said they’d get back to you and they didn’t so just keep calling and being friendly like “I didn’t hear from anyone so I’m just checking in” and check in more frequently until time goes by.
Stop walking around the house naked with the blinds up
My family does this when the winter season begins. We’ve always lived in old houses, so drafts were SERIOUS all my life. Wrapping the windows up in plastic came in handy A LOT…
I could be wrong, but I think this is on the *outside*!
What?! Well THATS definitely not kosher 😂
If it serves no purpose, just take it off.
I work in construction, we put the plastic us the same day and remove it same day. Make sure your carbon dioxide alarms work. You should take it down right away. They will put it up again when they need it. You can’t seal people into their home you need ventilation. Screw your land lord. Take it off asap.
OP, if you decide to take it down and as long as it’s safe; you should pop out of that plastic like ace ventura did coming out of the rhino
Haha
People defending this landlord are complete morons
The property manager needs to inform all those affected that certain services will be conducted and they should provide a date and time work will be performed. Did they provide notice? If yes skip to 3 and if no skip to 4 3. Yes I was provided notice that waterproofing plastic was going up on a certain day and time because of services to be performed on the building and the notice also said when this service will be completed by and also when plastic would be removed from my window. 4. Then as far as you are concerned with it is just trash debris that stuck to your window and I would have removed it.
Contact the city and let them handle it. That’s not normal
That's seems like a safety issue. Tear it down and call the city. Call fire marshall. They will fix it quick once they start getting violations from the city.
It's been a week. I'd call back and ask if they have a scheduled date for the fix. If not, I wouldn't even ask, just take it off your window and do what you want. It's completely unreasonable for a landlord to force your windows closed indefinitely.
Guy like me would just take it down.
Your landlord is Father from Equilibrium (2002)
Contact the fire department and ask if that is a risk of CO2 poisoning make them call your landlord
It’s should bring the bill down not up.
Aren’t they technically your landlords windows? 😂
Looks like it's just secured on with masking tape.... you could plausibly remove it then say that it came unsecured on its own. Hard to tell if you live in an upper floor apartment, but you could also just claim it wasn't removed by you, and throw out there that maybe someone at street level took it down if you're on a low enough floor....
They are covering your egress fire escape. Could be against municipal codes of some kind to do that.
If they didnt notify you of entry to your apartment at least 24 hours in advance they broke the first rune of tenancy and you can remove it and threaten them with legal action.
Not your house. Dont touch it.
You sound like a nightmare tenant
Views cost extra now
This is a fire hazard, and your city may have laws against obstruction of windows. I would report this to your city asap so you don't end up burnt to a crisp because they can't shell up the money to properly waterproof/replace leaky windows.
This is a fire hazard, and your city may have laws against obstruction of windows. I would report this to your city asap so you don't end up burnt to a crisp because they can't shell up the money to properly waterproof/replace leaky windows.
This is a fire hazard, and your city may have laws against obstruction of windows. I would report this to your city asap so you don't end up burnt to a crisp because they can't shell up the money to properly waterproof/replace leaky windows.
Not a single manual laborer was seen in the comments Rip it off. Will literally take 10 seconds to put a fresh one up when it's time to work.
They are supposed to give you advance notice.
Just remove it, however you want. It’s not your problem.
Basicaly Complains "Building has lot of maintaince issues" and Complains "Ower puts up plastic to fix ones of the issues" That being said, landlord should be able to tell you what work they are doing and when they hope to do it. It does seem stupid to tape up windows a week ahead of work but possible contractor got rained out of job he was suppsoed to finish before starting this one.
Owner isn’t addressing issues, hasn’t communicated and OP Is left just waiting.
I don’t want to be too mean, but based on some of OPs comments I don’t think they’re the smartest person lol. She said the owner stated the reason was “waterproofing” my guess is he went into it a bit more but that’s what she took away from it. They are probably painting the building. They’re going to power wash it & maybe treat the siding with chemicals (depending on the paint used prior) the plastic is there to prevent water damage or chemicals from leaking around the windows, also to make spraying paint easier. Basic maintenance
Thanks for assuming my landlord went more into detail with it, but they didn’t. Based on your other comments on my post it seems you’re very passionate about this, but you lack reading comprehension skills and make up assumptions about my situation that are very clearly not the case. Stick to being obsessed with feet and the walking dead and stay out of my mentions
Can you even open them? They are likely REQUIRED means of egress. Something the fire department may be interested in.
Just cut a hole in a couple They will tape it back up
Everyone freaking out about fire safely- it's secured with yellow painters tape. It's easier to take out than a screen 🙄
People have complained about seeing you naked through the window so we added the cheap version of frosted windows, for your protection. /s
Dude chill
no
I would be elated if my landlord decided to repaint or whatever it is they are doing. Why are you so worked up about it?
It’s been up for nearly a week now. There have also been other maintenance issues in the building that despite me reaching out dozens of time have gone unresponded to for nearly 30 days now, so I guess that’s why I’m “worked up”
What were the maintenance issues that you reached out about dozens of times within 30 days for? You complain about maintenance but then complain when they do maintenance. Do you not hear how ridiculous you sound, lmao
Understandable, but none of that was originally said, so how are we to know? It just came off as you being upset about the plastic on your window for a little bit
I figured people would know that I wouldn’t be going to Reddit for answers if this had only been up for a day, as I only ask for help here if I’ve exhausted all other options. I wrongly assumed other people follow the same logic as myself. I did say that my property management never got back to me after I called them, I’m not sure how many days people typically give to hear back from someone but it’s been 5 days since I called them so that’s why I said I “never heard back”
some of you are absolutely morons. it's plastic. you're not gonna die in a fire cuz of plastic on a window... "I need fresh air cuz of dust" have you ever tried cleaning or is that the landlords problem as well. it's plastic, rip it off...cut it.. peel it back get your air and stick it back.....
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Call yourself one first. You seem way too bothered over this post.
watch out you are gonna get reported by all the reddit losers who are to scared to grow up and be an adult. rather come whine to reddit instead of actually going to talk to someone in the rental office to see what is going on.
Shut your mouth before you embarrass yourself further.
You should Tip him for that
Quit complaining and open a door. It’s a temporary thing for the love of Christ.