Maintenance

Things Break.

We can't always help it when things don't go as planned. Some things just wear out. Some things are designed to have constant maintenance. It is always a good idea to have a maintenance schedule for all the things that help make your life me bearable. We see it all the time, especially with exterior paint finishes. Do not wait until the paint is peeling or termites are chewing up the woodwork before you decide it is time to repaint. It is too late. Coatings should be recoated on a regular basis. Before they start to degrade. That way you protect costly structures. Also if someone has to scrape of all that flaking paint and fill all the rotten wood, that will cost you way more than have that extra paint job done in a timely fashion.

Unfortunately we find many times early maintenance is required because of shoddy installation which was done in the first place. For instance: When exterior woodwork is installed unfinished, then the protective/color coating is applied. Well all the places that the coating cannot be applied, especially on joining areas, water can seep in and get trapped starting the rotting process. Even where these joints have been coated over, temperature and other elements over time make the materials expand and contract, breaking open any coated joint. If all the materials were coated prior to assembly then all surfaces would be protected. This applies to any material.

Some things just can't be stopped from degradation. That is where a good preventative maintenance schedule comes in. Take care of potential problems before they become serious. It is financially smart. Look at the aviation industry. The governing bodies have made it mandatory for operators to do systematic preventative maintenance based on testing done by the manufacture. This is why aviation is the safest mode of transport today. If you do not look after your automobile, it has a greater potential of failing, putting you, at very least into a inconvenient situation, or putting you in the hospital.

Most people can see obvious maintenance issues. A light switch not turning the light on, or perhaps the car making a different sound than it has done in the past. However other problems lurk out of sight. Only to rear their ugly head with drastic consequences. As my old friend found out after a loose wire in a kitchen outlet, started arcing while he was asleep. Discovered by his son in the kitchen. Within 30 minutes his two story house and all his possessions were gone.

Generally we do not take things apart unless they are failing. So perhaps no one would have every caught this failing outlet. However an upgrading of all the outlets in the home and adding Arc Fault and Ground Fault protection might have.

Do yourself a favor. Whether it is your home or business, your car, boat or airplane, be religious about maintenance. Have someone come out and just check things through once a year. They might be able to advise you how to save some energy cost using upgraded equipment, or helping with the functionality of things. Either way, you will be told of the state of things that support your life. Knowledge is power. Thus you will be better equipped to have a safe and cost controlled environment.