Current Press Releases
Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance! Protect your most valuable asset!
Date
13 August 2008
For most people their home is their most valuable asset. As the property market moves into uncertain times, the importance of good maintenance is critical and the practical message of SPAB's (The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings) annual National Maintenance Week has never been more vital. This year SPAB's campaign to offer practical information and support to anyone who cares for a property is supported by leading UK Builders' Merchant Jewson.
TV's Marianne Suhr, SPAB's roving education officer, explains: "Location, location, location, used to be the watchwords when it came to property, but this year we want people to think maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!"
"Your home is your most valuable asset and it makes sense to make sure it's looked after. If you don't need to sell your property at the moment, but want to ensure that it keeps its optimum value, one of the best steps you can take is to make sure that it is well maintained. Alternatively, if you are selling, a house that has been cared for is always going to be a more attractive prospect."
Now in its seventh year, National Maintenance Week (Nov 21 - 28) aims to provide homeowners owners (and people who care for public buildings such as churches, village halls and local authority venues), throughout the UK, with practical tips and advice on how to prepare their building to face the worst that winter can bring.
Relevant to properties of all ages, not just ancient ones, the annual campaign is designed to introduce people to the simple, economic and achievable maintenance steps they can take in autumn to stave off costly major faults and damage at a later date.
SPAB's dedicated website www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk is packed with helpful tips including Marianne's downloadable ‘Top to Toe' 10-Minute Home MOT checklist. Produced in association with Jewson, this an essential starting point for anyone daunted by maintenance and unsure just where to begin.
Best-known from TV's popular Restoration series, Marianne is also the co-author of a new book ‘Old House Handbook' to be published in the autumn - in time for National Maintenance Week. She says: "Many homeowners are daunted by maintenance and lack the confidence or knowledge to get to grips with it. National Maintenance Week is designed to provide encouragement along with straightforward information."
National Gutters Day (Friday 28th November 2008) 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!
For further information visit SPAB's dedicated National Maintenance Week website, www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk.
Notes to editors
SPAB's Top Tips for Gutters and Drainage Systems
- Every spring and autumn, clear any plants, leaves and silt from gutters, hopperheads, flat roofs and drainage channels.
- Look for blocked downpipes (best done during heavy rain to see water coming from any leaky joints - in dry weather look for stained brickwork).
- Keep gullies at ground level clear and have them cleaned out if necessary.
- Remove vegetation from behind downpipes by cutting back or removing the plant altogether.
- Use a hand mirror to look behind rainwater pipes as splits and cracks in old cast iron and aluminium often occur there and are not easily noticed.
- Fit bird/leaf guards to the tops of soil pipes and rainwater outlets to prevent blockages.
- Check that gutters junctions are watertight by watching them in rainy conditions.
- Have gutters refixed if they are sloping the wrong way or discharging water onto the wall.
- If sections are beyond repair, make sure that replacements are made of the same material as the originals (on older houses, this is sometimes lead, but more usually cast iron).
- Regular painting of cast iron is essential to prevent rust.
Remember to take care at all times, wear protective gloves when necessary and never work at heights or use ladders if you are alone.
Details of SPAB's National Maintenance Week, including further advice, top tips and useful dos and don'ts can be found at www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk.
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 a charitable company limited by guarantee - no. 111 3753 (SC 039244), taking building conservation into the future. To find out more visit www.spab.org.uk /www.maintainyourbuilding.org.uk.
Media contact: Kate Griffin, SPAB press office 0207 456 0905 (Mon/Tues/Weds).
