Building maintenance in London

Most property maintenance in London is carried out by general handypeople or by single-trade firms. That works until the job turns out to be a symptom of something structural, a failed detail in the building envelope, or a services fault that crosses three trades. Eternal Design and Build approaches maintenance the same way it approaches construction: diagnose the cause, agree the remedy, then carry it out with the right trades under one point of responsibility. The same site standards, insurance, supervision and record-keeping apply to a half-day repair as to a twelve-month refurbishment.

Planned maintenance is work you schedule rather than react to: seasonal roof and rainwater inspections, external redecoration cycles, repointing and masonry repairs, servicing of doors and windows, and the gradual programme of repairs that keeps a period property watertight. For landlords and portfolio owners we can walk a property, produce a prioritised schedule of works with indicative costs, and phase it across a budget year so that nothing is left until it becomes an emergency. Planned work is almost always cheaper than the reactive work it prevents, particularly on roofs, gutters and external joinery.

Reactive maintenance is what happens when a roof leaks, a pipe fails, a lock breaks or a tenant reports damp. We agree a route for reporting, a way of authorising small works without a fresh instruction each time, and a realistic expectation of when someone will attend. Water damage is the most common call we take: we stop the source, dry and strip back what has been affected, and then make good properly rather than painting over a stain that will return in six weeks.

Our maintenance trades cover the building fabric, the interior and the services that run through them. Gas, electrical and other notifiable works are carried out by suitably qualified and registered trades, and certification is issued to you on completion.

• General building repairs
• Internal repairs and making good
• External building maintenance
• Roof repairs and flat roof patching
• Gutter, downpipe and rainwater goods maintenance
• Brickwork, repointing and masonry repairs
• Rendering and external decoration
• Doors, windows and ironmongery
• Carpentry and bespoke joinery repairs
• Plastering and plasterboard repairs
• Painting and decorating
• Flooring repairs and replacement
• Bathroom and kitchen repairs
• Plumbing repairs and leak tracing
• Electrical remedial works through suitably qualified trades
• Water-damage and leak-related remedial works
• Damp investigation and remedial works
• Landscaping, paving and boundary repairs
• Post-tenancy refurbishment and void works
• Planned maintenance programmes

We maintain single family houses for owner-occupiers who would rather call one number than five. We work for landlords and property investors who need a contractor that can be trusted with keys and with tenants. We work for estate agents, managing agents, block managers and property managers who need documented, chargeable work carried out promptly. And we work for serviced accommodation operators and residential portfolio owners for whom a void day is a real cost. We also take commercial maintenance where the work suits our trades.

For anything beyond a one-off repair we set up a simple framework: a single named point of contact at Eternal, an agreed reporting route, and an authorisation limit below which reactive works proceed without a separate instruction. Larger items are surveyed, quoted and scheduled in the normal way. Access arrangements, key-holding, notice to tenants and out-of-hours cover are agreed in writing at the outset rather than negotiated during an incident. Work is invoiced against the property and the job, so it can be recharged or set against a service charge without unpicking a single monthly total.

Nearly all maintenance work happens around people. Protection is put down before tools come out, dust is controlled at source, and the property is left usable at the end of each day. Where tenants are in occupation we give notice, keep appointment windows and report back on what was found — which matters as much to the managing agent as the repair itself.

Eternal Design and Build provides building maintenance across London from a base in Edgware, with a particular concentration in North West London, North London, West London and Central London. Areas regularly served include Edgware, Mill Hill, Hendon, Finchley, Golders Green, Hampstead, West Hampstead, Highgate, St John's Wood, Maida Vale, Notting Hill, Kensington, Chelsea, Fulham and the surrounding boroughs.

Small reactive works are usually priced on a day or half-day rate plus materials, which we confirm before attending. Anything larger is surveyed and quoted as a fixed price against a written scope. For planned maintenance we produce a schedule of works with each item priced separately, so you can decide what is done now and what waits.