Continuing from the last post, this blog further familiarizes the processor with terms such as Decks, Patios and Awnings and other exterior items of a property.
Video Transcription
Hello, this is Zayed Ahmed, from ASL BPO on another edition of Property Preservation Training. This is part of training videos that I am making to train processors and get them familiar with objects and terms they will encounter when working, to provide better quality service. Today we are going to continue from the last video and talk further on the exterior part of the property. Things that I explain today are:
A) Type of Doors and Windows that the properties have.
B) Deck, patio and fences
C) Yard Maintenance
D) Pools an Hot Tub
Doors and Windows:
On all the properties that you will see, each of them will always have a Front door, and then a Side and or a Rear/Back Door. Measurement of these doors are usually 80in x 36in. The Rear Door can sometimes be a Sliding Glass door which is also known as a Patio Door. These Sliding doors will usually have a measurement of 80in x 72in . Front and Side and Rear Doors are usually have Knob locks and/or Deadbolts installed on them. If both are installed then it is called a lock set. Patio Doors on the other hand have a pair of two Slider Locks installed on them. Screen doors are an extra addition to exterior doors which have nets/screens installed on them.
Many houses will also have a garage to park cars. Garage can either be attached to the building or be a detached separate structure. Garage will have a Garage Overhead Door, which is the door from which the car enters they usually are 10ft by 7ft in measurement. The overhead doors are locked by a set of padlocks. If the garage is for a single car, it will have a single car door and if it’s for a double car, it will have a double car door. Garages can also have normal doors for people to enter from the side. These doors are called Garage Man Door and are basically the same as the other doors in the property.
The most common window type of window that you will see are Single Hung and Double Hung windows, both of which are the same thing except that double hung windows have two movable parts instead of one. Another type of window that you may usually see are picture windows, which are very wide rectangular windows that do not open and are for the purpose of viewing the outside scenery. You can very easily see the difference between them and the single hung windows. Similar to screen doors, windows can also have screens on them which if are damaged needs to be bid to repair or install separately from the windows themselves.
A very rare kind of window that you may find are skylights. Skylights are roof windows that are present on some windows. If such windows are present we need to ensure that they are secured and are not leaking in any way to cause damage to the property.
The mold and trim of doors and windows are basically a casing installed on their perimeter. If these things are damaged and we have to provide bid to install/repair them.
Decks, Patio and Fences:
Decks are an extended exterior structure made of wood that is present on the front or back of the property. They are usually made of wooden frame on which planks of wood sheathing are installed. All decks will have guardrails on their perimeter to prevent people from falling as well as a steps since decks are a bit above the level of ground and these steps will also have handrails installed on each side as safety measure.
Patios are a paved outdoor area adjoined to a house for people to sit and enjoy. Usually on the back or front and are similar to decks except that they are at ground level and have Cementous flooring. Patios can have an extended roof, if these roofs are made of fabric, plastic or aluminium they are called Awning.
All properties will also have fences installed on side and back. Sometimes these fences will also have gates as well, which are kept secured by installing padlocks on them. Fences and fence gates are mostly either be made of wood, vinyl plastic or of metal chain link.
Yard Maintenance:
The lawn that the property has all around the house is called the yard. The yard needs to be constantly maintained as in an unmaintained yard will have grass, weeds, saplings, trees, bushes and shrubs growing in such a way that they become an overgrowth which can cause damage to the structure of the house and fence and that is what yard maintenance means.
Terms that you need to be familiar with in regards to Yard maintenance are:
Shrubs and bushes: are small to medium sized woody plants which can be 3 to 12 feet tall. They only need to be trimmed when they are touching house and fence.
Trees will also need to be trimmed if they are touching the house or the fence line and needs to be removed if they fell down due to storm or any other reason.
Saplings are young trees with thin trunks if they are growing against house or fence line they will need to be removed.
Weeds are unwanted small plants, which are usually removed along when grass is cut on the property, sometimes though, weed removal can be done separately as a service as well.
Pools and Hot Tub:
Many, properties can have pools and hot tubs in their back yard for swimming and lavishly taking baths outside. Pools can either be in-ground or above ground. All pools need to be maintained in the following manner: They need to be treated with chemicals to remove green algae and mosquitoes, then their water needs to be drained to up to 4ft depth and lastly needs to be covered with a plastic tarp to be secured. Also, above ground pools needs to be demolished and removed if they are damaged.
Hot tubs are different than pools as they are kind of lavish bath tubs used to enjoy bathing and spa in the outside. They also needs to be maintained in a similar fashion to pools.
That covers, today’s training video. On the next edition, we will discuss some of the interior aspects of a property.