Summer Holidays – Opportunity for safe education environment

Whenever this part of the academic year rolls around, it always brings with it a mixture of feelings and emotions. There’s relief, that another year of hard work is behind you, and expectation and excitement for the holidays to come, but in the background there always sits the knowledge that preparation for next year’s journey is right around the corner.

Aside from the scheduling, lesson planning and other time-consuming stuff, there’s also property management to consider. Buildings must be safe and secure for staff and students, damage must be fixed and improvements need to be made – and all within a relatively small window of time, and with budgets tighter than ever, pressure is high on management and staff to deliver.

One area which often goes overlooked until problems become significant is glazing. The commonly held belief is that one must spend large sums on brand new glazing to fix long-standing issues but, thankfully, that isn’t necessarily the case.

Of course, if budget and necessity dictates, new uPVC or aluminium windows and doors can be a great asset, not to mention a worthwhile investment, offering improved security and energy efficiency wherever it’s installed, but many of the advantages associated with new and upgraded windows and doors can be obtained in other, less costly ways.

Energy Efficiency

A hot topic in many different walks of life, energy efficiency is something which can be a hugely important factor in any school or university. Maintaining comfortable temperatures for staff and students without being wasteful with energy is key, as is setting the right example for students.

Adding secondary glazing can bring those attributes to existing fittings at a comparatively negligible cost. It also brings with it improved sound proofing, affording a better educational environment, and is perfect for institutions with listed status, as it doesn’t affect the external aesthetic.

Compliance and Safety

Safety standards are of vital importance and issues relating to them must be dealt with as and when they arise, irrespective of budgetary constraint. Safety standards relating to the use of glazing can be met with the use of professional-grade window films which, when applied by experts, can transform conventional glazing, making it fully compliant with the regulation 14 standard.

This of course is especially important for buildings which use glass walls and partitions in their administrative and educational spaces.

Window films can also be used to maximise space, privacy and maintain temperatures, which may further improve energy efficiency.

Maintenance

One key area which commonly goes neglected is good, old fashioned maintenance. Making sure that your windows and doors are looked after is the very best way of maximising their effective lifespan. An occasional visit by an expert to fix minor issues and keep things working well is a sound strategy, if you’re looking to avoid unnecessary expenditure in the future.

Even if glazing TLC hasn’t been the top of your list, it isn’t too late. A professional overhaul of your existing glazing is a tried and tested and efficient way of bringing them back up to scratch. Reconditioned glazing will perform better, have a reduced risk of accident and damage in the future and it will look better.

A new hinge here and a new pane of glass there will have things looking ship-shape at a fraction of the cost of new windows and doors and, again, sets a great example for the local community