Building Maintenance in Omaha, NE – 2019

Protecting Your Property: How Proactive Building Maintenance Can Guard Your Health and Savings

The season of spring cleaning is fast approaching, but there are many problems that can affect a home or office that are not limited to one season. Health hazards like the flu virus and mold can cause lost work days and an untidy home or office can make guests or customers feel unwelcome. Omaha businesses with expertise in building maintenance spoke to Strictly Business about their advice for business-owners and homeowners who would like peace of mind knowing that their property is safe from the most common problems.

Exterior paint can both protect a building from the elements and provide an appealing, aesthetic look for house guests or customers. Casey Hansen is a longtime employee and part-owner of Gerst Painting, with experience working with homes and businesses. “As leaders in commercial and industrial painting services in Omaha, we recognize that regardless of size, every commercial business relies on dependable service from their vendors and contractors. At Gerst Painting, we understand and appreciate this business need. We offer premium craftsmanship from some of the most highly-trained professionals in the industry, backed by the best service in the Omaha Metro area,” says Hansen.

“Making an investment in painting and wallcovering can have an impact for our clients in multiple ways. Having a freshly-painted interior and exterior, with the right colors, not only enhances the image of the company in customers’ eyes, but also can increase the productivity of the employees. Investing in proper maintenance can also prevent more costly repairs down the line,” says Hansen.

Hansen gives this advice to building owners looking to preserve a clean, attractive look: “The most important areas to keep an eye on are the exterior (any rust, cracks, gaps, fading) and high-traffic interior areas.”

Hansen says a specialty of Gerst Painting is explaining the potential products which can preserve the life and value of a building’s protective paint coat. “We like to be involved in the planning and budgeting phase of the project to address any potential issues and offer our knowledge on products. Spending a little more on additional preparation or a better coating can extend the life of the project and save expense in the long run.”

No matter what project it is, it’s comforting to do business with a company that is build on strong family values.

Getzschman Heating is operated by brothers Scott, Ron, and David Getzschman. A few things to know about Getzschman include:

• All Getzschman employees receive in-house training and are considerate of their clients’ homes by always wearing shoe coverings before entering.
• They offer free estimates on equipment replacement costs to their customers any day or night of the week, based on the customer’s convenience
• They offer a lifetime guarantee on ductwork installations, are able to track all service and maintenance for the lifetime of your equipment, and offer a G-Force Membership agreement to prolong the life of your equipment and save on energy bills.

When you select Getzschman Heating to provide and install new equipment in your home, you not only acquire the products themselves, but you also gain a special status among all the customers they serve. You become a preferred member of their G-Force Membership V.I.P. client list. This special honor entitles you to additional benefits during the entire future of the business relationship. As that relationship develops, Getzschman will constantly search for new and better ways to serve you at a stress-free level.

Bob Sorensen is the president of FireGuard, Inc., which is headquartered in Omaha, and its sister company, Jacobsen Fire Equipment Company, LLC. Both companies are focused on the ultimate goal of keeping clients safe and protected at all times. Serving clients across the Omaha Metro and in Lincoln for over 24 years, FireGuard eliminates the need to contact multiple companies by offering complete life safety solutions. The locally owned and operated company designs, sells, installs, inspects and services all types of equipment. “With the motto ‘One Call Does It All,’ commercial clients in the area have access to a comprehensive line-up of products and services in the areas of fire protection and life safety. Our key offerings include fire alarm systems, fire extinguishers, fire sprinkler systems, and so much more. We also serve as a resource for any related products, services and inspections,” says Sorensen.

In order to comply with National Fire Protection Association mandates, property owners are urged to perform a fire-sprinkler inspection once every five years to ensure there are no blockages. Fire Guard first performs an initial inspection to look for debris, and a more thorough inspection only if needed. Sprinkler inspections are just one of the services FireGuard provides to ensure fire safety to a variety of business clients. A good step for businesses that want to avoid fines and penalties from a failed fire inspection is to request Life Safety Consulting from Fireguard. Conducted by experienced fire suppression and protection expert Alan Viox, the safety survey ensures that all parts of the building meet fire code.

Many institutional and commercial facilities are increasingly installing a new generation of water-efficient plumbing fixtures. By understanding the key maintenance considerations for each of these products, you will be better able to incorporate these considerations into technicians’ regular inspection and repair routines, and technicians will be more efficient in troubleshooting potential problems and stopping small issues before they become a major problem.

In August of 2012, Big Birge Plumbing was founded by Brad and Lallenia Birge, nicknamed “Omaha’s Plumbing Power Couple.” Brad Birge now has over 18 years of plumbing experience under his belt, while Lallenia helps run and operate the business. “I learned how to run a business from the back end, while Brad tested to get his master plumbing license,” Lallenia Birge tells us. “Before we knew it, we were business owners and Big Birge Plumbing was up and running!”

