“The greatest products of architecture are less the works of individuals than of society; rather the offspring of a nation’s effort, than the inspired flash of a man of genius…” – Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
In the wake of the Notre Dame fire, we saw Parisians marching and singing hymns, secular and religious organizations coming together to raise money to rebuild it, and people rich and poor people equally devastated by the loss. The fact that there was so much unity across people from different geographic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds illustrates how appreciating great historic architecture isn’t exclusive to a single class, religion, or location.
It is a great reminder of how important architecture is, and what we must do to protect, upkeep, and preserve the buildings we live in. It’s true they might not be historic or special, but that’s true of many buildings from the past, and nobody knows what’ll get preserved for posterity.
Regular Maintenance
Neglecting a building and not regularly checking it is a recipe for disaster. While small issues aren’t obvious, they can culminate in catastrophic effects on the building. There are a few key areas you should be on the lookout for when doing maintenance:
Windows
Windows are key parts of any building, and it is a major component in deciding how a building looks. Windows are also responsible for letting natural light in, air circulation in the building, as well as insulation and preventing heat loss. This makes maintaining the windows paramount to having a long-lasting and well-maintained building.
The things you need to look out for when inspecting windows includes the frame, glass pane, and the paint.
- Damaged window frames result in air leakage and lowered insulation – two effects that are highly detrimental to the health of a building, damaging its foundations and the furniture inside. Bad insulation means you won’t be able to keep the building warm, and you need to pay extra money for heating. This means taking care of the frames will benefit you economically, too, in the long run.
- A broken or fractured glass pane has the same effects as the frames, and the same rationale applies to fixing them. Other than that, constant contact with the sun eventually damages the panes, which turns them yellow and cloudy. This could give your building a very unattractive aura, and they’ll prevent natural sunlight from coming in undisturbed. You should replace them when this happens.
- The paint on window frames is more susceptible to damage from the elements compared to other parts of the building, and you should pay extra attention to it when fixing it.
Painting and Cladding
The exterior of your building is directly susceptible to weather, and this puts a huge strain on the exterior elements of your buildings-regularly repainting and recladding your building won’t only make it look gorgeous, but it also contributes to protecting everything underneath it.
Cladding is particularly important as it protects the painting and prevents it from discolouration, and it also increases insulation and weather resistance. The important thing to keep in mind when cladding your building, you need to remove remnants of the previous layer first before applying the new layer. Thankfully, you can easily hire an agency that provides cladding-removal.
Miscellaneous
While those were the most important parts of the building to keep an eye on, you shouldn’t ignore the other parts, and you should be ready to undergo any repairs if the necessity arises. If you have a high-rise building, it can be expensive and difficult to maintain it and survey it for potential issues.
Thankfully, due to rope access technicians, you can cheaply and effectively check your whole building for issues and immediately fix them. You don’t need any scaffolding or permits, and you’ll see the results immediately.
