In an emergency
If you smell gas - open windows, do not switch lights or sockets on or off, don't light a match or lighter, put out cigarettes, check that all gas appliances are off. Turn the gas off at the meter and call the British Gas on 0800 111 999 - 24 hr. service.
Water leaks and flooding
Leaking/burst pipes - turn off the water at the
mains stop tap and turn all taps on to drain the system. Call a
plumber.
Flooded cellar - usually happens after prolonged
heavy rain. This will drain away naturally but the Fire Service
may, for a fee, pump water away.
Flooded house - flood water will recede naturally.
If a flood is imminent move as many of your belongings upstairs as
you can. Contact your house building insurers about any damage to
the building or permanent fixtures and fittings. Quite a lot of
cellars have standing water for long periods of time, or even
permanently. It usually costs a great deal of money to make a
cellar reasonably dry and it is rarely worth the trouble and
expense involved. Sewage water getting into the cellar is a more
serious problem. Often this is just a blocked drain that has been
left for some time, but occasionally there may be a cracked pipe
that is leaking. Call the Council's Private Sector Housing on 01733
742547/742543 who will advise you what to do.
Blocked drains - see section on 'Drains and
sewers'.
Storm or fire damage - as soon as you are able,
make your house secure and weather proof. You may need to board up
broken windows or get a builder to put a tarpaulin over the roof.
Contact your house building insurers for advice. If the damage is
so severe that you can't live in it until repairs are done, you may
need emergency accommodation.
Structural cracks in walls - the sudden appearance
of cracks in walls may be worrying but, in most cases, they are not
an immediate danger. Contact your house building insurers.
Making an insurance claim
Make sure you know what you are insured against. If your house suffers damage that will be rectified by your insurers, make notes as soon as you can. Note how and when the damage happened and, if relevant, the weather conditions at the time. If criminals, such as a burglar, caused the damage you must report the matter to the police and get a crime number to give to your insurance company. If the damage was caused by a third party, such as a car crashing into your house, you must get that person's insurance details. Take photos of the damage. It is a good idea to take photographs of your house and contents before there is a problem. You can then show your insurers what the house or goods were like before you needed to make a claim. Contact your insurance company and tell them what has happened. They will either send you a claim form or send an assessor to visit you and see the damage. Your insurers will tell you what to do next. You may have to get quotes or just get the job done and send them the invoice or receipt.
Security and safety
Doors - when replacing locks fit a 5-lever
deadlock and security bolts to your doors and a security chain and
spy-hole to your front door.
Windows - fit window locks to your windows. These
are available in a variety of types. The best ones are those that
require a key to open them. Make sure you know where to find the
keys so you can escape in an emergency.
Entries - you are less likely to be burgled if
access to the rear of your house is restricted. Persuade all those
who are served by an entry to contribute towards a gate that can be
locked.
Smoke alarms - fit smoke alarms upstairs and
downstairs on your route out of the house. These will give you
enough warning to escape before a fire really takes hold. Don't
forget to test them regularly to make sure they are working
properly. Where possible, fit a lithium battery smoke detector
which gives up to 10 years protection.
Party walls in attics - make sure there is no gap
in the wall in the attic between your roof space and those next
door. This will stop roof fires spreading.
Security Lightingfitting external lighting (with
P.I.R detection) will help deter intruders.
Know your escape plan - think through how everyone
in the house will escape if there was a fire. Wherever the fire is
make sure everyone, even children, know what to do when the alarm
goes off - especially at night.
Don't let burglars know you are out - leave a
light on if you go out and are leaving the house empty at night.
When you go away on holiday cancel the milk and papers and have a
neighbour move the post to where it can't be seen from the door or
windows. Adopting all or some of these measures may enable you to
obtain a discount from your house and contents insurances.
Extra help and advice
DIY - most of the DIY chains now produce
'How to' leaflets to help you tackle a range of home improvement
works yourself. If they don't have a leaflet, they may have an
expert on hand to offer advice or be able to tell you who to get in
touch with.
Energy Advice - Peterborough City Council, East
Midlands Electricity and British Gas can all offer advice on
insulation and energy conservation. Contact the Energy Efficiency
Advice Service on 01733 566910 or e-mail: angw@eeac.net
Disputes with builders - contact any trade or
professional organisation of which your builder is a member. If you
think you have been treated unfairly or dishonestly contact the
Council's Trading Standards on 01733 453532. For other disputes
that can't be resolved by negotiation, you may have to contact the
Citizens Advice Bureau or a solicitor.
Online advice - there are many websites that
provide much more detailed instruction and tips:
- www.diynot.com/ have hundreds of information pages that go into great detail on subjects including decorating, electrics, floors and stairs, home security, insulation, outdoor projects, plumbing, roofing and guttering, safety, tools and materials, windows and doors and woodwork.
- www.thediyworld.co.uk/ contains useful information about electrics, security and joinery as well as a glossary of terms.
- www.diyfixit.co.uk/ is another site with hundreds of pages of DIY tips as well as advice on insurance and safety.
- www.diydoctor.org.uk/ not only provides information on how to do a wide range of tasks but has useful advice for planning and carrying out a DIY or maintenance project.
- http://www.seniority.co.uk/ is a web community that includes pages dedicated to DIY and maintenance projects. All articles are written by readers and are based on their own experiences.
- www.teachmediy.co.uk/ is a commercial site that contains animated teaching sessions for a range of skills including plastering and putting up partitions and coving and dry lining walls.
- Rules for electrical safety in the home
Feedback
Your views are welcome. Please e-mail the Council's Private Sector Housing Team to tell us how useful you have found this guide or let us know how you think we can improve it.
Copies of this Home Maintenance Guide are available free of charge
to householders living in Peterborough.
Disclaimer Peterborough City Council do not necessarily endorse any of the products, companies, organizations or web pages mentioned in this guide.