In Brunswick Street recently, a large stone cornice on the front of one of the buildings collapsed. The whole street was closed off and two houses had to be evacuated. The repair and restoration works will cost the owners a fortune. The total will run into the tens of £000s. It was lucky that no one was injured or even killed. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the same thing could happen here. We already lost a couple of chimney pots in a strong gale a couple of years ago.
It can be tempting to think that the only outside work needed to maintain one’s property is to give the windows an occasional coat of paint. That is not enough. It is essential to maintain the whole of the exterior. The extremes of weather occasioned by climate change make things worse, not better. Often, it is the parts of the buildings you do not regularly see, such as the roof and chimneys, that are most exposed to damage. We very strongly recommend that you have the roof and chimneys of your building inspected at least once a year by a good builder and have the exterior stonework inspected at the same time. At the same time, it will also be worth having the gutters cleaned and any vegetable growth removed. This will help protect the stonework for the future. The risks of not doing so are really quite significant and we do not want to see you seriously out of pocket nor, indeed, to see anyone exposed to danger.