With winter comes a whole host of maintenance issues for your commercial premises, causing interruptions to productivity if adequate planning for bad weather is not conducted. Freezing temperatures, snowfall, and ice can become huge problems for buildings. Business owners should be prepared for the worst, particularly given how frequently frost and extreme weather now occurs in Britain.

Let’s look at some of the most common maintenance issues plaguing workplaces in winter:

The effect of snow and ice on roofs 

During long periods of snowfall, the roof of your workplace is could fail in some way due to increased pressure. Areas of flat roofing cause problems in particular, with standing water and heavy snow or frost causing cracks which leads to leaks. If you spot a leak in your roof, you must get it checked straight away.

However, you can avoid this stress by protecting your business and preparing effectively for the winter. Having a maintenance professional regularly check your roof for issues means that you will not need to seek expensive and last-minute resorts when the snow hits.

Checking your heating systems

It is essential that you maintain a legal working temperature for your staff. Gas and electric heating systems are prone to issues, and you may find that if your boiler fails, your office is too cold for your staff to work in. Whilst heating faults can be fixed more quickly than other maintenance issues, you may still end up losing some working hours if your conditions don’t meet the minimum temperature regulations.

If weather conditions are particularly bad, freezing cold temperatures may mean that your boiler breaks down. In winter, an easy way to ensure that your pipes don’t freeze is by keeping the heating on low even when your building is unoccupied.

Plumbing problems

Whereas frozen pipes can cause a lot of damage, and can be expensive to repair, prevention of plumbing and pipe problems is relatively cheap. Pipes should all be insulated to protect them from any frost freezing weather, and you should address small leaks as soon as possible before they become major problems.

To put your mind at ease, have a plumber on hand. Particularly during winter, it pays to know a trusted local maintenance contractor should a problem arise.

Protect your floors

Something we often forget is that road salt, debris, and other slush easily become caught in winter footwear and is dragged through the workplace. Make sure that wet floors are cleaned before they become safety hazards. It is also best practice to add exterior floor mats so that your employees can wipe their shoes before the debris scratches the office floor or becomes worked into the carpet fibres.