What is a Planned Maintenance Programme?

• Planned Maintenance is work that has been identified in advance, is carefully planned and delivered in a controlled way throughout the financial year (from April to March) in an agreed programme.
• The programme of work is targeted to address specific issues that we have identified within your home
• In some instances you may not even realise that any works are required. One of the aims of this type of maintenance is to pick up any problems that you might not have noticed or reported to us.

How will you know if your home is included in the Planned Maintenance Programme?

The Planned Maintenance Programme will give you information about the geographical areas we will be working in between April 2009 to March 2013.

Not every Irwell Valley property in these areas is due to have work carried out before March 2013. If your home has been identified within the Planned Maintenance Programme you will receive a letter from us to inform you of the inclusion of your home and to request access to carry out a detailed works survey to finalise what works are required.

The letter will arrive in plenty of time before the works are planned to start and will also introduce the contractor who will carryout the works for us, as well as the member of our Asset Surveying Team who will be responsible for the works.

What type of work is included in the Planned Maintenance Programme?

The type of works included in the planned programme is installation of double glazed windows, kitchen and bathroom refurbishments, boiler heating upgrades.

The length of time taken to complete major works in each home will vary slightly from property to property. Our Property Investment Team will provide you with a specific timescale for the works to your home after our contractors have completed their detailed survey.

What choices will you have?

Depending on the type of works carried out the choices you have will vary, but for the major areas the following options are available:

• Kitchens- Choice of range of cabinets, door finishes, handles, tiling, flooring and worktops. Click here to open a PDF document of the available kitchen choices for 2009 - this is a 3MB file and may be slow to open if you do not have a broadband internet connection. 
• Bathrooms- Choice of bathroom suites, tiling, flooring
• External door installation- choice of colour and style of composite pre finished door

Irwell Valley Gold Service and Solid Gold members get even more choice when it comes to door selection, and Solid Gold members have the additional option to include soft close door mechanisms and add cornices and pelmets to give you that final finishing touch.

If you have individual needs not met by a standard installation, f you are currently experiencing problems around your home and can no longer use standard items like window handles, kitchen units, taps, baths etc. because of reduced mobility or a disability, we have an Aids & Adaptations Service that may be able to help you - For more information about this service please contact the Property Investment Administration Team on either 0800 035 2210.

Preparing for the works to start

Having planned maintenance works carried out to your home will inevitability cause a degree of disruption. To try to reduce the impact of the work we will ensure our contractors:

• Keep you informed about progress during the work
• Not start work before 8am or work past 6pm
• Minimise drafts by keeping doors shut where possible
• Not use audio equipment while in your home
• Not smoke in your home
• Use dust sheets
• Clean up after themselves
• Have photographic ID with them at all times
• Be polite, respectful and courteous at all times

To help us to help you to be safe during the work and to keep the disruption to a minimum there are a few things we need you to do:

• Please try to keep any appointments made with you at your home or contact us to rearrange as soon as possible but always at least 24 hours before the appointment is due
• Empty cupboards, move furniture if requested, put away anything which is fragile or of great sentimental or financial value
• Clean and tidy any areas that the workmen will need access to before they arrive
• Keep away from the areas that the workmen are working in
• If possible arrange for a neighbour or friend to look after your pets during the working day
• Please keep children well away from the areas that we are working in at all times. Children under the age of 18 must not be left unsupervised in your home while work is taking place.
• Do not fill any skips with household rubbish
• Do not be abusive, threatening or use discriminatory language or behaviour towards our staff or contractors

Completion of the work

When the planned maintenance work is complete an inspection will be carried out. At this time you will also receive a customer satisfaction form to fill out to let us know how you feel the works have gone and how happy you are with the finished job.