Building Maintenance in Omaha – February 2022

Don’t wait until something in your building gets worn out, breaks, or springs a leak – stay ahead of the trouble by performing routine building maintenance. It’s important to be proactive for several reasons. First, a well maintained building will retain the value of the property. Second, it will be more pleasing to the eye, which can attract and keep both employees and customers. Finally, it is financially beneficial and can save you money in the long run by avoiding expensive replacements. According to global commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, running your equipment to the point of failure can cost up to 10 times the price of a good maintenance program.

In order to have a successful business, you must have a building that is in good working condition, so we went straight to the experts to learn more about how you can stay on top of your building maintenance.

Find Peace of Mind with BELFOR

BELFOR Property Restoration provides disaster recovery and property restoration services to Omaha and the surrounding areas. Though they often come in after the damage is done, BELFOR provides services to help you maintain your home or building and prevent major problems from taking over. They offer site specific preparedness plans, in which they will perform a walk-through of the property, identifying potential areas of concern, and will determine how to address the areas and prevent any further issues. These plans also pinpoint specific needs of the customer and their property.

“The documentation within the plan will assist not only the property owner, but also BELFOR with allowing our team to quickly identify areas or things of high importance that require immediate attention,” said Estimator Tanner McDonnell.

A monthly check of your property can and will go a long way in the longevity of your home and business. Tanner suggests scheduling reminders in your calendar; similar to the reminder stickers you place in your vehicle as a way to remember to maintain it, remind yourself to take the time to inspect your property.

“Making sure your dryer vents and range hoods are cleaned and functioning properly is important in fire prevention,” Tanner advised. “Changing filters to provide cleaner air for customers, tenants, and owners will also ensure the longevity and health of your HVAC system. Ensure the exterior of your property is secure and protected from wind and water intrusion by proper use of material, proper installation, and regular maintenance of roofing, siding, windows, painting, and so forth.”

Drones have made inspecting roofs and other exterior aspects of buildings – especially larger properties – much easier and more efficient in recent years. They can give a property owner a great perspective as well, compared to just still photos taken from a roof.

Another great service BELFOR has been providing recently is COVID-19 disinfecting due to positive or potential cases within businesses and other properties.

“Maintaining the cleanliness of your property will give you and your customers peace of mind knowing that any potential contamination has been properly cleaned and disinfected.”

Avoid Back Ups and Leaks with Plumbing Maintenance

Don’t put off quick plumbing fixes that will lead to major issues later on. Big Birge Plumbing often sees small plumbing issues get overlooked, which later results in a system failure – and a much higher cost to fix.

“Ignoring the small issues that are actually quick fixes only leads to long, pricey repairs,” said Lallenia Birge, owner. “In addition to this, we also often see people try to fix things themselves, usually in an attempt to save some money – even though they have no experience working with plumbing systems! Both of these occurrences will only hurt your plumbing system and make for a costlier repair.”

There are also major health risks associated with bad plumbing systems. Lallenia recommends having an inspection each year, as it is likely to prevent any issues while also allowing you to know that your building is energy efficient and safe for your occupants. Lack of care to your plumbing system can cause pipes to leak, which can lead to issues with mildew or mold, or even water contamination.

If you are seeing clogged drains, gurgling sounds in your drain, water pressure that is too high or low, water that gets hot very slowly (or not at all), or appliances that move slowly (such as a dishwasher that takes much longer than intended), it’s time to call a plumber. Whether it’s commercial or residential plumbing, Big Birge can handle the job!

Maintenance for Fire Safety

FireGuard, Inc. can inspect, maintain, and repair fire-alarm systems, kitchen-hood systems, fire extinguishers, fire-sprinkler systems, backflows, and special hazard systems. They also have a specialized team dedicated to the design and installation of fire-alarm systems. Many of the maintenance and safety services that FireGuard provides are required by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association).

“In Nebraska, you are required to have your fire alarm, kitchen hood, special hazard, and clean agent systems inspected twice a year,” said Owner Lori Sorensen. “Fire sprinkler systems, backflows, and fire extinguishers require an annual inspection. Not having these annual and semi-annual inspections done puts your building and the people who occupy it at risk, and the cost of a potential fire in comparison to keeping up to date on these inspections is insurmountable.”

