Small home repairs that prevent expensive damage
In summary, if you put off a cheap job now, you could be in for an expensive repair later. We’ve seen some significant problems caused by the homeowner putting off small maintenance jobs or fixes. We know there’s always something more fun to do on your day off, but sometimes the jobs just need doing or there could be trouble ahead.
Do I need a regular maintenance plan for my home?
Yes. By regularly maintaining your property, you will save money in the long term.
Home maintenance checklist – UK residents
Some key maintenance jobs you might want to undertake on your property to try to prevent future works at greater cost are:
| Maintenance job | Why do it? |
| Make sure exterior paintwork on wooden doors and windows is kept in good condition | This will help to protect wood against the elements and potential rot and timber decay. |
| Check rendering if you have it, to see if it is cracking, loose, or easy to crumble | Water ingress into the cracks can cause the water to become trapped between the brickwork and the render. Eventually this will cause the render to fall away and where moisture is trapped this can result in penetrating dampness and internal damage. |
| Check to see if pointing is loose, or missing | Failing pointing can allow water penetration and damage to the bricks. There can be a risk that the face of the brick will be damaged by frost action causing spalling. |
| Check drainpipes and guttering – repair or replace them if they are leaking | Water can drain down the outside wall of your house eventually causing internal dampness.
If you have timbers built into it or next to the damp, timber decay and dry rot might develop. |
| Clear any blocked gutters (often an autumn job because of leaves | Blocked gutters provide ideal conditions for small plants to grow, making the blockage even bigger and leading to overflowing gutters. |
| Make sure that any overflow pipes that are dripping are dealt with | As water drips onto whatever is beneath it it will splash against your external wall causing the same issues as leaky drainpipes and guttering. |
| Check taps (especially those outside) aren’t dripping and that external taps have insulation | First, you’ll save a little money on your water bill, but you’ll also protect your outside wall from the risk of moisture ingress. And in the winter, an insulated tap is less likely to freeze and then burst. |
| Check and fix tile sealant and grout, especially around baths and showers | Regular maintenance and sealing can help prevent the grout from crumbling or cracking and the tiles from loosening, extending the life of your entire tiled surface and avoiding costly repairs or full replacements. |
| Have an annual boiler service and maintenance | Not only is it safe practice it ensures your boiler is checked for any ‘invisible’ issues and can be kept clean too. |
| Annual chimney sweep (if you have a working chimney in use) | This is critical to help ensure safety, maintain efficiency, and meet insurance requirements for your home. |
Should I fix problems when they arise?
We’re not saying fix every problem as soon as it arises. There are some things that you can ignore and they won’t ever cause expensive problems.
For example, you don’t have to fix the curtain pole that is coming away from the wall, or replace the bulb that’s gone in a kitchen cupboard. However, some jobs will prevent you from paying more out at a later date.
What are examples of cheap jobs that will prevent more expensive repairs in the future?
We have seen quite a few issues with poorly maintained properties when we have conducted building surveys in Kent and property surveys in London – take a look at our article on common defects found in our surveys for reference.
1. Leaky rainwater pipes hinder house sale
We discovered this on a house survey for a prospective purchaser. The rainwater pipe was in the rear corner of a modern home. The downpipe joint was open so water simply gushed down the wall rather than going to the drainage system.
All that was needed to repair the problem was to push the two parts back together – it was a simple repair. In fact, Steven Way (practice principal and one of our very highly qualified chartered surveyors) simply put the pipe together in approximately seven seconds (not that we do building work or that the repair was done with any liability, etc). Ideally, a small screw through the joint would secure it against slippage in the future.
However, although the fault was fixed, the damage was done. The pipe must have been like that for months. Now, the wall internally is damp where the outer leaf had become soaked from rainwater, and the cavity is bridged by poor construction, insulation and mortar droppings. That means a very expensive repair job for what could have been very cheap and simple.
The repair work that was needed meant that the kitchen units had to be taken out to get to the affected area so it could dry out and the wall could be repaired. Once completed, redecoration would have been required.
Not only that, this was the property of a homeowner looking to sell. The decision they had to make was whether to sell at a reduced value, or get the work undertaken properly in order to get their asking price from someone else, much later on.
2. Leaking gutter
We looked at a house that had penetrating damp caused by the owner not replacing the end cap on a gutter.
The missing end cap meant that the gutter water had dripped down the front elevation, where it then landed on a telephone junction box, from where it splashed back up the wall.
We believe this was left unchecked for well over a year. The problem had become complicated. The soft red bricks were saturated and had started to fail. This led to internal penetrating damp.
Repairs had to be made to the brickwork – cutting out and replacing the failed bricks. Internally, the plaster needed to be hacked off and replaced and then the room redecorated. We estimate this would cost at least £2000. If it wasn’t done quickly, the problem would only get much worse (and even more expensive to put right). And the £2 (ish) end cap would still need to be replaced!
How to prevent expensive house repairs
If you have a small job that needs doing, we advise not putting it off. All you’ll end up doing is creating a bigger problem later that is likely to be more expensive.
If you plan on selling, you’ll have a problematic surveyors report, which presents a risk to your sale.
Get a building survey with Collier Stevens
Collier Stevens provides homebuyer reports and building surveys across London and Kent. Get in touch to see how we can help today.
Steven Way
Steven Way BSc MIHEEM MFPWS MRICS is the Practice Principal and is a Chartered Building Surveyor. With over 35 years as a practicing surveyor, Steve has a wealth of experience and expertise in both residential and commercial building surveying, party wall advice and disabled access auditing. He has also built his reputation as an expert witness.