At Home with Sarah Beeny 2013 - (Page 249)

Time to | MAINTENANCE| WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CHECKED YOUR ROOF FOR CRACKS, BROKEN TILES OR GUTTER DAMAGE? WITH APRIL SHOWERS INEVITABLE, BE PREPARED raise the roof M aintenance is key to ensuring that nothing goes wrong with your roof when the weather gets a bit lively. And it’s not just protection your roof provides – it can help save you money on those energy bills, too. GET TO KNOW IT If this is the ﬁrst time you’ve even thought about your roof, have a good look and see what it’s built from, be it slates, concrete tiles, corrugated iron or something else. Then look at the structure of your roof; is it a pitch roof, ﬂat roof, or a hipped roof ? Don’t get up there unless you really have to – you can get a good idea what’s going on by standing on the opposite side of the road or in the garden and using binoculars for a closer inspection. What you should be looking for are the following: ● Missing tiles or slates. ● Sagging gutters and loose brackets. ● Blocked gutters. ● A leaking joint in a gutter/downpipe. ● Plants or weeds growing out of the roof or guttering. ● Defective or missing ﬂashing (this is the lead or zinc sheet used to prevent the passage of water where the roof joins any parapet walls or chimney stack). ● A leaning chimney stack or parapet wall. WEATHER WATCH Sarah says... ‘Next time it’s raining hard, go outside and check if there are any points that the gutters are failing. Then the next time it’s sunny, get up there and sort them out – before you have to replaster the wall instead!’ Gutters are an important part of maintaining your roof – they stop water from soaking your exterior walls. Because of its positioning, the weather will inevitably cause wear and tear in your guttering so you need to assess it at least once a year. Have a look for cracks and bends – left unchecked these can cause roof damage. Downspouts carry water away from the roof gutter and usually have a joint at the end so water doesn’t pool around the foundation of your home and cause leaks or damp patches. If there is a blockage in this joint then the water will collect in the roof gutter – this can lead to rotting wood and eventually cause leaks in your roof, so keep your gutters clean and debris free. > PLAN AHEAD HAVING A YEARLY (OR BIANNUAL) ROOF CHECK-UP CAN STOP A LEAK FROM HAPPENING IN THE FIRST PLACE www.athomemagazine.co.uk APRIL 2013 | 249 244-250 roof/lofts FINAL.indd 249 1/3/13 12:08:52 http://www.athomemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of At Home with Sarah Beeny 2013

Editor's letter
Sarah's Welcome
Notebook
It's a date
Mellow yellow
Blooming wonderful
Proper copper
Rent revolution
Home upgrade
Leading locations
Property virgins
Safe as houses
On the move
Good on paper
A distressed look
Turn up the heat
Fire it up
Trendsetter
Another 48 hours
Something old, something new
Suite dreams
Inside the box
Bathtime
On stylish ground
On the rise
DIY for girls
The blueprint
A glass act
Final draught
Heat beneath your feet
Silent enemies
Real-life renovation
Eco exclusive
Hot stuff
How very cultivated
Turn over a new leaf
Lofty deals
Keep your antenna up
What Sarah says
How bizarre
Colour cocktail
Last word
Stockists

At Home with Sarah Beeny 2013