Apartment too hot! Any laws I can quote to my landlord?

[scarberiankhatru]

If you have a sliding door leading out to a balcony, keeping that open can be enough to counter the rising heat (not sure about on the top floor, though), especially if it faces west-ish to let in a strong cold breeze.

 

[Chuck100]

If you have a sliding door leading out to a balcony, keeping that open can be enough to counter the rising heat (not sure about on the top floor, though), especially if it faces west-ish to let in a strong cold breeze.

That would not work in this case. The air inside a building is warm and light, the air outside is cold and dense. Somethign you can all picture is a straw filled with air submerged in water. The second you remove your fingers, water quickly leaves through the top of the straw only, and the straw fills up with water from the bottom.

Buildings work the same way because the inside fluid, warm air, is less dense than the outside fluid which is cold air. No matter how large the window, you can't overcome physics! Don't rely on wind either. Not only does the wind have to be strong enough to overcome the positive pressure inside your appartment, but you would have to be on the windward side of the building too. Chances are these conditions don't occur often.

Something you might want to check is the emergency staircase. Open up the door and you'll be blasted with air leaving the stairwell. The opposite thing will happen on the main floor, where air will be sucked into the stairwell.

 

[TdotTrickyRicky]

MetroMan,

I am not aware of any maximum temperature laws that apply in the same way that the minimum temperature settings do. Residential thermostats generally have maximum setting in the 80-90 degrees (or low 30's celsius) which is uncomfortable but not threatening in terms of health and safety. Information of this kind can probably be found at the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal website www.orht.gov.on.ca

 

[scarberiankhatru]

"That would not work in this case."

It did in my case.

 

[Chuck100]

It did in my case.

In a worst case scenario it wouldn't work that well, however not all situations are worst case. With proper seals between each floor, it's not possible for these conditions to set up, which means that opening a window would work just fine. If your building is shorter or you live either in the lower half or not far from the middle then you should have no problems either. Also, colder outside temperature amplify this problem which by the way is called the stack effect.

 

[JoeyCuppa]

In that case, get growing on a solution

Yeah, you could make some extra money, without the telltale hydro bills that tip of the authorities! Hahaha.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

I was only on the 4th floor in an 8 storey building in a west-facing unit, so the cold air blowing in the sliding door was more than enough to counter the heat (the shape and location of the building ensured a pretty steady breeze and the building was not pressurized, like some newer buildings are), but this may not work with windows, even a lot of them, because they don't reach from the ceiling to the floor. In my case there was plenty of rising heat but it was far from the pressure cooker effect MetroMan describes.

 

[Chuck100]

4th floor in an 8 storey building

There's your answer. The middle floor of a building is on the neutral pressure plane, which means that the air pressure inside is exactly the same as the air pressure outside. That's why air is able to move freely in your appartment. But if you were on the top or the bottom floor, air would flow into or out of the entire window area no matter what its height may be.

 

[MetroMan1000]

I never thought my simple question would result in a two page discussion on how heat affects air pressure therefor resulting in different temperatures on each floor. Wow. :smokin

 

[maxy505]

chuck, I think you're right that opening a window wouldn't work because of the positive internal pressure, but the opening of a balcony door is so big that no significant pressure differential can be maintained (unless maybe your front door was open too, allowing unfettered flow) and turbulent effects will distribute the cold air into the apartment.

That's what happens on my 20th floor penthouse (but not the expensive kind) condo anyways. It gets pretty hot in there but when I open the door just a crack it will get frigid.

 

[MetroMan1000]

New Problem! >:

The building is under re-construction. They've been renovating all the suites and common areas from a government housing type style to a condo grade standard.

I'm guessing that the construction on the building are bringing out what's been hiding inside.

Cucarachas! Roaches! Bugs! EWWW!

Thank God for the dust buster! I'm catching on average 10 per day. I arrive home at night and see them crawling around. Luckily I can just suck them into the dustbuster. I would be very disturbed if I had to crush each one. yuck!

Now, is there an obligation from the landlord to clean the building from these bugs? Or is it my obligation to get an exterminator?

 

[building babel]

You're on your own.

The only thing that stands between you and them is .... Roach Motel - They Check In But They Don't Check Out.

 

[W. K. Lis]

September 15. Landlord MUST turn on the boiler or furnace by now. MUST have a minimum temperature of 21°C. Large buildings should switch from air conditioning to heating.

Forecast for Saturday, September 28, 2019, a high of 28°C. See link.