On a house this size the main rooms are well maintained and the rest often is not. The back elevation, the outbuildings, the garage and the upper terrace tend to be looked at only when something fails. That is where most of the work actually is, and where a survey is genuinely worth having.
The parts of a large house nobody inspects
Faults develop unnoticed in the places people do not go: the rear elevation, the service stair, the outbuildings, the terrace parapet.\n\nBy the time they are noticed they have usually progressed from a seal to a frame, or from surface rust to a failed weld.\n\nSo when we are asked to look at one window on a house like this, we offer to walk the whole property. It takes an extra half hour and it routinely finds two or three things that are cheap now and expensive next year.
Ground floor glazing and how secure it actually is
Large ground-floor windows and glazed doors are the obvious weak point on a house set in its own grounds.\n\nPlain toughened glass is not a security glass — it is hard to break and once broken it is entirely gone.\n\nLaminated glass holds together and stays in the frame, and it can be retrofitted into most existing frames without replacing them. Where security is a concern on the ground floor, changing the glass rather than adding grilles is usually the option people prefer and rarely the one they are offered.
Outbuildings that are used every day
Staff quarters, garages and utility rooms on these properties are used constantly and specified as if they were not.\n\nSo the windows and doors there wear out faster than the main house's and get attended to far less often.\n\nWe would put those on the same maintenance visit as the house rather than treating them separately. It costs very little extra while we are on site, and it prevents the situation where the least-maintained part of the property is also the most used.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
