Lonely warehouse buildings

Vacant warehouse buildings are at risk of theft or damage if not secured and maintained properly. Whats the easiest way to close up and look after unused warehouse buildings and is there a way to avoid having vacant buildings that prey on resources and stress levels?If not secured properly and checked regularly vacant warehouse buildings can prey on budgets, time and stress levels. Buildings that are on isolated industrial estates could fall foul of vandalism, theft, tipping or squatters. Some businesses bring in a property management company, but if you’re going it alone its worth leaving nothing to chance.

Closing warehouse buildings

To make sure your building is secure when you close it you need to do a thorough risk assessment highlighting areas of the building that are susceptible to break-ins or damage. During the closing up process services need to be turned off and valuables removed. To ensure you can turn to your insurers in the event of damage or theft, you would probably need to inform them of the vacancy and regularly inspect the warehouse buildings, keeping a log of visits and actions carried out.

Securing warehouse buildings

Boarding with steel grills and some kind of alarm system should keep intruders out. If the building’s power remains connected then there is a wider choice of alarm system. Otherwise, battery powered systems could be considered. To avoid false alarms triggered by smaller less harmful squatters a video alarm system could be used which sends images to a manned response centre once sensors are tripped.

Maintaining warehouse buildings

Obvious one this but visit the warehouse buildings and check thoroughly on a regularly basis, in particular the security measures you have put in place. If any tipping or vandalism has occurred, its best to clean it straight away to avoid the place becoming dilapidated and looking abandoned.

Can you avoid having vacant warehouse buildings

Business needs change rapidly these days and long-term predictions are difficult. Because of this, many businesses choose to hire demountable warehouse buildings and have them installed on site for a period of time. Once the hire contracts runs out they can either renew or return the building, avoiding the cost, time and headache of keeping empty buildings on another site.