The value of maintenance?

Tender description

Project Summary Regular maintenance is recognised as 'the routine work necessary to keep the fabric of a place in good order" (Conservation Principles 2008). It stops small issues causing great damage or escalating into expensive and challenging crises. It will not prevent major problems caused by materials coming to the end of their life, structural failure or violent damage by storm, fire or vandals, but regular maintenance coupled with 'stitch in time repairs' to address small problems keeps a building in the best possible health for the long term. However, there is no recent research to provide evidence of the potential economic benefit of maintenance and proactive minor repairs or the trajectory of deterioration where they are not done. This desk-based study using existing fabric inspection reports, is intended to provide evidence in relation to three key questions in the care of listed places of worship: a.What is the current estimated repair cost for necessary capital works on this sample of historic places of worship? b.What would have been the cost of timely maintenance and minor 'stitch in time' type repairs if they had been done when identified in the fabric report/s as being necessary? c.Would prompt attention to maintenance and repair issues have prevented or slowed down the development of major repair needs or are some of these the result of material, structural or design failures and could not have been managed or averted by maintenance? The tender is required to identify a methodology that will produce a database (Excel spreadsheet) that will collate the information across the entire sample of buildings and an individual summary report for each building, drawing together a narrative account of the information gained from the research.