4 Easy Steps to Protect Yourself & Your Home from the Winter

While it’s easy for you to wrap up warm or stay inside, your home isn’t as lucky and will face the worst of what the British weather has to offer. In preparation for the rain, snow, strong winds and whatever else may be looming; Affleck has compiled some simple tips in order to help you take care of your home this winter.

1. Roofing Damage: Inspect now

For those of you who were confident enough to brave the cold and lace your homes with outdoor Christmas lights and decorations, you might know the condition of your roof.  For those without the Christmas bling look out for:

• Any visibly loose or broken tiles
• Signs of moss build up/blocked gutters:
  • Overflowing gutters
  • Warped or sagging gutters
  • Visible wet patches on the walls
  • Discoloured paint/walls
  • Wet external walls/penetrating damp
  • Damp basement
• Check your attic for any wet spots or beams of light from the ceiling as this would suggest that there are holes in the roof

If you see any of these it’s a strong indication that repair work is in order.   A small tweak now might save you from serious damage when the weather turns nasty.  We’ve had tens of customers in the last week who left it too late and now having to do major repairs.

If you need any help with your roof call Wayne - Affleck's Head of Roofing - on 0208 971 7000 or follow our Guide on How to Clean Your Gutters.

2. Prevent Burst Pipes: Drain the System

Burst pipes are a common problem during the winter months.  The burst is usually caused when the water in pipes expands when it freezes and cracks the pipe. We suggest that if you’re going to be away from your home for a while, it's worth turning the flow of water off from the stopcock and letting the remaining water in the pipes out through the taps – ensuring that there is no water in the pipes to freeze.  Pipe insulators can be used to avoid frozen pipes, particularly in exposed areas.  In general your central heating is enough to keep your pipes safe.

3. Avoid a Slippery Path or Drive:

After it has snowed your local council will usually place salt and grit down on main roads and popular pedestrian paths in order remove the danger of falling over. If you are unfortunate the snow can cause extremely slippery surfaces on the paths leading to and from your home. If the council doesn’t place salt and grit down in these areas you can use cat litter or sand instead.  You can pick up a bag of sand for around £5 from hardware stores or even order from Amazon; a good thing to have by the front door.  You can even keep the spirit of Christmas going by helping an elderly neighbour with a bag too.

4. Avoid Electrical Heating Fires

Portable electric heaters become very popular during the winter months especially when the entire family is situated in one room. According to Fire Brigade, electrical heaters cause more than one fire a day.  It is very important that you remember not to place them so that they’re facing furniture and not to keep any wires underneath rugs as this may cause them to overheat and in turn cause a fire.

These simple pieces of advice should be easy enough to undertake yourself but if you would feel more comfortable having assistance from professionals feel free to call us on 0800 316 9595 | 0208 971 7000

Finding the right maintenance partner for your business

Kate Murphy, Head of Property Management at Courtenay knows a thing or two about how to look after properties.  After ‘chasing her tail’ with cheap one man vans, she now relies on Affleck to maintain over 200 properties which has made her day easier as she can ‘just pick up the phone once and know that everything will be taken care of’.

One of our biggest commercial clients for maintenance work here at Affleck is estate agency Courtenay – how we’ve worked with for over three years. Affleck are Courtenay’s first choice for maintenance repairs; anything from repairing a leaky roof, broken-down boiler or a faulty light switch.

We caught up with Kate Murphy during a typically busy day at Courtenay’s office in Clapham Junction to ask a few questions about her relationship with Affleck.

On a day-to-day basis, what types of problems do you have to deal with?

It can be anything from a broken boiler, to a washing machine, blocked drains, leaking roofs, and non-flushing toilets; any problems that you could think of and even more that you wouldn’t. I can get up to 60 emails a day if not more.

What made you switch to working with Affleck?

When I first started at Courtenay, we used to use little one man vans and with the amount of work coming through I found that I was always chasing my tail.  They offered cheap prices but in the end the ‘cheap’ became expensive, with the time spent chasing them and getting the right standard of workmanship.

I can honestly say that my call is always Affleck now. For instance on Friday I need a plumber and an electrician at the same property, so I’ve told James (Affleck’s Maintenance Administrator) and they’re both going in on the same day so that saves two phone calls and I know we’ll get a reliable result.

Why do you like working with Affleck?

James’ honesty is absolutely brilliant! If I ring up and say I need something a.s.a.p. normally he’s straight on it and if he can’t do it he tells me so I can get some-one else in. James is absolutely spot on, I can’t fault him.

How has Affleck made your life easier?

"It’s one phone call (for everything)"

It’s one phone call (for everything), whether it’s plumbing or roofing. Wayne (Head of Roofing) is fantastic and Colin (Head of Plumbing) too; everyone is so easy to deal with there. They all make me laugh. 90% of the time I’m speaking to James and we always have a bit of a giggle. It was nice being invited to the Christmas party.

Would you recommend Affleck to other companies?

Yes!  They’re fantastic to work with and when the total costs of work are considered, cheaper than the alternatives.  They have all the right accreditations and expertise which is very reassuring. Working with friendly and reliable people makes my job so much more enjoyable and easier. 

Call Affleck on 0800 316 9595 | 0208 971 7000 to find out how we can help your business.

Courtenay is situated on Lavender Hill. Whether you’re buying, renting, selling or letting in Clapham, Battersea or Wandsworth, let Courtenay assist you in making the right decision.