This guide will cover the importance of monitoring, what to look for and when, how to repair, and what to avoid (to prevent long-term problems).
Why Important
What to look for
Fire Safety
to be added later
When to look
All painted wood should be inspected annually for any signs of breakdown and decay, and will need repainting about once every 3-5 years. South or West facing exposures, and river facing exposures, may need repainting more frequently.
How to fix
Remove all loose, flaking or unsound paint by scraping, sanding, wire brushing or use a hot air gun with caution and clean back to a sound firm edge of the old paint film. Particular care must be taken when treating surfaces that may contain paint applied pre-1960 as this may include paints containing white lead.
Cut back any decayed wood to sound wood and replace with a section of new timber that has been treated with a suitable timber preservative. If there is only a small cavity, use a suitable exterior wood filler to match the existing colour of the preserved timber.
Wash down all remaining areas with a dilute solution [of what? check original text]