There are many ways that cold weather can be prevented from causing damage to your home and belongings.

Get to know your home
Make sure you know where the main stopcock for your water supply is located and check that it turns easily. It is usually near where the water pipe enters the house or under the kitchen sink.

Keep your house warm
To avoid burst pipes and damage to your home this winter keep your home reasonably warm day and night. During cold weather keep the heating on. If you have thermostatic radiator valves make sure these are all on. A room used left often should still have the thermostat value on low, to allow warm water to run through the radiators.

Your heating will be more efficient if it is on a lower temperature for longer periods of time. Set your timer to come on twice daily, usually in the morning and at night as these are often the coldest times.

Open or set aside the hatch to the loft space (if you have one). This will provide additional protection if your water tank and pipes are located in the loft. Opening the doors of your kitchen sink unit, and allowing the warmer air to circulate around the pipes, will also help prevent them freezing.

If your water supply becomes frozen, what action should you take?
• Turn off the water supply at the main stopcock
• Turn on all cold taps to drain the system
• Flush the toilet
• Do not turn hot water taps on as the hot water cylinder may
• Collapse if the pipes feeding it are frozen
• Switch off the central heating and immersion heater
• Collect water in the bath for washing and flushing the toilet
• Report the problem by telephoning 0161 257 2441

Remember!
Frozen pipes must be defrosted slowly. Never use a fierce heat or a naked flame to defrost pipes, as this may cause the pipes to burst. Once the pipes have thawed, turn the water back on slowly and check for any cracks or leaks. If these are detected, turn the water off again and reporting it as a burst pipe.

If your pipes burst, what action should you take?
If you have not already done so, take all of the steps mentioned above in relation to frozen pipes (turning off the stopcock, draining the system etc). If water leaks near your electrics or electrical appliances, switch off the mains immediately. If your mains switch is wet, don’t touch it!
Report the burst by telephoning 0161 257 2441.

If you live in a flat and are getting water in from the flat above, please make every effort to contact them direct, you should also contact the building manager or building management company. Our plumbers cannot arrange access to a property that we do not manage. If water is gathering in your ceiling, and it is in danger of collapse, place a bucket or basin under the affected area and carefully puncture the ceiling to let the water drain away.

Home Contents Insurance
We strongly recommend you insure your home for damage to furniture and fittings, personal possessions and redecoration. PAD4U and your landlord do not insure your belongings, and has no responsibility to assist in drying out or replacing items damaged by burst pipes.

Taking a trip?
If you are away from your home for any length of time, ensure that the heating system is left on timer at a low temperature. We advise that you pass your contact details on to neighbours and friends so that in the event of an emergency you can be reached easily. We also advise that you ensure we have your up to date contact details and a next of kin that we can contact in case of emergency.

Other useful telephone numbers
National Grid (for gas leaks)………………………………..0800 111 999
United utilities (for burst water mains)…………… 0845 746 2200

This year’s Christmas lights switch on will be held on Friday 9th December with entertainment from 4.30 to 6.30pm.

Rt.Hon Sir Gerald Kaufman MP will be switching on the Christmas tree lights at 5.30pm. Local children are invited to meet Father Christmas on the Village Green on the corner of Chapel Street and Stockport Road from 4.30 pm.
The event is the result of a joint partnership between the Local Traders and Manchester City council.

As part of the local traders PAD4U is pleased to contribute towards the event not only financially but also helping out by wrapping the presents and posing as Santa’s little helpers during the event.

No other district shopping centre does this and it is what makes the Levenshulme event unique.
We Love Levenshulme!

Our intrepid accountant who regularly bikes with Macclesfield Wheelers has recently taken umbrage with unsightly concrete bollards.  En route to a race, Simon targeted this particularly irksome bollard and steel chain, managing to smash both.  Sadly during this act of heroism he managed to sustain several injuries requiring operations to the wrist/hand as well as several sores and bruises.

Simon is making his way into work, to ensure all accounts continue to run smoothly, but please accept our apologies if there are any delays (as he mashes the keyboard with his working fingers).  We wish Simon a speedy recovery and, perhaps, to put aside his personal vendetta against this roadside nuisance.

David Boyd, Managing Director, PAD4U Estate and Letting Agents Manchester writes:

I read with disbelief this weekend in the Economist (see article by Schumpeter) that a $300 house was being contemplated, surely this is an impossible feat?  Perhaps, but such unlikely endevours have achieved success before.  Take the $100 laptop scheme, The XO laptop as it is known, is now being used by school children in some of the poorest regions in the world.

Intrigued, I headed over to the official website 300house.com to sign up and discover whether the project can ‘get off the ground’.

The project is very much in its infancy, it is currently in the ‘concept’ stage and the organisers are looking for ideas (if you have a flair for design – you can submit your concept with the opportunity of winning $25,000!).

The idea was originally presented in a Harvard Business Review blog post by Vijay Govindarajan and Christian Sarkar.  Initially it was just an idea, but now they want to see how far they can take this project.  A number of universities and businesses are now getting involved.

The more people who get involved in such a project the greater likelihood of success, so please spread the word!

A  great big thank you to everyone who entered our completion throughout November. We have been overwhelmed by pictures!
We have found it very difficult to choose a winner, but ultimately we decided on Basma Ahmad (Age 9).
Well done to everyone who entered, a few of the entrants have been selected and are here for your viewing pleasure.
Basma’s Parents will be receiving £50.00 worth of Toys R us Vouchers in time for Christmas!!