Dryer vent access on multi-story properties
First and second floor from the exterior. Third floor and up from inside the unit. Knowing that before you count means the quote holds.
Calls answered 7am to 8pm · same-day service usually available
Tell us units and floors.
What we can reach, and what we cannot
Worth knowing before you count, because floors change how a property gets scheduled.
First and second floor vents we ladder from the exterior. That is the bulk of the multifamily stock in this valley and it is straightforward work.
Third floor and above needs interior access. The vent may be reachable in theory from a lift, and nobody wants a lift tracking across a complex's landscaping, through the irrigation, over the pavers and past the pool fence. On most properties it is not practical and on plenty it is not possible.
So third floor and up, we work from inside the unit. That means the resident is home, or maintenance lets us in, or the work happens at turnover. It is a scheduling problem rather than a technical one, and it is solvable when everybody knows about it in advance. Stacked units up there are $99 each, because pulling them out from inside is the slow part.
That is why floors are one of the numbers we ask for. What we will not do is quote a property as though it is all exterior work and then discover the third floor. That is how a job stalls and how a manager ends up explaining a change order.
The dryer still runs on interior work
The dryer runs while we clean from outside, so loosened lint leaves the duct instead of sitting in it. Why that matters.
Why access belongs in the quote, not the invoice
The failure mode is predictable. A contractor bids a property as though it is all exterior work, gets to the third floor, and comes back asking for more money or a change order.
That is your problem to explain, not theirs. So floors are one of the numbers we ask for, and the access assumptions are written into the quote. If the third floor needs coordinated interior access, that is on the page you hand your owner.
What we do not touch
Individual systems only, not large rooftop units, chillers or built-up air handlers. What we do and do not touch.
Questions
Why not just use a lift for the third floor?
Because it has to get there. Across the landscaping, over the irrigation, past the pool fence, around the parked cars. On most complexes it is impractical and on plenty it is impossible, and the damage bill is yours rather than ours.
So how do third floor units get done?
From inside the unit. Resident home, maintenance letting us in, or at turnover. It is a scheduling problem rather than a technical one and it is solvable when everybody knows in advance.
What if a resident will not let us in?
It gets marked not accessed on the record and we come back, or it gets caught at turnover. What we will not do is mark it serviced.
Calls answered 7am to 8pm · same-day service usually available
Call or text your unit count, 7am to 8pm.