What Does Summer “Break” Really Mean?

Although most students, and even some teachers and administrative staff, receive a well-deserved break during the summer months, the work of the school maintenance staff is never done. The facility’s maintenance crew can be found working practically year-round to keep their facilities in tip-top shape. In fact, the summer months, when school facilities are at their lowest occupancy levels, are the prime time for these hard-working staff members to perform classroom touch-ups, complete prolonged repairs, and implement preventive maintenance. Read on to ensure you’ve gathered all the necessary education facility tasks on your to-do list for this upcoming summer “break”.

General Indoor Upkeep

The summer months provide maintenance staff a time to complete general upkeep tasks for the facilities without interfering with classes.

First up on the summer to-do list is sanitizing the facility. Desks, walls, and any other surfaces a child or adult has touched should be scrubbed clean of fingerprints, dust, and germs. The sheer size of a facility can make this task require a week’s time and a dedicated crew to complete.

Once the environment is stripped clean, basic facility upkeep can start. Patching dents or holes in drywall, touching up scuffed paint, applying lube to squeaky door hinges, and replacing light bulbs are just a few tasks that every maintenance manager expects to be completed.

During the school year, the floors at elementary schools and colleges alike experience extreme wear. Given that repairing and upgrading flooring can be a tedious, dusty, and loud task, there really isn’t a great time to work on flooring upkeep during the school year. Summer break provides a 2-month period where carpet can be deep cleaned or pulled up and replaced. This is also the perfect time to strip and wax rubber tile flooring.

[Keep your school’s facility running all year round with our checklist, Education Facility Management Checklist for Back to School.]

General Outdoors Upkeep

For as much work as there is inside the facility, there is just as much work to be completed outside. Your community often forms their impression of your school by the building’s exterior appearance. To make a great impression on students and parents, you’ll want to make sure the outside is well-kept too.

While foot traffic is at its lowest, seed and de-weed the facility’s property. If there are playgrounds or outdoor seating areas on the premises, this is also a great time to ensure that all bolts are tightened and all pieces are in working order.

Roof repair can be quite loud and often leads to falling dust or debris. With air quality and occupants’ safety in mind, the most logical time to work on roofing issues is during the summer. Of course, patching a leak or another spotted emergency should be completed as soon as possible – ideally, after classes have been dismissed for the day. Anything requiring a substantial amount of work, such as a large repair or full roof replacement after a damaging hail storm, should be considered a summer project.

Every so often, new windows will make the cut on the facility’s budget. The best time to replace them is, you guessed it, the summer. Removing a window during the summer eliminates safety and temperature concerns.

General Mechanical School Maintenance

Complete a thorough inspection of your boiler to determine what work needs to be completed, in order to ensure a properly working system for the coming school year. Schedule welding, retubing, refractory, and burner services with a qualified professional during the summer months to avoid noise and potential danger to occupants.

Your HVAC system keeps your occupants comfortable during the school year. As with your boiler, you should complete a thorough inspection of your system to determine what parts and other aspects of it will require further attention prior to your facility being occupied for classes. Ensure that your unit is working efficiently year-round by cleaning your duct-work, coils, and filters. Be sure to plan sizeable work or tune-ups during the summer months.

The summer is a great time to layout your preventative maintenance plan. After an in-depth walkthrough of the building and inspection of the mechanical systems, you should have a good idea of what upkeep will be needed throughout the next year. By planning this preventative maintenance during the summer months, you can schedule noisy upkeep, repairs, and replacements during the off months and smaller tasks during the school year.

Your summer school to-do task list can pile up quickly. Subcontracting some of these tasks can free your team up to work in other areas of outdoor and indoor maintenance tasks. If you’re in need of assistance with your mechanical systems, we are happy to oblige. Reach out to Rasmussen Mechanical Services to see what we can do for you.