Time & Tide etc

Although it is only the start of July, television programmes already include trailers for autumn entertainment, which serves to remind us to make the most of summer’s long dry days.
Painting outside woodwork in the high summer heat is not a good idea, because the paint will dry too quickly to form a good bond with the prepared surface. Such painting is best done in early autumn when the wood is still dry from the summer heat, but lower temperatures allow slower drying and better bonding.
The reverse is true for painting brick or rendered surfaces. Here, one will be using masonry paint which is water based. The dryness of the brick or rendering during hot weather will make it readily absorb the water-based pigment, ensuring that the paint is firmly anchored. Such super dry surfaces with no loose or powdery residue are described as having a ‘good grab’, which really says it all.
For much the same reasons, in other words, for maximising absorption and ‘grab’, the dry periods of high summer are ideal for applying timber preservative. This does not only apply to fences and sheds. Many timber window frames are finished in a preservative stain, as are mock Tudor timbers and weatherboard cladding. In most cases, the timber is softwood, which typically swells with winter damp and shrinks quite dramatically during the summer. As it shrinks, splits open up along the grain. Treating the wood whilst these splits are evident, allows the preservative to soak into the depth of the timber forming a barrier to winter rain.
The junction between timber frames of doors or windows and the surrounding brickwork, used to be sealed with the same mortar as was used for pointing the brickwork. Such mortar is rigid and cannot accommodate the seasonal movement of the timber. This is why it often cracks and eventually falls out. Nowadays, these gaps are sealed with flexible mastic. Good as it is, the mastic eventually loses its elasticity, and gaps appear which, if left, will allow rain to enter. Cutting out old hardened mastic and replacing is another useful summer job. The mastic, available in a small number of colours, comes in cartridges that fit into syringe type gadgets called cartridge guns. The plastic nozzle on the cartridge generally comes sealed and can be cut open at an appropriate level to dispense the desired width of mastic.
Even the best summer has the occasional rainy day, but this is no excuse for ducking the summer chores. Every couple of weeks it is wise to run the central heating for 20 minutes or so. The purpose is to get the water circulating so that deposits do not build up clogging the valves and pumps. At the same time, it is useful to check the radiators for external corrosion. It you have simple pressed steel panel radiators they will probably have a welded joint all round; corrosion usually starts along the welded joint at the bottom of the radiator. Run your hand along the base and if you feel any roughness or the paint is flaking have a closer check. If the corrosion is superficial, clean it off with an abrasive, paint the area with Hammerite or aluminium paint and then repaint the entire radiator.
If the corrosion seems deep-seated it may be breaking through from the inside. In such circumstances, it is better to replace the radiator now rather than risk a heating shut down in winter.
Older heating systems may not have thermostatic valves fitted to each radiator, allowing you to choose different temperatures for each room. It is well worth considering having these fitted as direct replacements for the existing manual valves. When doing this, I strongly suggest that you also have the entire system flushed out to remove silt, scale and rust, following which it should be refilled with a corrosion inhibitor additive. The combination of flushing out and fitting thermostatic valves during the summer, will work wonders on your heating bill and make next winter far more comfortable.
©June 2010

NOTE:
The writer is an independent chartered surveyor and has no connection with any firm of estate agents or surveyors. For reasons of client confidentiality he writes under a pseudonym. Comments and enquiries are welcome and may be sent c/o Wealden Advertiser Property, Gardens & Interiors.

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