Current Press Releases
Ways to help you prepare your home for winter.
Date
18 November 2005
Friday 18 November sees the launch of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings' (SPAB) National Maintenance Week, for the fourth year running.
Damp might sound like a dry subject, but it's actually something that can drain a household's resources. Left untreated it causes a range of problems from serious structural damage to health concerns. This year SPAB's (The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) annual National Maintenance Week, 18 Nov - 25 Nov, will be focusing on damp and showing how thousands of pounds can be saved by householders, local authorities and housing associations by taking informed steps to fight it.
Dealing effectively and appropriately with damp is a key maintenance problem and this year SPAB is working with national expert Mike Parrett, also known as the ‘damp-doctor', to highlight the issue.
SPAB's damp-busting theme is part of a wider campaign to encourage homeowners (and people who care for public buildings such as churches, village halls and local authority properties), to be aware of the simple, economic and achievable maintenance steps they can take at the beginning of winter to stave off costly major faults and damage at a later date. SPAB is Britain's oldest conservation body fighting to save old buildings from decay and dereliction, but the message of National Maintenance Week is relevant to everyone who owns or cares for a property, whether it's 500-years-old or brand new.
Mike Parrett's pioneering work to dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings about damp, was featured in the hard-hitting BBC2 television series Raising the Roof . His approach is now accepted as established practice with his co-authored book Diagnosing Damp published by RICS (The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). As part of National Maintenance Week, SPAB, in association with Mike Parrett, will be releasing a resourceful and practical DVD presenting Mike's top 10 tips to prevent dampness in the home and encourage wising up to bad practice.
The prime aim of National Maintenance Week is to provide homeowners throughout the UK, not just those involved with older buildings, with practical tips and advice on maintaining their properties in preparation for winter.
Water damage is a particular concern - especially as the winter rains approach. The annual cleaning of gutters and drains can be much cheaper and less inconvenient than having to cope with a serious outbreak of dry rot in timber roof trusses following years of neglect.
National Gutters Day (Friday 25 November 2005) is a timely reminder to homeowners that just a few minutes spent clearing weeds and debris, or just a few pounds spent to mend a leaky gutter can save many hundreds, and possibly thousands of pounds!
"People have never been more interested in property and home design, but maintenance is still very much the Cinderella issue." says SPAB secretary Philip Venning. "Along with being daunted by the thought of maintenance, many householders put off this vital work seeing it as uninspiring or perhaps uninteresting. People can potentially save hundreds of pounds each year just by tackling a few simple tasks - and, in very real terms, that's money to spend on interiors and accessories.
On founding SPAB in 1877, William Morris spoke of the need to "stave off decay by daily care, to prop a perilous wall or mend a leaky roof". Maintenance is important to buildings of all ages and types and is as vital today as it was in Morris's time.
ENDS
For more information please contact Kate Griffin, SPAB press office, 0207456 0905 email: kate@spab.org.uk
Pictures available
Notes to Editors:
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) was founded by William Morris 125 years ago to care for and preserve the UK's architectural heritage. Since its foundation, SPAB has been committed to maintenance matters, in line with William Morris' exhortation to: "Stave off decay by daily care." Today it is a dynamic organisation, and registered charity (no. 231307), taking building conservation into the future. To find out more visit www.spab.org.uk / www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk
Mike Parrett is the driving force behind Damp Diagnosis Consultancy Ltd an independent company specialising in dampness investigations to buildings. His pioneering approach has won him national acclaim. He was the overall winner of the British National Building awards run by the Institute of Maintenance and Building Management (IMBM) in 1997 and a further IMBM award in 1999. He now travels throughout Britain, Europe and further afield investigating dampness in buildings for a range of clients, the majority of whom are social landlords, commercial property owners and private individuals. He has surveyed properties ranging from the 17th century to the present day. Mike's work was featured in the hard-hitting documentary Raising the Roof (1999) presented by Paul Kenyon, hailed as a piece of landmark journalism in exposing the widespread misdiagnosis of damp. He is currently working on a series of user-friendly DVD's on Building Pathology with Limelite Media. Visit www.buildingpathology.net for more details of the series.
National Maintenance Week and National Gutters Day 2005 are supported by Tuscan Foundry Products, Fullers Builders and Butler & Young Ltd. (BYL Group Plc).
