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Four Season Rooftop Maintenance Checklist for Apartment Buildings

If you own or manage an apartment building in New York City, rooftop maintenance is key to keeping multiple systems in the property running smoothly, especially HVAC. Here is a rooftop maintenance checklist from Antler Pumps, experts in pump maintenance, repair, and installation. We’ve covered all four seasons because it’s vital you give your rooftop the attention it deserves throughout the entire year.

Autumn

Preparing for heat season

The autumn months are all about preparing for the oncoming heat season, when windows are closed and air circulation is more important than ever. Your building’s ventilation system draws in clean, fresh air and exhausts dirty air through the rooftop via exhaust fans.

Air quality is related to the following for your building occupants:

• Allergies and asthma
• Cigarette smoke
• Carbon monoxide buildup
• Mold and mildew
• Radon poisoning
• Colds, flu, and viral illnesses
• Particulate matter, like soot and pollution
• Unpleasant odors

Failure to provide adequate fresh air in your apartment building can violate New York building codes and result in expensive citations. If you have problems with one or more of the above concerns, it could be a sign your ventilation system isn’t working properly.

Another sign is noisy HVAC that’s too loud or making strange sounds. It’s been our experience that this is often due to a malfunction of rooftop exhaust fans. A classic sign of rooftop exhaust failure is if lower floors have worse air quality than those far above them – a phenomenon we see often with high-rise buildings.

In fall, it’s wise to double-check that your rooftop exhaust system is working properly, before the demand for heat has it running full-bore. Follow these steps before the snow flies:

• Clear away leaves that have collected after falling from trees.
• Remove any trash or plant detritus from autumn wind and storms.
• Visually inspect your fans for corrosion, rust, buildup of unwanted material, loose blades, poor electrical connections, etc.
• Run exhaust fans to check for proper function and noise.
• Call Antler Pumps if you have questions or if something doesn’t seem right.

Fall is a perfect time to schedule an annual maintenance check with professionals. They can sometimes find small problems that you might miss, keeping little issues from becoming more expensive ones later.

Winter

Preventing ice and snow damage

In winter, your primary duty is to keep those rooftop exhaust fans running in optimal shape. As well as performing all the duties above, as needed depending on the weather, snow and ice removal is essential.

Snow and ice can block fans, preventing dirty air from being expelled. It can also cause permanent damage to your fans and other rooftop equipment. Excess snow can also be melted by exhaust fans, which then freezes and causes more troubles. Therefore, the best course of action is to remove as much snow and ice from around your fans, clearing a space around them. This will also come in handy if your exhaust fans should need any service during the winter.

Spring

Winter cleanup plus getting ready for AC season

Ah, the joy of spring in New York City! When the city emerges from its winter cocoon, it’s time to get back up on the roof to prepare for warmer weather. Not only does this entail making sure your rooftop exhaust fans are working well, but you should be thinking about air conditioning too. Weather is more unpredictable than ever lately, but it seems like the city always goes from blustery weather to summer heat overnight.

Once the snow has melted, inspect the roof equipment for damage and again remove any leaves, twigs, blown trash, and the like, so they don’t block any openings where airflow is required. If you’re thinking about another time for an annual rooftop check or a biannual service call to pair with autumn, spring is an excellent choice. You don’t want tenants complaining about malfunctioning air conditioning during the summer months, and servicing your roof equipment in spring reduces the likelihood you’ll have to be up on the roof in oppressive summer heat.

Summer

Keeping your cooling system healthy

Why is it important to do the spring cleaning on your rooftop? Your cooling towers are located there too, and they are an integral part of your air conditioning operation.

Let’s take a moment to review how cooling towers function. They work to lower the temperature of air being blown into a building’s interior via the AC. They contain water, which pulls heat from the system, and release it into the air in an evaporative process.

1. Water absorbs heat as it moves through a heat exchanger.
2. The water next moves over the cooling tower, where exposure to air causes some of it to evaporate.
3. The warm air travels into the atmosphere, leaving only cool air behind.
4. The cool water then goes through an air handler connected to a water coil that provides cooling to interior spaces.
5. Cool air enters inside as warm air is moved outside.

It’s a very efficient system that’s also cost-effective for property owners. Additionally, it doesn’t freeze like conventional air conditioning units, and cooling towers take up a smaller footprint.

Cooling towers are subject to a few common problems, so you want to check them at the start and end of every summer. If parts need to be cleaned, repaired, or replaced, you want to do it on either side of times when the towers are in high use.

• Wear and tear over time is usually due to corrosion. If you observe corrosion in your plumbing or boiler system, it’s probably going to show up in your cooling towers as well. Even if you don’t see it, you may hear it when the towers operate.
• Mineral scale accumulation is common in New York City apartment buildings because of our hard water. If you have hard water buildup (“lime”) in other areas of the property, expect it in your cooling towers. You can try to remove it with something acidic. But, if the buildup is too serious, parts will have to be replaced to prevent mechanical failure and blockages in water conduits. A filtration system should be installed upstream to prevent this in the long term.
• The pumps in cooling towers are susceptible to both corrosion and mineral scale problems. They can also suffer from electrical parts wear or breakage, loose mountings, damaged internal parts (valves, impellers, etc.), and motor failure.

Any signs of the above should prompt a call to Antler Pumps for service. You can reach us at 212-534-2500 or schedule an appointment online. Don’t wait until your vital rooftop equipment malfunctions and causes an emergency for you. Reach out for routine maintenance and repairs, and don’t forget to put this four-season checklist on your calendar.