Maintenance Request
To report any common area maintenance problems please send an email to jessica@beckandco.com. Please include your phone number, unit number and a general description of the problem. Please allow 72 hours for a response. Some requests may require board approval prior to completion so this will extend the response time. Please scroll down for some very helpful maintenance tips.
For maintenance emergencies please call 512-474-1551. There is an answering service to answer your after hours calls.
**Please scroll down to see helpful maintenance tips below**
Architectural Change Request
To make any architectural change to your unit you must first complete the architectural change request form and submit to Adriane at Beck & Company for board approval. This form is available for download below.
Architectural Modification Request Form
Maintenance Tips
Here are some very helpful maintenance tips that can save both you & the HOA money!
To report a maintenance problem, please go to the Request Maintenance page.
Grease!
The most common cause of a clogged drain is grease. Do NOT throw grease down the drains! The average cost to repair a clogged drain is several hundreds of dollars. Grease, like oil and candle wax, does not dissolve in water. Using soap with it does not help. When you pour hot liquid grease down the drain it quickly solidifies and builds up. In fact, don’t throw anything down the drain or toilet that does not dissolve in water or is not biodegradable, such as egg shells, paper towels, hair, broken dishware, garbage, diapers, plastic, etc. This ultimately creates back ups and plumbing issues that the HOA as a whole pays for.
Hair
Hair is another very common cause of a clogged drain. It doesn’t dissolve and it easily tangles up in the drain. You should n ever flush hair down the toilet. Add a fine mesh screen to your bathtub drain.
Water shutoff valve & water meter
Know where your water shutoff valve is located. It will be under a gray plate approximately 13 inches by 19 inches located at ground level near your front walk. That way you can quickly tell the plumber where it is. (You can also buy a water shut off tool at a hardware store.) The basin will contain two valves and two water meters. Take a waterproof marker and mark your unit number and your neighbor’s unit number on the correct meter/valve. You don’t want your neighbor’s plumber shutting of the water to your unit! Also check the basin every few years. Being below ground it will accumulate dirt which will bury the valves and cause them to corrode. It will be costly to replace.
Air Conditioner
Pour Clorox down the condensation drain once a month to eliminate the buildup of algae which can cause a blockage and overflow. Change your air filter every month or few months. Set up a maintenance calendar table or spreadsheet with scheduled dates in the leftmost column and the items to be maintained in the other columns.
Water lines in cold weather
If the input water lines to your water heater go through an outside unheated wall, they may be subject to freezing when the temperature stays below freezing during the day. This means your hot water line is more likely to freeze than your cold water line since the cold water input line may not go above ground. You need to set a hot water faucet dripping as well as a cold water faucet, so that water is flowing through the hot water input pipe.
Water heater
You should flush (not drain) your water heater once a year. If you don’t want to do it, have a plumber do it. Turn off the circuit breaker to the water heater (you should have all your circuit breakers labeled). Add a hose to the drain valve and run it a ways outside. Open the drain valve and let the water flow for 20 minutes. Flowing rather than draining allows more churning of the sediment.
Replace the sacrificial anode every four years. This anode attracts the chemicals that make hard water hard. It keeps the calcium deposits from being deposited on your heating element.
Gas pipe
Inspect your gas pipe every few years. You are responsible for the section of pipe on your side of the meter. Right where the pipe meets the ground, water and soil will combine to act over time to corrode the pipe. It’s a lot easier to replace the pipe on your own schedule before it leaks. If you smell a rotten egg smell, and you can trace it to a gas line, call the Texas Gas Service emergency line at 1-800-959-5325. Go to http://www.texasgasservice.com and click on Safety for more information. (FYI: natural gas is methane. Methane is odorless. To make it easy to tell if there is a leak, a small amount of hydrogen sulfide is added. In very low concentrations, hydrogen sulfide is very easy to smell and is not dangerous.