News Maintenance AreyoureAdyforwinter?


Floodinghitmany homeowners hard at the end of last year, but withwinter upon us thekey threat nowtoUKhomes is damage caused by freezingweather. Newresearchcommissioned by Sainsbury’sBankreveals that four in 10 homeowners haven’tcarried outany checks in preparation forthiswinter. In response, Sainsbury’shomeinsurance is urginghomeowners to protect their property by carryingout as many basicmaintenancechecks as they can. In thelasttwoyears, Sainsbury’s estimates that 37%of


fire prevention


fAlseAlArm Does your blockhaveafire alarm – and if so does it work properly? If it has atendencytogooffwithout warning, youand your fellow residentscould findyourselves facing a bill fromthe fire service. The London Fire Brigade has


don’tsound


announcedits intentionto consultonplans to startcharging building owners andmanagers of premiseswhere firefighters are called out to false alarmsfrom their automatic systems ten times or more in a twelvemonth period. The Brigade is currently called out to more than 400 such buildings morethanten timeseachyear. Underthe newproposals,these incidents could cost building owners at least £290 for each fire engine that attends. As well as beingtimeconsuming forfire fighters, falsealarmsare also costly - in London, it is estimated that falsealarmscost theBrigade around £37 million each year. Theproposaltochargefor repeat


falsealarmswillformpartofthe Brigade’s London Safety Plan, whichsetsout howitwillwork over the next three years. The plan is expectedtobesubject to public consultation in January 2013. The Brigade said it hopes the


newcharging scheme, if brought in,willencourage theproperuse andmanagement of automatic firealarm systemstomakesure those responsible for themhave theright processesinplace to reduce the number of false alarms.The Brigade also wants allbuilding owners to introduce arrangementswhereby the reason for the fire alarmsounding is investigated before calling 999.


Flat Living Issue 13, Winter


homeowners have beenaffected by easily preventable problemsthat could have beenavoided by simple maintenance tasks, such as having their boiler serviced or checking and bleeding radiators. Repairs to your property canbe


costly.Sainsbury’s researchreveals that in the lasttwo years,weather- relatedincidents have cost British homeowners a collective £7.9 billiontorepair.Themost frequent problemsincludingblocked guttering, leaking roofs and damaged boilers,with the average repair bill being £453.98.


newHoMes


ridgeford propertiesandmanhattan loftcorporationhavewontheglobal Award forexcellence at the2012urban landinstituteAwardsheldindenver, coloradofortheir fitzroviaApartments developmentinlondon. theuliglobalAward forexcellence


AwArd-winning ApArtmentsin londonw1


rewardsthehighest standardsof achievementthatgobeyondgooddesign. many factors includingleadership, contributiontothecommunityand environmental protectionaretakeninto accountwhenselectingthewinners. strikingfeatures at the70-apartment


development includea glazedreception areawithdoubleheightceilingsopening ontoacourtyard with stunninglandscaped gardens, providingtranquillity for residentsaway fromthebusylondon streets.four state-of-the-artpenthouse apartments at thedevelopmentcameonto themarketlatelast year.


HealtH & safety isyourblockAtriskfromrAdon?


Therisks posedbyRadonare beingroutinely ignored by British homeowners, despite more than 2,500 people dying each year as a result of the poisonous and carcinogenic gas, expertshave warned.Morepeopleare killed by Radonthandie on Britain’s roads, yetareportbyleading environmental consultants Delta- Simons shows that awareness remainslow.Mapsshowing Radonhotspotsare inadequate, legislationfalls shortand advice fromlocalauthorities is outof date,saysDelta-SimonsRadon expert Jay Fox.


Radonisanaturally occurring,


colourless,odourless,radioactive gasfound at varying levels in allhomes in theUKand across Europe.Peoplelivingandworking at basement levelare particularly proneand thoseexposed to high readings aremorelikelytoget lung cancer,especiallyiftheyare smokersaswell.Well-insulated newhomes canalsocause problemsbecausethe dangerous gashas nowayofescaping. The problemisunlikelytoaffect flat owners living aboveground floor level.However, as JayFox points out“that puts anawful lot


of peopleatrisk”.Developersof newcommercialand residential premiseshaveanobligation to evaluate forRadonriskand this should be coveredunder planning requirements.“Youcan’t seeitor smellitbut that is no reason for assuming it isn’tthere,” says Jay. “Peopleneed to gettheir buildings tested andthatisafairlysimple procedure. Solvingthe problem is straightforwardand relatively cheap. Formoreinformation about


Radongotothe HSEwebsite at www.hse.gov.uk. Contact Delta- Simons on 0870 0400 012.


13 Thereportalsoshowsthat


onein10ofushas sufferedfrom abrokenboiler,with thesame percentage falling victimto blockedoroverflowinggutters. Some9%have hadrooftiles damaged,with8%suffering leakingroofs.Winddamageto property has affected6%ofBritons and5%havehad aleakingradiator. Frozen pipeshaveaffected4%,and 2%have hadpipes burst in their home. In linewith the conditions ofmost homeinsurancepolicies, Sainsbury’srecommendsthat homeowners should ensure they


maintaingood upkeep of their property allyearroundin order to minimise theriskofdamageand avoidingthe need tomake a claim againsttheir insurance. David Barrett of Sainsbury’s


HomeInsurancecomments, “It’s alsoworthcheckingifyou have homeemergencycover,which comesasstandardonour Premier CoverHomeInsurance,asthis will help youfindan approved tradesman in theevent ofahome emergency, like escapingwater or if your heating or electricity fails.”


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