How do you make the hall winter-proof?

Frost, snow, hail, and storms affect not only people during the cold season, but a hall also needs to be prepared for winter weather conditions. Autumn is a good time to get your hall ready for winter. To ensure your property gets through the winter well, the experts at PEM Buildings have put together a checklist for you.

1. Roof

Before winter, a thorough roof inspection should always be carried out, either by the hall owner or by a professional. This ensures that the building structure does not suffer from gradual water ingress. Important points that should be covered during the roof inspection are:

• Clear the roof, gutters, drains, and emergency overflows of leaves and debris
• Add leaf traps (if no longer present, applies to roof drains)
• Check rivet and screw connections
• Remove deposits and plant growth
• Check inspection flaps for proper opening and access
• Check and renew maintenance joints
• Repair coating damage (cracks, scratches in the paint)
• Inspection of sealing rubbers on skylights such as light strips and domes
• Cleaning and inspection of ventilation openings
• Checking cladding parts for stability
• Inspection of sealing joints for functionality, safety of the roof walkway (position), rainwater downpipe for contamination (emptying the leaf trap basket), functionality of the gutter heating (roof surface heating), as well as for membrane roofs for blunt damage (e.g. from New Year's Eve firecrackers or birds that have damaged the roof), and inspection of upstand connections
• Check whether sufficient snow protection or snow stoppers are present above entrances (main entrance, customer entrance, staff entrance) – snow protection systems e.g. by snow guard holders
• Check whether roof safety hooks are installed 

2. Facade

The facade is a high-quality part of the hall that should be maintained regularly. If it is not serviced regularly, there is a risk of functional impairments or signs of wear on individual parts. Risks of these consequences are minimized by maintenance. The following things are important:

• Check cladding for damage (scratches, ...) and contamination
• Check screw connections
• Check doors, gates, and windows for tightness or inspect seals
• Check window panes (broken, cracked, fogged up & clouded)

3. Outdoor lighting

Outdoor lighting should not be forgotten either:

• Lights should be installed—and also working—on all paths around the hall.
• Particular attention should be paid by hall owners to the lighting of exterior stairs, driveways and garages, as well as all hall entrances. Insufficiently lit paths pose a high risk of accidents in winter due to early darkness and slippery conditions.

Did you know?
PEM Buildings not only offers maintenance for your hall, but also retrofitting of fall-through protection for skylights in existing halls. Especially in winter—when snow has to be cleared from the roof—it is important to ensure that no one steps on a skylight. If this does happen, because the snow on the roof is already too high and the skylights are no longer visible, fall-through protection should be installed for general safety.

If PEM Buildings is to take over the maintenance of your hall or a retrofit, write to us at office@pem.com or call us at +437238/2712 to arrange a personal consultation.