Successful weatherproofing year round will protect your commercial building from the elements and keep your tenants comfortable. Facility managers should be regularly inspecting their building for weatherproofing problems or issues.
Citywide Facility Solutions maintains and inspects thousands of commercial buildings each year. Some weatherproofing issues can appear to be minor, which causes some facility managers to ignore them. But doing so can lead to bigger issues that require expensive repairs that are preventable.
Below are steps that every facility manager can take to make sure their building has successful weatherproofing year round.
Identify trouble areas in your building
Tenants will not always bring weatherproofing issues to your attention. Drafty offices or leaking windows might be ignored as tenants go about their workday. It is important that facility managers identify trouble areas in their building to prevent costly repairs.
Not only should facility managers regularly inspect their building, but they should also survey their tenants about building issues. Ask about minor things like windows leaking air or moisture forming on sils so you can get a complete picture of your building’s condition.
If you hire a BSC to handle services in your building, then they should be regularly inspecting the condition of your building as a part of the contract. The more eyes on problems the faster they can be resolved in your facility.
What condition is your facility in?
After you identify trouble areas in your building, you should figure out the general condition your facility is in. Here are a few questions you should answer:
- How old are the windows, doors and fixtures in your building?
- How does the exterior look?
- How is everything performing?
- Does anything need to be replaced?
Weatherproofing issues and problems build over time. Fixing minor issues now might prevent larger, more expensive fixes in the future.
Check your HVAC system
It can be easy for facility managers to forget about their ductwork when weatherproofing their building. If ducts are leaking air and are not properly sealed, then your HVAC system will need to work harder to control the temperature of your facility.
Tenets will simply adjust the thermostat to make up the difference without thinking. But managers need to know about this issue to preserve the life cycle of their HVAC system.
Begin by testing your ductwork by hand. See if air is leaking anywhere and try to find any overly cold or hot spots. Then hire a professional company to perform a thorough inspection of your HVAC system to see if they can offer solutions.
Inspect your building for problem areas
We have already identified problem areas in your building, but now it is time to take a closer look at your facility. Managers need to regularly inspect their building for problem areas in order to achieve successful weatherproofing year round.
Facility managers should inspect for the following:
- Electrical outlets
- Pipe connections
- Dripping or pooling water
- Signs of mold or mildew
- Ceiling Tiles
When you hire a top-rated management company like Citywide Facility Solutions, their experience and knowledge will help prevent costly repairs due to weatherproofing issues. They train their employees so that they know what to look for while they perform regular services.
Schedule a professional inspection
Facility managers need help maintaining the health of their building. It can be cost-effective to hire a BSC because they can prevent problems from escalating by catching them early.
Citywide Facility Solutions has an office near you! Contact them today to schedule a professional inspection for your building. Successful weatherproofing starts with Citywide. Call them today (416) 488-8090.
