College dorm rooms sustain immense pressure throughout the year. Unlike regular homes, college dorms are renowned for being party central, which can lead to excessive wear and tear with time. Even for those students who are more focused on their studies, the busy lifestyle that this can bring often means dorm rooms and common areas are subjected to much more extreme rigors than the average room. College repair teams and maintenance staff spend much of the close season repairing dorm rooms for the next intake of students, and depending on the damage caused by the previous tenants, this can be a significant challenge. In some extreme cases, dorm rooms may even be vandalized, or left in an unfit state for new students to move in.
Vandalism and deliberate damage are by no means the most common cause of repair work in college dorms, but they can require a much more hands-on approach from college repair staff. In general, the issues tend to be around more general wear and tear, and staff need to ensure they are identifying and solving these problems quickly ahead of the new intake arriving for another year.
One of the most common areas for repair around college dorms are communal kitchens and food preparation areas. If you imagine a microwave being used every single day during a year, that alone should not be enough to create maintenance issues. But if you then imagine 50 students sharing the same facilities, it becomes much easier to see why these issues can arise. Dorm room appliances are often low-cost too, which means they have a shorter shelf life than the kind of products you might invest in for your home. This means maintenance is required on a more ongoing basis, and repair work may be needed more frequently to keep on top of these problems.
Another common issue for dorm rooms is the need to repair the windows, doors and other fixtures and fittings. These are the fixtures of the property that will be used more than others, and because of the nature of student dorms, they can regularly reach a stage where they need immediate maintenance attention. Window shutters too can become detached or loose over time, and repair teams are tasked with making sure these are safely secured, so the dorm room is habitable in time for its new tenants. Window shutters in Houston, TX can be an effective replacement where a maintenance job just won’t do, and it does not have to be a costly upgrade. These can be fitted in a matter of minutes, and the whole job could be completed within a little over an hour, leaving plenty of time for the repair team to turn their attention elsewhere.
Toilet and shower facilities are another area which commonly require specific attention. These are often neglected throughout the year, and at best are handed over to cleaning and maintenance teams in a filthy condition. This can also prove one of the most costly areas of expenditure for college repairs, given the costs of fitting out a new bathroom suite. In most cases, a few minor repairs will be required to keep the bathroom and toilet facilities in a usable condition, and the earlier these are acted upon, the better.
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In some cases, there may be more extreme damage to dorm rooms, either from excessive partying or from intentionally damaging the property and its effects. This is a sad state of affairs, but different students have different ideas of boundaries and levels of acceptability in how they treat college property. It is commonplace to ask for a security deposit on move in, often equivalent to a month’s or a month and a half’s rent, which students will pay before signing their tenancy agreement. This can be used to offset any costs incurred over the period, as well as to account for any rental arrears accrued at that time.
College dorm rooms play host to a wide and varied range of activities, not all study-based. This means that in practice, these rooms are often tested to their limits, with residents generally more concerned with having fun than with looking after college buildings. This means that for the repair teams, it is often a daunting task to get everything up to speed, and ready in time for the next wave of students to move in. Over time, dorm rooms can feel the toll of many different residents and constant occupancy. But with the right repair work and timely maintenance projects, it can still be possible to extend the lifespan of college dorm rooms.
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