Home Maintenance Guide
This guide gives practical help and advice about
how to maintain and carry out simple repairs to your home. DIY
isn't easy. Hopefully this guide will give you the confidence to
tackle basic home repairs and alert you to the dangers of taking on
too much before getting professional help. However, the more
work,especially preventative, you can do yourself, the more money
you will save in the long run.
Wherever possible we have given a contact number,
but if you are in any doubt, please contact our Private Sector
Housing Team at Peterborough City Council, Bayard Place,
Peterborough. Telephone: 01733 742532/3
CONTENTS
Awareness - why?
How to Check your House
- Inspect the outside
- inside the house
Damp - Causes and Cures
- Rising damp
- Penetrating damp
- Condensation and mould growth
Repairs & Maintenance - DIY, Builder, Tradesman or Specialist?
- Painting
- Gutters and downpipes
- Sinks and gullies
- Drains and sewers
- Repairing brick walls
- Paths, yards and steps
- Glazing
Services
- Water
- Gas
- Electricity
- Hot Water
- Burst or leaking pipes
- Central heating
Insulation
- Preventing burst pipes
- Loft insulation
- Door and window locks and hinges
- Plaster
- Wallpapering
- Floorboards
- DIY hazards
Employing a builder
- Finding a builder
- Getting a quote
- Before work starts
- Guarantees
- Defective work
- Paying for the work
In an Emergency
Making an Insurance Claim
Security and Safety