With Christmas approaching, none of us want to be afflicted with a major repair job in the Season of Goodwill, chiefly because goodwill could be amongst the first casualties, if this were to happen. As prevention is so often better than cure, here are a few simple DIY precautions for a worry-free holiday. They involve no painting and decorating, no plastering, no building, and certainly no architects.
Beginning with the outside, check the gutters, a small, portable compressed air jet can be an enormous help, here. Rotting, slimy, leaf grunge can freeze, making a dam, which will result in an overflowing gutter and water pouring all over your wall. Get rid, as soon as possible. Clear all your paths of leaf-fall and moss, they’re tricky when wet and utterly treacherous when frozen. If you’re worried about suspiciously lanky trees outside your property, inform the council and get them to cut them back. If they’re in your garden, cut back any overhanging branches that could bludgeon your property in high winds.
Inside the house, the first and most pressing issue is to make sure you’ve had the boiler professionally serviced. Eating sandwiches and crisps on Christmas Day in thermal underwear and overcoats is unlikely to be much fun; if your boiler croaks, this could definitely be you. Plug draughty gaps in doors and windows with DIY-store draught excluders and you’ll stay warm and toasty.
None of this amounts to heavy-duty property development, of course, but together, these simple steps will keep you and your property warm and safe.
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