MassLandlords.net Testimonial: Dropped Ceiling Disaster

When some Massachusetts tenants woke up, they headed into the kitchen to a nightmare. Their dropped ceiling had collapsed overnight!  What happened next speaks well of our members and of the value of membership. We're sharing what they told us as a MassLandlords.net testimonial.

This is the actual picture they texted to their landlord, who is a MassLandlords.net/WPOA member, at seven on a Thursday morning.

The landlord immediately responded.

They canceled everything for the day and turned off the power to the ceiling until the lighting fixture could be inspected and secured.  The landlord tried to shore up the fallen end of the ceiling, but when it was touched, the ceiling unzipped completely.

They then called another MassLandlords.net member for emergency help. They knew one another from meetings they both attended. Together they located two professionals experienced with dropped ceilings. By 11am the old dropped ceiling had been demolished and any possible lead paint chips from the old plaster ceiling above had been carefully removed.  (The unit has a delead certificate, but the presence of lead for the ceiling above was "unknown."  The dropped ceiling was in place during inspection. The debris was assumed to be contaminated and handled safely.)

By 5pm, within ten hours of the disaster text, the kitchen had been restored to new.  That's good service! Without help from the other landlord to locate more hands, the most that would have been accomplished was removal of debris.

The cause of the collapse was believed to be the use of bent nails instead of hooks and inadequate suspension wiring.  This problem was inherited from the previous owner.  As the nails came unbent, the ceiling gradually unzipped, until finally giving way.

This testimonial highlights the benefits of connections to other landlords and industry service providers. Sometimes you can't do it alone!