Planned programmes
What is a stock condition survey?
These surveys are often carried out by specialist surveyors who are employed to survey the inside and outside of your home, including communal areas where appropriate. This provides Mount Green with the information needed to determine when your home is due for major works, such as those referred to below.
What is a pre-validation survey?
Once we have the information from the main stock condition survey, and have identified what works are needed and where, we will visit your property to check the information is correct and to prioritise which properties need to be done first. Since the stock condition survey was carried out, the condition of the item being replaced may have deteriorated or you may have replaced it yourself. If we can only do a certain number of replacement items in a particular year, we also need to visit to see which should be done first.
We will also visit to work up detailed plans. This may include designing and measuring up the new kitchen or bathroom, for example, or checking what type of new boiler you need in the house. This may be carried out either by a member of staff from Mount Green or an external contractor.
What is a planned/major programme of work?
To update and improve your homes we always try to undertake major works such as kitchen, bathroom, heating upgrades, window or roof replacements as part of a planned programme.
Before we start a new programme, we carry out a pre-validation survey before instructing our contractors to carry out the improvement works. This approach allows us to complete the works more efficiently, safely and replacements are generally carried out when they are needed, based on their anticipated lifecycle, so all residents are treated fairly and equally.
By completing major works in this way we also ensure that the work we do provides better value for money, and we are able to provide continuity in terms of materials and quality of workmanship. Additionally, this approach allows us to communicate more clearly with residents so that residents know what to expect from us and when.
How do we manage it?
In order to plan the work that needs to be done over a 5-30 year period we aim to undertake a stock condition survey on each property every five to seven years. This information is also used by Mount Green to allow us to plan financially for major works over the short, medium and long term.
The delivery of our planned works programme is managed internally by Mount Green team members, supported by consultants where necessary. We tend to use a mix of contractors to carry out any works depending on the type of work required. From time-to-time works may need to be carried out by specialist sub-contractors.
Whilst we try to plan and communicate when major works are due, we also sometimes need to prioritise works, such as the fire safety works programme, which therefore can change the planned works.
What are cyclical decorations and repairs?
Cyclical decorations are internal and external decorations carried out to the communal areas of the building, such as the communal doors and hallways, or the communal areas outside. Cyclical work also includes cleaning, painting or repairing gutters, soffits and fascias around a building. (Soffits and fascias are the boards along the eaves of a roof, where the gutters are attached to, which prevent rainwater and small animals or birds getting into the roof).
Cyclical works are carried out a regular basis, generally between 5 and 7 years. We assess the condition of the property, and only carry out works where needed.
What is the difference between planned works and routine repairs?
A routine repair is a day-to-day repair that can wait without posing a risk to your health and safety or cannot cause further damage to your home in the short-term. Planned works are where we replace the whole bathroom or kitchen as it has reached the end of its natural life – generally 20-30 years in the case of a bathroom or kitchen and 15 years for a boiler.
Do we consider quality when we tender works?
Yes. When we tender our contracts, we will generally focus on quality over cost, and we specify products and materials that are of high quality and are durable. Where possible we give residents a degree of choice with particular regard to kitchens and bathrooms. As part of our internal processes, a qualified surveyor must sign off all major works to ensure we achieve the required level of quality and meet current standards and regulations.
