Ask Ashley

Ask Ashley: A Question About the Building’s Basement

Ashley's column appears irregularly, and only when she has been moved to write it. Members may submit questions through the Member Portal; the Society makes no promises about which ones are answered.

The Question
"Ashley — my husband says there might be a small data center in the basement of our building. The board won't confirm. I am noticing the water pressure is down on Saturdays. Am I being unreasonable?" — M., Burling Street
Ashley's Reply

You are not being unreasonable. The Society has been hearing from a number of Members on this matter, and we are taking it seriously enough to have launched a campaign about it, which I will not turn this column into a promotion for.

Ask the board, in writing, what equipment is in the basement and whether the building engineer has investigated the water pressure. A slow answer is frustrating, but it does not establish what is downstairs.

On the water pressure: keep a log. Time of day, day of the week, duration. Three weeks should be sufficient to establish a pattern, after which you may forward it, without commentary, to the board with a copy to your building's engineer. If the response is incomplete, the Society would be interested to hear about it.

Your husband may have heard something worth checking. I would establish where it came from before discussing it at the next building meeting.

— Ashley

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