Autumn and spring are the ideal times, just before the weather turns colder, to give your home some last minute routine maintenance in order to avoid costly repairs and replacements in the future. To keep your house in the peak of condition there are certain inspections and maintenance tasks that need to be undertaken periodically and it is considered good practice to create a maintenance routine to care for your home, checking off and dating tasks as they are completed.
By maintaining the structure, appearance and operation of your home you will retain or even enhance its value. If you are fortunate, this may only involve some routine DIY visual checks, cleaning gutters and drains and clearing the seemingly never-ending autumn debris and leaves, all of which can be performed by the family on a clear bright day. However, some may require professional assistance which can be perceived as expensive but will, ultimately, save fortunes on costly repairs and replacements or even emergency call outs.
Whilst we may be quite thorough about periodic maintenance that involves the interior of our houses, cleaning and vacuuming and ensuring that our electrical appliances and heating are regularly checked and serviced, the exterior of our properties can suffer from neglect as the resulting damage caused by poor maintenance may take some time to emerge. Such neglect can create an emergency situation when roofs leak during heavy rainfall, gutters or drains become blocked creating flooding and water penetration and unchecked paintwork can make your home susceptible to expensive rot, fungal attack and decay.
To ensure longevity of service, the exterior joinery on your property should be the subject of regular maintenance and inspection, most especially at the beginning and end of winter when damage by rain, wind and sun may become evident. The most important elements to maintain on your windows and doors are the coating system and the hardware although we would advise checking and cleaning the entire unit, internally and externally, including the glazing unit and weatherseals for any sign of deterioration. Water penetration in wood beyond the exterior coating will result in fungal attack, rot and decay and, therefore, a painted or stained finish should be repaired or re-applied once this becomes compromised. Please refer to our guide to Joinery Maintenance for further information and guidance.
The advantage of timber joinery is that it can be repaired by a carpenter on site if the damage is not significant but prevention is always better (and cheaper) than cure. Inevitably, however, windows and doors may require replacement and this can be undertaken throughout the year as, contrary to popular belief, we find that as many installation days are lost during the summer months due to poor weather conditions as in the winter months. Replacing rotten timber windows could offer the opportunity to upgrade thermal efficiency, functionality and security. For further information and a quotation call us on 01273814870 or for further information refer to our guide Replacement Windows.
