Are your premises ready for back to school?

Returning to school is vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing, and a full return in September will be an important move back towards normal life for many children and families.

Mike Byrne, director of Flue Liner Solutions, has more than 25 years’ experience working with facilities managers at schools, hospitals and residential care homes to ensure that chimney ducts, flue liners, SE & U ducts, flue liners and kitchen extractor ductwork is in good working order.

Here, he gives his top tips to ensure schools are fully prepared:

• Make sure you have carried out your annual building survey to identify any issues relating to your chimneys, flue liners, ductwork and drainpipes.
• Identify any potential safety issues such as the potential for harmful gases to escape into your property or the build-up of potentially dangerous waste. Due to the nature of corrosive chemicals in flue gases, holes can open up quickly once the integrity of the liner system has become compromised.
• Check your kitchens to ensure that extractor fans are in good working order.
• Make sure extractor fan ducting is undamaged.
• Check the integrity of your water pipe linings and ensure they are corrosion-free. If there are any signs of deterioration, getting it fixed before it fails will be far better than having to deal with emergency repairs.

Flue Liner Solutions has a growing list of blue-chip commercial customers in manufacturing, education and hospitality.

Mike added:

“We use chimney CCTV surveys to ascertain any existing structural damage, blockages or issues so that we are fully informed as to the work that has to be done to bring these systems up to standard. What’s more, out initial consultation is usually free of charge.

“Every school has different requirements and is at a different stage of development or renovation. Yet they all need to be ready to welcome pupils in September. This why we go out of our way to accommodate our education clients by working outside the usual school hours or during the evenings or weekends.”