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Shoutout to the veteran mechanic who taught me a trick for sticky doors
I was cleaning a high-rise and the elevator doors kept sticking. A mechanic on site saw me struggling and showed me how to tweak the guide rails. It was a simple adjustment with a wrench, but it fixed the problem right away. I've used this tip in other buildings since then. Do you have any other easy fixes for common door problems?
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laura4866mo ago
My middle school had these giant metal windows that would rattle like mad every time a truck went by. The janitor finally showed us kids how to fold a little piece of cardboard and wedge it in the track at the bottom. It looked so janky, but the noise just stopped. You start to notice that stuff everywhere once you know the trick, right? Old government buildings are the worst for it.
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charles_baker285mo ago
Read an article once about how a lot of those old rattling windows are because the balance system inside the frame wears out. The weights on cords get stuck or the springs go bad. Makes sense why a cardboard shim works, it just takes up the slack. @angelam80 your crooked building story reminds me of that, like everything settles into its own weird fit over decades.
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eric_roberts6mo ago
Seriously, check if the WEATHERSTRIPPING is swollen from humidity, that's a sneaky one.
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angelam806mo ago
My old apartment building had doors that stuck worse than a cheap zipper. I mean, the maintenance guy basically lived there just to wiggle hinges. It got to the point where I wondered if the whole place was built slightly crooked on purpose, you know?
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