Small office repairs: what to check before each season turns

In autumn, before the heating season starts

Before district heating or the building's own boiler is switched on for the season, it is worth checking radiators and any underfloor heating manifolds in the office for leaks or trapped air. A radiator that stayed cold last winter usually needs bleeding, and it is far easier to notice and fix this while the heating is still off than during the first cold week when everyone is asking why their corner of the office is freezing.

This is also the point to check door seals and window weatherstripping, particularly on any door leading to an unheated stairwell or loading area. Draughts around Tallinn's older window frames get noticeably worse once the wind picks up in October, and a few metres of new sealing strip is a cheap job compared with the heating bill that follows if it is left.

If the office has its own boiler or heat pump, an annual service before the season begins is sensible, and this is not something to leave to a general handyman — it needs a qualified technician, and if anything about the setup looks like gas equipment, that is outside what we do and should go to a specialist.

In spring, once the thaw is over

Once the snow has gone and the ground has properly thawed, walk the outside of the building: check gutters and downpipes for debris, look at the entrance for any settling or cracked paving that appeared over winter, and check that door closers on the main entrance are still adjusting the door's speed correctly rather than letting it slam or swing too slowly in the wind.

Inside, spring is a good time to check the shared kitchen and toilets properly, since these get used daily but rarely get more than a glance. Look under sinks for slow leaks that may have gone unnoticed through winter, check that extractor fans in windowless toilets are still pulling air, and test that taps and cisterns are not running or dripping.

Meltwater finds its way into places dry weather never reveals, so any staining on ceilings near the roofline or around window sills is worth investigating in spring while the cause is still fresh, rather than in summer when it has dried up and become harder to trace.

In summer, while the office is half-empty

With holidays spreading staff thinly through July and August, summer is the natural window for anything that needs a room properly empty or the water or power off for a stretch: repainting a meeting room, replacing worn flooring, or rewiring a socket circuit that has been overloaded all year by extension leads under desks.

Dry weather also makes it a sensible time to deal with anything exterior — resealing window frames, checking flat roof membranes, or fixing render on the building's facade if that falls under the tenant's responsibility rather than the apartment association's or landlord's.

It is worth using the quieter summer weeks to get ahead of autumn rather than waiting for the first cold snap to find out what did not get fixed, since contractors and handymen tend to be busier once everyone returns in September.

How to schedule the work so it disrupts as little as possible

Most small office repairs — a dripping tap, a faulty light fitting, an adjustment to a door closer — do not need the office closed, but they go more smoothly outside core hours. Early morning before staff arrive, or after the last person leaves, avoids drilling noise during calls and keeps the kitchen or toilets available when people need them.

For anything involving the water or power supply to more than one room, a bit of warning to staff avoids the usual round of complaints, and for a shared building it is worth checking with the apartment association whether other tenants need notice too, since a communal riser or fuse board is not the office's to shut off alone.

An appointment can be moved or cancelled up to 24 hours ahead at no cost, which makes it easy to reschedule around a client visit or a meeting that gets added at short notice, rather than working around the repair.

• Book noisy or messy jobs before opening or after closing time
• Give staff at least a day's notice if water or power will be off
• Check with the apartment association before touching shared risers, boilers or fuse boards
• Keep at least one working toilet and sink accessible if the other is being repaired
• Confirm the appointment 24 hours ahead so it can still be moved if plans change

What to handle yourself and when it needs a professional

Simple things are worth doing in-house: tightening a loose door handle, replacing a light bulb or a broken chair, unblocking a sink with a plunger, or resetting a tripped circuit breaker once. Keeping a small kit of screwdrivers, spare bulbs and cable ties on site saves calling someone out for a two-minute fix.

Anything involving the fixed electrical installation — a socket that has stopped working, a light fitting that needs replacing, a circuit that trips repeatedly — should go to a qualified electrician rather than being worked around with extension leads, which is itself a fire risk in an office running several computers and a kettle off one wall socket. Our electrical work starts from 49 € per hour.

Plumbing beyond a simple unblock — a cistern that will not stop filling, a leak inside a wall, a water heater that needs replacing in the kitchen — is worth calling in properly rather than leaving a bucket under it, since a slow leak in an office can run for a working week before anyone notices the ceiling below. Plumbing call-outs start from 45 € per hour, and general office and building maintenance, covering everything from door closers to seasonal checks, starts from 49 € per hour.