Big Birge Plumbing offers the following advice about eight common problems that are good indicators it is time to contact a plumber:

1. Standing water in your sink or tub is an obvious sign of a clog, but a slow flushing toilet or water backing up into several plumbing fixtures at once may also indicate a clogged drain. It is good practice to schedule a maintenance drain cleaning once a year to prevent from having a major issue occur.
2. Leaky faucets: The water waste can add up to a lot of money down the drain over time, thanks to increased utility bills.
3. Grease traps should be cleaned every few months: Most homes don’t need a grease trap since most home cooks don’t produce enough oil or grease to warrant one. For commercial businesses, however, having a grease trap is mandatory.
4. Look for small drips, rust or decay in pipes, or request a regular inspection: This can go a long way toward avoiding expensive water damage from unexpected bursts.
5. Frequently flooding basements: Whether your foundation is prone to flooding or you simply want peace of mind that your basement and foundation are protected, a sump pump may be an answer. This effective piece of equipment helps to collect excess water and deposit it far away from your property’s foundation in the event of a storm or other flooding. If you have a sump pump already a backup sump pump can be a life (and money) saver as well!
6. Toilets that clog or run incessantly: A clogged toilet is incredibly common and nothing to be ashamed of—it’s one of our most common job calls! Just remember flushable wipes are not really flushable and to be mindful not to put things down the toilets that don’t belong there.
7. Unusually long waits for hot water: If you don’t have any hot water, or it takes an unusually long time to reach even lukewarm temps, you likely have a malfunctioning hot water heater or may need an upgrade!
8. If you smell gas, get out of the house and contact MUD. Do not wait on this as this can be a very dangerous situation. They may need you to reach out to a plumber to remedy the situation, we’d love to help!

Large and growing businesses often have specialized technology and maintenance needs. Established in 1994, the mission of Engineered Controls is to offer building control solutions including system design, new construction and owner-direct retrofit sales, installation, repair service, and preventative maintenance work for smart buildings.

“The comfort and safety provided by proper maintenance of your building’s mechanical and electrical sub-systems enables you and your employees to give proper focus to your core business or mission,” writes Engineered Controls in a description of their services. “The bottom line of properly controlled and maintained building systems is maximum employee satisfaction, maximum productivity and cost savings.” One of Engineered Controls clients was Father Flanagan’s Boy’s Home, known around the world as Boys Town. “We spent most of the time listening,” said Pat Killeen, president of Engineered Controls. “It was essential to thoroughly understand Boys Town, and the pitfalls and problems with existing vendors and systems. Most of all, we needed to have a clear vision of what Boys Town wanted to achieve,” said Killeen. The purpose of this process was to help Boys Town integrate a comprehensive and cost-effective building system, which Engineered Controls continues to help them maintain efficiently.

Control Depot is a Honeywell Authorized Systems Distributor (ASD) serving Nebraska and the Midwest. Matt Holst is the general manager. “Unlike traditional wholesale distributors, Control Depot is bringing a new approach to the way contractors and owners do business. We are the first distributor in our area with a single focus on commercial and residential building control technologies, which allows us to better serve our customers with a level of product knowledge and support previously unavailable in the area,” says Holst.

The purpose of building automation controls is to provide control of the HVAC, lighting, and safety systems in a building. Building control is synonymous with the terms “smart building” and “smart home.” Whether working with residential home-owners or commercial businesses, Control Depot both sells basic products and replacements and helps growing businesses integrate their own solutions for building control technology.

“Keeping up with the technology and the company growth go hand in hand. Understanding what is in the box and how it works is paramount to our business. We provide solutions for our customers, not just part number replacement, and we facilitate solution-based thinking which always presents a challenge. We have a great group of employees and everyone spends a large amount of time in training to grow their product knowledge,” says Holst.

In 2018, Control Depot partnered with Prolon Controls to provide their entire line of HVAC temperature controls systems to their clients. Control Depot has also partnered with Contemporary Controls to offer their complete line of building automation peripheral products and solution. While these product offerings are wide and varied, Control Depot helps their customers by offering on-site training for the employees of their clients, warranty coverage on all parts associated with the system, consulting services with their engineers, and contractor programs to help businesses manage every aspect of building control and temperature maintenance.

Founded in 2017 by Jean and James Duffy, Real Property Management (RPM) Legacy of Omaha is a full-service real estate brokerage firm helping buyers, sellers, and investors manage their properties. President Jean Duffy says, “At RPM Legacy, our goal is to protect your investments and make you the most money…We also conduct move-in assessments and regular inspections, complete with photos, to make sure your property stays in good shape.”

While most of their clients are owners of residential properties and rental homes, RPM Legacy is experienced with different types of properties which require different approaches to management. RPM Legacy explains the custom services they offer to the following types of properties:

• Apartment complexes: The services we provide can include leasing agreements, rent collection, cash dispersal, and tenant relations and also 24 hour, seven days a week, maintenance and repair service.
• Common interest communities: Common interest communities include individually-owned units, shared facilities, and common areas in neighborhoods. Alongside the Board of Directors of your homeowners association, our professional property managers will manage the common areas (playgrounds, parking lots, swimming pools, and clubhouses) and ensure compliance to the governing documents of your community.
• Real estate owned (REO) properties: Foreclosed properties owned by a bank, government agency or government loan insurer can be found in nearly every neighborhood across the country. Bank REO properties are frequently in poor condition and need repairs and maintenance, both to satisfy property upkeep laws and to preserve the property’s value for selling purposes.
• Commercial property: A commercial property building often hosts a number of distinct tenants, for example, a shopping plaza may only be one building, but hosts a variety of businesses—each with their unique needs. As the property management company, we not only ensure each tenant is paying rent and other fees such as utility payments and CAM fees, but also ensure timely common area maintenance.

When choosing to invest financially in real estate, considering the type of property is essential to hire the correct maintenance specialists.

Whether it is plumbing, heating and air conditioning, or security, a house or workplace is often a complex system of parts. Keeping these systems maintained and replacing them when they expire protects the health and safety of the people who use the space, and can save money in the long run by preventing expensive disasters.