With A Relatively Lengthy Down Time Expected For Freight Elevator #6, There Are Some Steps We Are Taking And Things Everyone Can Keep In Mind To Help
For now, we can’t postpone any activity. We will be relying on Freight Elevator #5 for traffic related to work maintaining the building and infrastructure, unit owner projects, furniture deliveries and such. Life does have to go on. We just have to do our best to coordinate everything as smoothly as possible.
Commercial, furniture and appliance deliveries are good from 9am to 7pm Monday thru Saturday, If you are expecting any big deliveries, such as furniture or need to move any large items, let the office know in advance. While it is not required, we want to do our best to be aware of any activity and help juggle it with any other business that’s expected. And keep in mind, moving or delivery of incidental items is allowed for up to 3 trips on the elevator, within an hour and without holding the door for more than 60 seconds.
While this type of use does not require management’s oversight, KNOWING ABOUT IT can make a big difference.
And when we say “holding the door”, we mean using the door hold/open button on the inside (example to the left). Using your hands, arms, legs or feet to hold the door or force it open can damage the door operators, and lead to outages and costly downtime and repairs. (If you see anyone misusing the elevator, please report it to the office – the date and time and what you observed, and we will take it from there.) With Car 5 being the only service elevator available, it is imperative that it is used responsibly, and not misused in any fashion.
For the time being, we will only be scheduling one move or reservation of the service elevator per weekday, so that we are spreading such use out as far out as we can. For anyone moving, keep in mind one Saturday move is allowed per month, between 10am and 2pm. That is a lighter use timeframe, so it can actually be good in this situation to help reduce delays.
And you can plan ahead. We include a two week schedule for the service elevator each week with our Weekly News & Updates.
Something to be aware of if you are planning a move or any large deliveries, is the dimensions of Elevator 5, which is not quite as wide as cab 6:
The Door: 39″ W x 83″ H
The Interior: 61″ W x 99″ H x 66″ D
KEY TAKEAWAY – AS ALWAYS, any use of the elevator requiring more than 3 trips in a day, over an hour or holding the door more than 60 seconds, does require a reservation with the office (e-mail parktowercondo-mgmt@haibtat.com, or phone 773-769-3250). A security guard will be present to help coordinate and manage traffic. Of course, anyone scheduling moves or reservations will have to understand that we can’t lock off elevator 5 completely, but when it is properly scheduled and with someone present to help maneuver it can go more smoothly.
If you experience any problems with elevator 5, please report it to our team right away. Small problems can lead to bigger ones. We want to make sure we contact OTIS as soon as possible to address anything small, before it becomes a bigger issue for us.
We continue to strongly encourage residents going to the garage during the day, to use the Passenger Elevators (1 & 2 & 3 & 4), and then proceed to the Mall Elevators (7 & 8), which service 1P, 2P and the mall. Also, residents can access the laundry room and garage by going down the stairs in the Service Elevator Lobby.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding.
CAR 6 – OUT OF SERVICE
The team at OTIS is in the midst of completing a full assessment of freight elevator #6 and continues to indicate it will remain out of service, probably for several weeks. As previously posted, while troubleshooting recent issues, they observed the ropes are wearing down, plausibly causing other problems they’ve had to address. They will coordinate replacement of the ropes, and they will be addressing any other conditions the ropes could have contributed to.
We strongly encourage residents going to the garage during the day, to use the Passenger Elevators (1 & 2 & 3 & 4), and then proceed to the Mall Elevators (7 & 8), which service 1P, 2P and the mall. Also, residents can access the laundry room and garage by going down the stairs in the Service Elevator Lobby.
Cars 2, 3 & 4 Door Frame Repairs
GOOD NEWS: Our team reported the repair to the door frame of car #1 was successful! Therefore they are scheduling to take each of the remaining passenger cars out of service, one at a time, to repair the same condition. For each passenger elevator, it will take about 25 hours for the needed work. One hour for the work and 24 hours for the sealant being used to cure. Elevator #2 on Monday August 24th, Elevator #3 Tuesday August 25th and Elevator #4 Wednesday August 26th. Work will begin mid to late morning each day.
As we previously reported, this is not a problem with the elevator itself, rather a panel that supports the stone frame, which is bowing-in just enough to rub up against the doors at the lobby level causing scraping as they open and close. Likely due to the expansion and contraction of the building over time.
We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while these efforts are coordinated.
The team at OTIS has advised us Car 6 will remain out of service, probably for several weeks. While troubleshooting recent issues the determined the ropes (sometimes referred to as cables) are wearing down and likely the cause of other problems they’ve had to address. On top of coordinating possible replacement of the ropes, they will be addressing any other conditions the ropes could have contributed to.
They’ve told us to expect that this won’t be a quick fix, given the complicated nature of pulling the old ropes and running the new ones. On top of that, they need to order the materials necessary to do the work, and address any ancillary conditions that may be found as this work is being conducted.
In the meantime, we strongly encourage residents going to the garage during the day, to use the Passenger Elevators (1 & 2 & 3 & 4), and then proceed to the Mall Elevators (7 & 8), which service 1P, 2P and the mall. Also, residents can access the laundry room and garage by going down the stairs in the Service Elevator Lobby.
Sadly, while not something done regularly, replacing the ropes on an elevator is not unexpected in its lifetime. This will be an inconvenient process, since this is the same elevator we depend on for moves, projects (like the Risers), and large deliveries. More information to come as we get confirmation of ordering and shipment of the new ropes. We will do our best to keep our online post updated with the latest, and any news or follow up will be referenced in the Weekly News & Updates.
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As of early evening on Friday August 14th, Elevator #4 was returned to service.
Also, over the next couple weeks, door repairs are being scheduled to Cars 1-4. Our team is attempting to address a condition that is causing the doors at the lobby level to rub up against the inner frame, scraping the paint.
First though, we are awaiting word about the problem with Elevator #6, which serves all floors and lower levels 1p & 2p.. There were reports of it not levelling appropriately before the door opens, which is obviously a safety concern. This could be a software issue or a problem with the ‘selector tape’, which is a device that tells the system the location of the cab.
Elevator #4 was taken out of service after “screeching” sounds were reported. We suspect this to be a problem with the rollers which run along the elevator tracks as they go up and down. There may be a failed bearing.
OTIS is presently addressing these conditions.
Our team is scheduling to take each car out of service, one at a time, to repair a condition with the door. Not a problem with the elevator itself, rather a panel that supports the stone frame, which is bowing-in just enough to rub up against the doors at the lobby level causing scraping as they open and close.
This condition is probably due mostly to the expansion and contraction of the building over time.
For each elevator, it will take about 25 hours for the needed work. They expect about an hour to make the needed repair, and 24 hours for a sealant being used to cure – then return the car to service. This will begin with Elevator #1 (serving the lobby and floors 2 to 23) on Wednesday August 19th at 9am, and they expect to return the cab to service on Thursday August 20th at 10am. They will evaluate whether the effort had the desired results, and if so then schedule the other elevators to follow, probably the week of August 24th.
We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while these repairs are coordinated.
