Facade & Exterior Management

Facade maintenance plans should consider the life expectancy of facade materials and proactively schedule care and repair to minimise cost and disruption to building occupants. Annual facade inspections should be scheduled along with regular reviews of work that took place during the course of the year. Were schedules kept? Were contractors reliable? This information can help to set budgets and schedule larger facade maintenance projects, should they become necessary. Ideally, facade maintenance should be part of a larger exterior maintenance plan, particularly since building systems are often interconnected. For example, a leak may comes from the roof, but affect the facade. If facades are poorly cared for, there can be significant problems. For example, simply hiding cracks under render will not actually resolve the underlying issue; and the cracks could spread further, resulting in serious damage. The underlying cause of problems must be identified and treated rather than just the symptoms. It may be necessary to consult with an expert in facade repair and remediation. In some instances, cleaning will be part of the early investigation process before repairs take place. A clean facade, free of dirt, stains and other unwanted materials will provide a better surface for restoration work and will make problems easier to identify. However, if there is an issue with leaks, water-based facade cleaning might be delayed until after sealing work takes place.