FireGuard serves many industries, including healthcare, education, restaurants, industrial, property management, hospitality, retail, and construction. They are a 24/7 business, available to assist you anytime you need them!

Building Solutions

For more than 20 years, Engineered Controls has been designing, installing, managing, and servicing building management and security solutions for buildings and facilities of all sizes and types. They are dedicated to designing easy-to-use building automation and security systems that provide the highest possible energy efficiency, while ensuring occupant comfort and maintaining a safe and secure workplace.

“Building systems that are properly maintained will run at top efficiency and for the longest possible amount of time, minimizing your operating costs and unnecessary capital expenditures,” said President and CEO Pat Killeen. “Properly controlled and maintained building systems equal maximum employee satisfaction, maximum productivity, and cost savings.”

Engineered Controls offers custom maintenance plans that can be tailored to fit the needs of each customer. A well-maintained system can be cost neutral when considering both the energy savings and extended life of the equipment. In addition, a good maintenance program will help to ensure buildings will experience smooth, uninterrupted operation for as long as possible.

“We offer an advisory service program called Adviser,” Pat explained. “Adviser is a complete suite of building management services and cloud-based resources that are designed to monitor energy and operational efficiency, and put your facility on a path to optimization. Our Adviser customers have the support of our network of energy and automation experts, backed by sophisticated analytics technology, all working to deliver the right level of service and information you need to maximize your efficiency and achieve your business goals.”

Control Depot partners with the leading suppliers of building technologies in order to give their customers the best products available. As a Honeywell Authorized Systems Distributor, Control Depot offers a full-line of Honeywell commercial and residential products to fulfill any HVAC controls or security needs. From a simple residential thermostat to a complex web-based building automation system, they support and stock the Honeywell parts you need.

“The purpose of building automation controls is to provide control of the HVAC, lighting, and safety systems in a building; think ‘smart building’ and ‘smart home,’” explained Vice President Jeff Killeen. “Whether working with residential homeowners or commercial businesses, we both sell basic products and replacements, and help growing businesses integrate their own solutions for building control technology.”

To keep up with company growth, you must keep up with the technology. Similarly, Control Depot’s staff must be knowledgeable of these technologies to best serve their clients, which is why they have assembled a team of qualified individuals whose goal is to assist each customer with personal service rooted in experience.

“Our primary goal is to offer the necessary systems and replacement parts that will provide a safe, comfortable working environment, as well as cut wasteful energy costs,” Jeff said. “We are helping companies become more sustainable and improve their bottom lines.”

More Than Just Curb Appeal

If your building isn’t properly maintained on the outside, it’s not going to draw people in to check out the inside. For commercial buildings, this could result in turning away potential clients, and for homeowners, curb appeal goes down – which is especially risky in the event you want to sell your home! Stonebrook Exterior is a commercial and residential exterior construction company that specializes in whole building envelope solutions, providing multiple trades or scopes of work into a single contract. Business Development Manager TwiLea Fletcher told us that exterior work is more than just updating the curb appeal.

“If you don’t maintain the exterior of your home or business, it shortens the life of the building,” said Twilea. “Planned inspections of all systems will provide opportunities to extend their life. The price of not taking preventative measures creates higher repair and replacement costs for integrated systems that fail permanently.”

TwiLea suggested having multiple analyses done on your building before proceeding with exterior maintenance or replacement. Consider the company that encourages and practices value-engineering strategies, as Stonebrook does.

“We perform an extensive customer-needs analysis for each project with which we are engaged,” TwiLea said. “We take each opportunity and consider all the aspects of what the customer wants, needs, and has budgeted. Whether we are adding value by helping you select the most aesthetically impressive or environmentally-friendly exterior applications or implementing long-term strategies that will help minimize your total cost-of-ownership, we are accountable for the success of your project.”

Building upkeep is an important investment that will save you valuable time and money down the road. Whether it’s commercial or residential maintenance, we recommend contacting these businesses and experts today to get ahead in sustaining your building!