Preventative Maintenance in Cambridge, ON

A deeper look at how Cambridge conditions shape the preventative maintenance work owners actually need.

The case for preventative maintenance in Cambridge is built on three compounding risks that the city's specific climate and building stock actually produce year after year. The first is frozen and burst supply piping in the postwar housing stock. Preston and Hespeler Village bungalows built between 1950 and 1975 were constructed with galvanized steel supply piping and rim joist cavities that were not insulated to modern standards. Galvanized pipe corrodes internally from the inside out, narrowing its bore over decades before it splits under pressure during a cold snap. A burst galvanized supply line behind a finished wall in a Preston bungalow is a $3,000 to $6,000 emergency repair including drywall and remediation. A scheduled inspection that catches the pipe at low flow stage and plans a controlled repipe during a spring or summer work window costs significantly less. The cold air pooling effect of the Grand River valley makes the Galt Core and Preston areas colder than the upland Saginaw and Westview subdivisions during the same January cold snap, compressing the time available to respond before pipes freeze. Bridgepoint's pre winter inspection protocol specifically targets rim joist insulation and heat tape condition in these lower lying addresses.

The second risk is mortar failure in the Galt Core heritage buildings. Victorian and Edwardian limestone and brick buildings along Main Street and Water Street were built with lime based mortar that has an expected service life of 50 to 75 years. After a century or more of freeze thaw cycling in the Grand River valley, mortar joints in many of these buildings have reached complete failure at the face, allowing winter precipitation to penetrate the masonry and reach interior wall assemblies. A preventative inspection that identifies failed mortar joints and schedules tuckpointing before the next freeze cycle costs a fraction of the interior remediation required after a winter of unchecked water intrusion. The third risk is the furnace replacement cycle in the Saginaw and Centennial subdivisions built between 1988 and 2005. Gas furnaces in those homes are now 20 to 37 years old, well past the 15 to 25 year expected service life. A cracked heat exchanger in an aging furnace introduces combustion gases including carbon monoxide into the forced air distribution system. Bridgepoint schedules TSSA certified heat exchanger inspections annually for all accounts on preventative programs, documents condition with photos, and issues a repair versus replace recommendation with flat rate pricing before any work begins.