Detailing the maintenance

This Issue This is a part of the Maintenance feature

By - , Build 96

Providing a maintenance schedule for a new house is a great service that a builder can offer to the owner. Sometimes the Territorial Authority may even request one as part of a building consent application.

A maintenance schedule may have helped these homeowners keep their buildings in better condition.

The aim of a maintenance schedule is to give owners the information they need to regularly attend to the materials used in the construction of their home. This can help maximise the life of those materials and ensure the performance requirements of the New Zealand Building Code are met throughout the life of the building. Slowing deterioration can reduce the risk of further problems, for example preventing water getting through the cladding will safeguard the framing.

What’s in a maintenance schedule?

Maintenance schedules contain a full list of the materials used in a house. They also outline how often the materials:

  • should be cleaned and what product to use to remove accretions such as mould or oxidation
  • may need to be recoated and with what product.

They also specify how often components may need to be replaced, such as sealants.

To generate a maintenance schedule, find the manufacturer’s recommendations on the care required for their material and include this with details on the make and name of the product. For a coating, include the name of the colour or BS number, and the type of finish (e.g. matt, semi-gloss or gloss). The inclusion of the manufacturer’s phone number for technical assistance and their website where possible will assist future owners. The information needs to be specific to the location of the property, so for homes in more corrosive environments, such as near the sea or in a geothermal or industrial area, cleaning is needed more often.

A maintenance schedule may have helped these homeowners keep their buildings in better condition.

As well as this information, it is helpful to include a summary for homeowners, such as:

Washdown

Roofing 12 monthly
Wall cladding 12 monthly
Window joinery 6 monthly and so on.

Recoating

Wall cladding 10 yearly
Roof cladding 8 yearly and so on.

Providing the maintenance schedule to the Territorial or Building Consent Authority, as part of a new house building consent application, may help ensure that subsequent owners can access the information.

BRANZ to create schedules

BRANZ is planning to make maintenance schedules available as a chargeable service for download from the BRANZ website. The intention is to list virtually every product and material available. The relevant items can then be chosen with a click of the mouse, and a maintenance schedule specific to the house concerned will be generated, complete with manufacturer’s recommendations on how to maintain their product.

Download the PDF

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Articles are correct at the time of publication but may have since become outdated.

A maintenance schedule may have helped these homeowners keep their buildings in better condition.

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