Maintenance Tips from the Property Man for home and parish

Smaller Tips for the Year end

Firstly, a big thank you to Colin Ross for his input in the last issue about a dedicated person at parish level to monitor church property issues and for the suggestion of a "Faults Book". From my experience here at the Diocese I sometimes get the feeling that many people think that in my role I am some sort of policemen and some Rectors or Churchwardens may feel the same about a book. In fact nothing could be further from the truth - we just all need to be part of the team called "church" who care and look out for one another whether spiritually or practically. We could also put Colins suggestion into play in our own homes as reminders. This makes me realise that with the new growth of spring taking place it is a good time to do a general sweep of our properties to ensure that things are in order. Some suggestions are:

• Make sure that roof gutters are cleaned of leaves and accumulated and wind blown sand and grit. A small garden spade works well in removing this potential blockage. This should be done to ground level gutters as well to ensure clear flow and no blockage.
• Check garden taps for leaking both through a worn tap washer or the gland that is around the tap handle shaft. This normally happens when a hose is attached and water drips from the top of the tap. The nut at this point needs to be gently tightened with the tap open and checking a few times until the dripping stops.
• Make sure there are no leaks in the toilet cisterns which is a great source of costly wastage. If you cannot repair the leak yourself then find someone who can - and please do it right away.
• Oil your door hinges, in small amounts to prevent dripping onto floors and carpets.
• Check that all door key are there and also the correct key for that door. A tip here is to list the key codes for each door in the building so that if ever one is lost you know which one to buy from the hardware merchant.
• Remember also to save electricity in many ways that we have heard e.g. turn unnecessary lights off, do not leave radios and cellphone chargers on when not being used and dont put more water into your kettles than what you will use for 1 or 2 cups.

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