In 2021, a study by the professional body RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) found that 35% of the lifetime carbon emissions emitted by a typical office property are produced before the building ever opens. In other words, more than one-third of the carbon emissions emitted by an office building over its 60 or 70-year lifespan happen during construction.
This stark finding underscores the importance of addressing whole life carbon in commercial construction. As highlighted in our recent analysis of whole-life carbon in the commercial property sector, the built environment accounts for an alarming 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions. This demands urgent attention from policymakers, developers, and sustainability advocates alike.
Today in the UK, a typical new build house produces up to 45 tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) during construction. That’s enough carbon to power a light bulb continuously for 450 years!
Staggeringly, carbon emissions from commercial construction are much higher due to the types of materials used.
Why replace when you can restore?
Thankfully, effective facade restoration can support the fight against carbon emissions by helping to extend the lifespan of buildings, reducing their overall carbon footprint through longer practical use without the need to rebuild or replace. But what do we mean by effective facade restoration?
Commercial property maintenance is a task of many parts – and it’s risky to consider focusing on just one of them at a time. Commercial facades should be in good working condition to be considered safe for use, with a failure of maintenance risking an unsafe building.
Whether an office, warehouse, hotel or retail building, many owners look at a single part of their property – such as the roof, glass or exterior cladding – and assume that nothing needs to be done. But visual inspection from afar is usually only part of the picture. Depending on the type of building, deterioration might not be easily visible to the untrained eye; composite materials deteriorate differently to masonry and wood, meaning that a casual visual inspection alone might not be enough.
It pays to act early
Commercial facades are about more than just looks! The different elements, from exterior insulation through to cladding, flashings and details, come together to protect a structure from the elements and intrusion. Being proactive about arranging inspection – and sticking to a consistent schedule for doing so – helps keep restoration costs down and avoids poor safety and functionality.
Weathering, erosion and build-up of pollutants aren’t often noticeable for a reasonably long time, from organic moss and algae growth to the accumulation of ingrained dirt and detritus between panels or in porous materials. This can lead to property owners and maintenance managers opting to wait longer between inspections to minimise their up-front costs.
But acting early can prevent costly bills in future, which is particularly evident when you consider that, on average, facade restoration is typically 33% of the cost of respraying and an incredible 5% of the cost of replacement.
How to work with, not against, your commercial property
There’s no way around it: A consistent schedule for appraising the facade of your commercial property is a must.
With an appropriate and consistent facade maintenance schedule in place, commercial property owners and tenants can work with their facade restoration schedules instead of against them. If you understand your property’s state and where it may be in the months and years ahead, it’s possible to plan around disruption – and to time any restoration works around key events or busy periods.
Newly restored facades look fantastic. Customers and passers-by notice the difference, with a restored property standing out from the crowd just as it suddenly looks new to those who regularly go inside.
Notably, a recent survey by facilities specialist ServiceChannel found that 95 per cent of consumers agree that the external appearance of a business is one of the primary factors influencing their decision to conduct business or purchase from there. More than half said that they would avoid a business altogether if the exterior appeared to be poorly maintained.
Commercial facade maintenance: Four tips to consider
We’ve covered why proactive restoration helps and how to make the most of the results, so let’s wrap things up with a few tips on how you can achieve an effective maintenance and restoration schedule.
1: Avoid reactive intervention
The costliest of mistakes. As we mentioned before, this is the term typically used to describe the reality so common to commercial property management. Issues are addressed as and when they occur instead of with foresight and planning – and the costs soon mount as a result.
Reactive intervention is usually taken when a property is suddenly suffering from unexpected problems. Examples of this include mould growth, detritus build up, loss of energy efficiency, water ingress, or falling materials.
Experience in the trade is a simple answer to this issue. A team like See Brilliance with years (30, to be exact) under their belt will be able to appraise a property and advise on how to plan for issues in advance, helping to address problems before they worsen into financial heavy hitters.
2: Include preventative maintenance in your schedule
A stitch in time saves nine, as the saying goes. Preventative maintenance is another critical cost-saver in any property maintenance plan, keeping your bank accounts safe by anticipating degradation and damage.
Examples of preventative maintenance may use restoration systems like DOFF Steam Cleaning or TORC cleaning – types of commercial property restoration that involve the use of ground volcanic powder at carefully specified sizes. These methods help to protect your building envelope and can pass on benefits to tenants and residents by ensuring energy efficiency is maintained.
3: Take a proactive approach
In our experience when talking to commercial property owners, the number one issue getting in the way of a proactive restoration practice is the fear of the unknown. If a property manager or owner doesn’t know the extent of the facade restoration they’ll need to consider, how can they budget for works that keep them ahead of the game?
Once more, experience comes into play here. A skilled restoration team can appraise a property and advise its owners or managers on what they can expect, helping them to achieve a realistic budget that caters to the reality of the kind of building they are maintaining. This opens the door for proactive interventions such as stonework restoration, glass curtain wall cleaning, or general restorative works to facades and cladding.
4: Work with an environmentally conscious restoration team
Facade restoration has advanced in leaps and bounds recently. Today, effective deep-cleaning and restoration involves the use of technology and resources that are gentler and kinder to buildings and the environment.
The See Brilliance team makes a considered, consistent point of using sustainable restoration methods and products to get the job done. Our teams are effective and capable in the use of non-toxic, eco-friendly ways of working that will restore your facade to its original quality and protect it for the years ahead.
Supporting Britain’s commercial property sector for 30 years
Maintaining your property’s facade has the potential to be a last-minute, expensive affair – but it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s real, tangible and measurable value in getting ahead of the game and we encourage property owners and managers to get in touch with our team here at See Brilliance to discuss your facade maintenance needs and plans.
Call 01635 230888 or email [email protected] today.
To discover more about our restorative cleaning methods, including DOFF Steam Cleaning, TORC Cleaning, commercial facade and cladding restoration and restorative cleaning, get in touch with our restoration specialists today.