Tenant is upset because he temporarily can't use the basement due to mold remediation, or his porch because his porch chairs and other furniture is pointy and the new porch is rubber.

Same one who was complaining about his heat being so high, when in fact it is low by any standards and he is out of touch.

I pointed him to his lease and gave him the "happy clause". I sure hope he takes it; another case for month to month leases.

We are looking for something thick to properly protect the surface of the rubber porch. Any ideas of what others have used?

The rubber is made in two thicknesses, 30 and 60. We bought the 60 mil. Don't remember what they called it. We have it on the three car garage roof, same property. We put it on because all contractors we talked to said it was the best for water tight, but not if poked through, and the point was to prevent leakage into the room beneath the porch.

Should we just buy him a couple of chairs and table? It's very likely his current furniture scratched the previous porch up.

We don't have a fence up yet; the fence that was there is no longer sold by the manufacturer and other fences are not compatible with the posts. What we need is special order now.

OREO,

It sounds like this is a roof deck with EDPM black Firestone rubber roofing.

Perfectly OK to say he cannot use chairs that would damage the material. He KNOWS they are a problem. Like ya can't use ice skates on a wood floor.

Basement: how long has it been? Remediation should take a day or two unless your are tearing out material and re-building.

Don't let this get under your skin, he's just being a jerk. (Unless the basement is an integral part of the home such as a finished room advertised as part of the home)

Heat: no sweat (get it...I made a pun!) People like to complain. Know you did the right thing and move on.

Happy Clause is proactive and fine if it gives you peace of mind. It often stops the complaining.

BRAD

PS Sometimes it just feels good to take back control!

Being a good manager means making the hard decisions that others don't like.

PPS A proper Happy Clause needs a firm deadline such as May 31.

BRAD: Thanks for helping keep me sane. Yes that is what it is just hadn't pulled out the paperwork.

The rubber roof was the first thing we did to stop water from getting in the room below. Second thing was to tear out most of the wood in the entire basement as it tested a specific mold older and very young are susceptible. Third thing we did was to have asbestos removed and mold remediation done in the room under the rubber roof once the room had been completely, professionally dried out. Asbestos tiles had to be removed so the drain tile could be done safely. Then drain tile put in; that was where the problems began as the company did not come when they said they would; yes things happen, but threw off all the other contractors. So the mold remediation in the basement won't happen until the drain tile company finishes up. Then, yes a day for basement mold remediation.

The first two days of drain tile work uncovered a previous drain tile had been done, not surrounding the outer wall edge as is usual, but two feet in. Much more work than expected by everyone. The company knew what to do as they see one of these every 10 years they said. At any rate the old drain tile was no longer working as it was clogged.

No matter what, everything we did had to be done for the longevity of the building. With rains and weather getting

more unpredictable. My plan is not to rebuild; hubby has his ideas. The room under the rubber roof will be a total rebuild as we had to remove all walls due to the leaking.

EDPM roofs even with 2 layers are not designed to have furniture of any type placed on them. They are also not intended to be walked on except for the occasional service work being performed.

There are special walk pads made that can be placed on top of rubber roofs. it's very common to see them on large rubber roofs to provide a way to access & to provide a puncture resistant work area for roof top air handlers & other equipment. You could use the same or similar pads to help prevent damage to the new rubber roof from furniture, high heels, dropped items, etc.

Try searching for rubber floor mats to protect rubber roofs. Any wholesale supplier of rubber roofing would have them. However, most of the big box stores as well as Target & Walmart carry similar interlocking mats that could be used for this at a more reasonable cost.

NE (PA) To clarify, put down as a porch floor. The company work is high quality and not the only company we had to assess the situation.

It's done frequently here in Wisconsin, I know of several as I write. We could have put a tin floor on, like what was in good shape and taken off, but they need more attention and end up leaking. Either way it's a catch 22.

Those hook-together square pads like plenty mentioned might work.

Oreo [WI], for clients we've built wooden decks on top of rubber roofs. We use a piece of scrap rubber to go under each floor joist / sleeper. This act as a slip sheet to lessen the chance of the deck framing abrading the rubber roof. We also assemble it so it can be easily removed for maintenance.

On my own house above our kitchen, we have a fiberglass deck that you can access from the second floor. Other than occasionally power washing it, it's been trouble free since I installed it over 40 years ago.

