Maintenance
The long term value of regular preventative maintenance on your home or other property cannot be over-emphasised. This contrasts with the cost of corrective maintenance where elements of the fabric of a structure have decayed to such a point where renewal or major repairs become the only option.
If preventative maintenance is carried out properly, it will reduce the probability of decay or damage arising from neglect and these associated costs. It is likely that a regular maintenance clause is contained within your building insurance policy, so that it becomes your responsibility to ensure that your property is maintained in a ‘good condition’.
There are several elements to preventative maintenance that you need to consider on a regular basis, and at Erwood & Morris Ltd we can help you with most of these:
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Whether you have lead, cast iron or plastic gutters. A damaged or blocked gutter, outlet or downpipe can have severe consequences if left unaddressed.
The regular inspection, clearing of debris and minor repairs to rainwater goods, needs to be carried out regular intervals depending on a variety of factors, from proximity to trees, to problems with nesting birds etc.
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Repoint any eroded pointing or open joints, and keep an eye on any cracks. Cut out and replace any frost damaged blocks and always make sure that the ground level is kept well below any dpc level.
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With regular redecoration and minor maintenance external joinery such as timber windows and doors, fascias etc. can outlast their modern counterparts.
Leave them untouched for too long and repairs and corrective maintenance can soon become necessary.
It should also be remembered that carrying out this redecoration work correctly by properly preparing the surfaces and applying the correct number of coats will extend the lifespan of the painted finishes and reduce the frequency at which these redecoration works will need to be carried out.
You may think that a saving in cost by only applying one undercoat and one top coat is cost effective, but this may not be the case in the long run if the maintenance of the external joinery has to be completed on a much more frequent basis.
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As a ‘gas safe’ registered contractor with our own trained and permanently employed gas engineer we can carry out servicing of your gas and LPG fired boilers, fires and cookers.
It is recommended that you have these items checked on a regular basis, and it is a legal requirement for any landlord to have these items tested and certified on an annual basis. We can do this and issue a landlords certificate.
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We are not NICEIC registered but as a building contractor with projects permanently on the go, we have close contacts with several registered electricians who we can arrange to inspect and test your existing electrical installation for a fee.
This test will provide you with certificates of compliance or highlight areas where your current installation requires attention (either urgently or is recommended, to comply with the 17th edition of the IEE wiring regulations).
This list is not exhaustive and there are plenty of other things that need to be considered, such as impact of trees and vermin, ensuring adequate ventilation etc.
‘Prevention is the best cure’ and to do this, the best thing to do is to regularly visually inspect your property for any indicators that a problem may be occurring, and to have any potential problems looked at as soon as possible to avoid more expensive repairs or future damage occurring.