Spring has sprung: tips for your commercial property

The drier, warmer weather presents an opportunity to complete more of your commercial property maintenance in spring to reduce the backlog

Your commercial property gets regular use all year round, no matter the weather. However, common planned maintenance tasks, and even those upgrades you have been waiting to get completed, are better to tackle when the weather is dry and mild. At GWD Contractors, we see the drier, warmer months of May – September as an opportune time to take on roofing works, exterior cyclical decorations, external building fabric repairs and even simple fencing and boundary installations. In short, completing your commercial property maintenance in spring is a great idea!

Drier conditions

• Exposing roof spaces and building apertures is relatively less problematic when heavy rain and storms are less likely and therefore managing water ingress is more certain. While there are excellent solutions available to manage the impact of the elements, it is always less risky to tackle those overdue roof repairs when the sun  is (or at least should be!) shining.
• Engaging in groundworks, such as digging all-important foundations for that extension, can be not only difficult but hazardous when there is a greater chance of heavy rain. There is never any negotiation when it comes to the structural integrity of our work, so working in drier months is not only easier but often cheaper.
• Fixing leaks in your gutters and drains and isolating problems gets very difficult when it is raining and your gullies, downpipes and gutters are flowing full of rainwater. Rather than wait for a leak or blockage to cause a problem, have your gutters cleared or even a drone survey commissioned to make sure there are no problems developing so that future headaches can be avoided – of course, we can advise, so get in touch.

Milder temperatures

• Working in the ground is at best difficult and at worst impossible when the earth is so cold that it is almost as hard as concrete. Digging through earth when it is warmer and softer makes groundworks a great idea in the summer months.
• Applying finishes to external surfaces, be it render, cladding or even just paint, when the temperatures are low or fluctuating can result in poor adhesion and cracks; for the best finish avoid the cold months for external works.

More daylight hours

• For projects that do not naturally benefit from the convenience of internal lighting (usually external projects) can be much slower to complete when the days are short, especially in the very short days of winter. Now, there are solutions available to us, such as independent auxiliary lighting, but these types of considerations usually add cost to your maintenance or refurbishment project, as well as time. Need your commercial building extended? Go for a spring or summer start and you could save both time and money!
• During days when there is more daylight, we are able to plan disruptive tasks outside of normal working hours, without the need to work late into the night. Once your office is closed for the day, we can start work on elements of your refurbishment or repairs that would have otherwise displaced people from the property. We will always coordinate the most disruptive of works to take place at the most convenient time, however, more daylight hours gives us much more flexibility to do so.