NE (PA: Too late NE! We have a rubber deck on another upper rental for years. We put the rubber squares together as some have mentioned. Just went over now to recheck them. Altho they pop apart in places, she put a thick rug over them to keep them mostly in place. No damage there, but she also has different furniture that is not pointy.

We purchased a couple roll coverings that may work, but I'd want him to then put something rubber on each leg of his furniture. I like the round pcs idea. Depends how many people he is planning on having over at a time on that deck.

STEVE: Never heard of a fiberglass deck; interesting. We do have the door secured with CAUTION tape in place until we find a railing system that will work.

MC: Tenant got back to me saying we don't need to talk about moving yet, but if he doesn't have a storage area and patio we will need to discuss a new lease or cost per month if I won't have those anymore like I am saying.

I didn't say those things; I said we are looking at options and that options take time. Then I replied, the only option I am offering is to let you out of your lease. He knows he has a good deal and wants to renegotiate. NO, just get off my back already (I'm thinking this, not saying it; remaining professional.)

If the rubber is that fragile I would think it best for you to find a more permanent alternative.

Little chance that a tenant is going to care about tearing the rubber. Either something needs to cover it for protection or lock the access door for good.

Going back to repair water damage again in five years will not be worth it.

OREO,

I am cornfused. Is this EDPM black rubber the surface for a ground level deck, perhaps used to shoo the water away from the house?

or a second story walk out deck over a roof?

Steve is right - even the 60 weight is not meant for foot traffic let alone chair feet of ANY kind. MY EDPM is installed over styrofoam to "cushion and protect" the bottom side of the EDPM.

If you want this area to be available for people, get it covered with a thick outdoor rug, Astroturf, or those heavy duty rubber pads that lock together like the ones under the lifting weights in a gym.

Lowes sell heavy, thick rubber patio squares near the pavers. They also have some jazzy plastic woven rugs for outdoors.

Putting pads on his furniture feet will fall off or he will refuse. YOUR solution must work for any furniture, his and future residents.

Hang in there and install something that will protect your investment, endure stupid tenant tricks, and let your sleep at night.

ZERO I don't think it is that fragile, but I like your idea if he isn't conducive to taking care of it I can offer him that.. There is a 10 year warranty on it; our other rubber roof has lasted over the 10 years with no damage or leaking below.

BRAD: This is a second story walk out porch over a bedroom. I will need to double check this with hubby, but when we met the project manager, he said there would be foam, I think styrofoam, under the rubber roof. I remember wondering why they would do that as it seemed odd to me.

We continue to look; we need to go to Lowes for the rock wool that ROBERT (Ontario) told us about for insulating the room below so we'll check out the patio squares and rugs you mention.

BRAD: Just checked with hubby and yes, the roof was properly installed with a foam underlayment on top of the plywood covering the porch, and then the rubber roof for longer wear. That still does not absolve a tenant for care in how he or his guests use the porch.

MC: He is not M2M. I did not give him a date yet. I don't want him there period. So if my happy clause expires, then he can stay and make life miserable. I have nothing to evict him on at this moment, however during his tenancy he has ignored parts of his lease that compromise the building. When discovered I did a face to face reminding him of that. He pushed back on that. Another thing he accused us of doing and yelled at us. So I don't expect anything different with this. Kind of a three strikes and you are out.

NE (PA) There is a front hallway exit to outside and a back hallway exit to outside, so that may not apply?

As long as you have a window of proper size you have egress.

OREO [WI], the fiberglass roof that I mentioned having at my own house was actually made in place from resin & mat & gelcoat similar to the way you'd made a boat.

I'm curious does this tenant or his guests ever smoke on this rooftop deck? I know of several roof top deck fires that were caused by butts being dropped onto leaves that hadn't been cleared from the roof.

IMO if they do smoke, then the sooner you eliminate the deck & replace the door with an egress size window the better.

Steve: I agree.

We don't allow smoking anywhere on the property. The porch roof included. While he doesn't smoke and neither did the last tenant, that didn't prevent the last one from putting a fire pit on there. And would he tell friends not to smoke?

The ball is in his court. I'm hoping he spent the last couple days looking for a new place instead of with some lawyer.