Choosing Materials You Will Have to Maintain

Materials are selected for how they look on installation day and maintained for decades. The choices that become burdens.

Material selection concentrates on appearance at installation and rarely considers the twenty years that follow. In this climate, with dust, intense sun and temperature variation, some materials require considerably more attention than others.

Why these keep happening

These errors involve selecting a material without asking what keeping it in that condition will require. The answer is knowable in advance and rarely asked.

1. Selecting finishes that show every mark

Matte dark surfaces and high gloss finishes both photograph beautifully.

• Avoid it by: Consider how each finish behaves with dust and handling before selecting it.
• Proof it is closed: Samples assessed in realistic conditions rather than in a showroom.

What it costs you: Dust, fingerprints and water marks are visible constantly, and the surfaces require daily attention to look acceptable.

2. Specifying materials requiring regular sealing

Natural stone and some finishes offer appearance that manufactured alternatives do not.

• Avoid it by: Ask what maintenance the material requires and decide honestly whether it will be done.
• Proof it is closed: Maintenance requirements documented at selection.

What it costs you: Sealing is required periodically, and when it is not done, staining becomes permanent.

3. Ignoring how materials weather externally

External materials are chosen on their appearance when new.

• Avoid it by: Look at the material on an existing building several years old before selecting it.
• Proof it is closed: An existing installation visited and assessed.

What it costs you: Some materials weather gracefully and others simply degrade, and the difference is dramatic within a few years in this climate.

4. Selecting components that cannot be replaced individually

Integrated or bespoke elements offer a cleaner result.

• Avoid it by: Prefer assemblies where individual components can be replaced.
• Proof it is closed: Replacement approach confirmed for each significant component.

What it costs you: When one part fails, the whole assembly must be replaced or lives with the failure.

5. Using materials that cannot be cleaned practically

Texture and pattern add interest to a surface.

• Avoid it by: Consider dust accumulation when selecting textured surfaces, particularly at low level and externally.
• Proof it is closed: Cleaning method identified for each specified surface.

What it costs you: Heavily textured surfaces accumulate dust and are difficult to clean, which in this climate matters considerably.

6. No consideration of access for maintenance

Maintenance is assumed to be possible because the building is new.

• Avoid it by: Confirm access for every element requiring periodic attention.
• Proof it is closed: Access reviewed for all maintainable elements.

What it costs you: Elements at height or in confined positions are not maintained, which means they deteriorate on schedule.

A short check before you sign

• Have you assessed how each finish behaves with dust and handling?
• Do any materials require periodic sealing, and will it happen?
• Have you seen the external materials on a building several years old?
• Can individual components be replaced without replacing assemblies?
• Is access available to everything requiring maintenance?

If it has already happened

In an existing property, focus on what can be improved: applying appropriate sealants where they were omitted, establishing a cleaning regime suited to the surfaces, and replacing the elements that have become genuinely unmaintainable when the opportunity arises during other work.

If you are procuring materials for a project, Domira can specify, source and verify them against the standards your drawings actually require.