For most in the commercial property sector, the winter and Christmas period is a chance to put your feet up after a long year and enjoy the seasonal break…. But, if you have empty properties in your portfolio or have been like Scrooge with some maintenance costs throughout the year, early-December is a perfect time to prepare your properties and avoid disasters interrupting your turkey sandwiches over the Christmas period.
Being regularly involved in repairing buildings as part of insurance claims, Lantern Building Consultancy’s Martin Smith knows that Winter is usually the ‘season of claims’ and takes a look at various things you may do to prepare your buildings for the season and year ahead…
Check Insurance
First things first, most property owners have building insurance policies, which should cover the worst of any problems, but policies tend to include a list of things that you must do when a property is empty for your insurance to remain valid. It might be sensible to review this, if you do have any voids within your portfolio and make sure that you’re in compliance with the policy, actioning an area where you are not, before the Winter arrives. Non-compliance may lead to insurance providers rejecting your claims.
Of course, in all instances; it is much better to prevent a disaster than it is to deal with one, so there are also a few simple checks that you can do before something goes wrong, to make sure that there are no impending problems on the horizon, ready to reveal themselves in the colder weather:
Roofs and Gutters
Water ingress is most commonly caused by leaks in the roofs and gutters, i.e. those parts of the building in the firing line of any wet, winter weather. By checking the condition of your roof and having gutters cleared of autumn leaves before the worst of the winter weather arrives you will be able to identify any existing or impending disrepair and commission any works that are needed to keep your roof water tight throughout the Winter.
The inspections should also identify any loose roof coverings that may otherwise be torn away in windy conditions. As a worst-case scenario, sheeted or panelled roofs may be susceptible to complete removal by high winds and the fixings / bonding of the covering to the structure and/or supports of the roof should also be checked at the same time.
It is also worthwhile considering that in periods of snowfall, roofs and gutters have to carry more load than throughout the rest of the year. Pressure from high winds can also overload the roof and lead to its collapse or its removal and so structure and fixings should also be checked with these factors in mind too.
High Level Masonry and Chimneys
Windy weather alone can cause collapse of exposed elements of the buildings, like chimneys, aerials and any other high portions of the property. A thorough inspection will allow you to plan and commission any repair works before the worst weather arrives, specifically things that are either out of repair or insecure. Frosty conditions can also worsen the condition of insecure masonry via “freeze thaw” action and so those inspections should endeavour to look ahead a number of months to assess their likely condition at the end of the winter in order to determine as to whether or not is should be repaired now.
“Freeze thaw” action can cause large stones or portions of brickwork to fall to the ground, creating a risk to people or property below, which obviously creates a more significant problem than just an insurance claim, but such disrepair can be simply sorted via relatively minor repairs or replacement, if surveys are carried out in advance of the Winter.
Before readying your marshmallows, it would also pay to ensure that chimneys are swept before the winter arrives so that you can be sure that you’re not at risk from chimney fires.
Drains
After the annual Autumnal leaf drop and with the onset of wet and wintry weather, drains will be at their most stressed state. It is sensible to have the drains checked for blockages or disrepairs and cleaned out at the end of each Autumn. This should ensure that the drains are able to cope with the increased surface water discharge without, backing up, overflowing, causing leaks or other more significant problems.
External Grounds
The colder weather increases the risk of slips on frozen pavements, so it is best to stock up on salt to keep those pavements and car parks free from ice.
The darker nights also increase the need to light pavements and grounds to avoid trips and slips in the early mornings and evenings. The light fittings in the grounds of property should be checked to ensure that they are working before being needed and that the lighting diffusers are cleaned such that the illuminate the paths without any dark spots.
On larger scale areas, ground susceptible to flooding can also be improved by installation of land drains or flood mitigation systems.
November is also an ideal time to prune older or insecure branches of trees that would otherwise become loose and dangerous during periods of high winds. Obviously, falling branches can create extensive damage and so its best to identify loos, rotten or damaged branches, removing the same before they cause any harm to people or property nearby.
Building Services
Perhaps the most common problem with empty buildings during winter is damage caused by bursting pipes. Generally speaking, the bursting of pipes is caused by freezing of water within the pipes. This can cause untold damage and take months to dry out and remedy.
Yet, freezing pipes can be avoided by using simple methods of insulating pipes and ensuring that pipes are either drained or that the temperature around the pipes is maintained above freezing levels. Checks should be made to ensure that all water pipes fall into either category. This includes pipes within attics and roof voids or any areas outside of the insulation layers of the property.
The solution to the problem here is very minor indeed and the cost of effectively protect the building is far less than the likely cost of remedy should pipes burst. A sensible review of the heating and water systems in a property will readily identify any areas that need improvement.
Security
The darker evenings also provide good cover for criminals attempting to break into properties. Consideration should be given to improving security lighting, checking and securing locks and protections that may have failed or become inoperable during the year. A thorough review of your security protection systems could identify areas relatively low cost improvements to the existing arrangement.
It is also a sensible time to consider investment in security systems for any buildings, given that they may be empty for a period of weeks over the Christmas period.
Finally…
Before you turn on your Christmas lights, please check that the electrical system can take the required load and that it has suitable protection in case of faults or damage to the external wiring. It might also be sensible to consider the installation of external weather protected sockets, specifically for Christmas lights, to ensure that windows don’t require being left open for wiring to pass through (i.e. creating a security risk) or to mitigate trailing wires leaving trip hazards in the external grounds.
Hopefully, if you consider and follow the above checklist, your Christmas will be an uninterrupted merry break, but if you do need any advice or specific surveys to help you during the Winter period, contact Lantern Building Consultancy for fast and efficient assistance.
If you unfortunately suffer property damage over the Winter period, Lantern Building Consultancy can also help you make a claim and commission remedial works under your insurance policy (generally free of charge to you under most policies) and lead you through the process of putting the building back into repair.
