Owners living or working in older style apartment and commercial buildings which includes those listed as significant heritage properties, need to adopt a pragmatic view towards maintaining the integrity of their property’s facade.

Residents and owners of such properties have obligations that come with the joys of living and working in significant buildings.

Even for younger buildings, preservation and maintenance are very important.

Unless a proper conservation approach is taken you can lose significant aspects of the building.

The problem is that buildings are exposed to the elements and their appearance can subsequently deteriorate as time goes by. They then suffer from unsightly problems such as;

Mould and stains on painted surfaces, walls, balconies, entrance areas, windows and frames. Car, truck and traffic pollution, excessive build-up of spider webs and unhygienic surface grime and dirt. In general, they can become tired and grubby looking.

Many owners and manager of buildings, especially residential strata, either fail to understand the importance of, or simply neglect the maintenance of their building’s façade. They often spend tens of thousands of dollars every year keeping the entrances, lobbies and other internal areas in ‘tip top shape’ but sadly neglect the exterior. They think that exterior protective coatings don’t need cleaning, but that’s wrong.

If you bought a new car today boasting the most expensive, hardwearing and durable automotive finish, would you avoid washing or polishing it for a decade or two? The same principle applies to any coating system – good maintenance keeps a coating system looking good and functioning well to protect your assets. Whilst the paint upkeep is maintained all other substrates, windows, frames, balcony and terrace floors are cleaned like new.

Alternatively, owners think that the cost of providing expensive scaffolding to carry out these types of maintenance works is prohibitive. Which is true and is the key reason CPR Facade Upgrades has developed Scaffold-Free™ access technologies. Our Australian-designed and patented systems allow facade maintenance and cleaning to be carried out in an affordable and regular manner with minimum fuss and inconvenience.

The prime objectives in the long- term maintenance of a building’s exterior is to uphold appearance and kerb appeal, maintain the value of the asset, whilst simultaneously protecting the integrity of the buildings underlying substrates.

It is important that maintenance be done on a regular basis. A maintenance program includes a regular cleaning process, followed by an inspection report and repair and maintenance guidelines based on the inspection report. Obviously, properties situated in marine, polluted areas (next to main roads or railway lines) chemical or corrosive environments will require cleaning at more regular intervals.

The deciding factors above as well as the nature of the façade structure such as glass, cladding or paint and the type or use of the premises such as residential strata, commercial, hotels and other such uses will all determine how often the building needs to be cleaned.

For example, the average residential strata property, which are ordinarily painted, require an exterior washdown every three years. These services need not be expensive and CPR Facade Upgrades range of services include a superior level of after-care with affordable maintenance plans.

We have just completed an exterior pressure clean of The Landmark Apartments in Kingston ACT.

The 280 lot strata complex comprised of 8 buildings and were completely repainted by CPR in May 2017. Both the building managers Raine and Horne corporate facilities ACT and the Landmark Executive committee ‘were very pleased by the professionalism of CPR and the end result, which truly transformed and refreshed the complex’ noted Richard Rapson, the facility manager.

On the back of their delight in completing the major repainting of their large strata complex a contract was signed between the EC and CPR for an ongoing maintenance and cleaning schedule. The building wash included very minor touch ups and restored the paintwork to as new condition.

As well as a restoring the overall appearance the pragmatic owners understand that by cleaning and protecting the existing coatings, they will maintain the buildings integrity well in excess of the extended 10-year warranty.