Most estates need both. Reactive maintenance fixes a window after it fails or a resident reports a fault, while cyclical maintenance checks and adjusts windows on a set schedule, so wear is caught before it becomes a call out. For councils and housing associations, the useful question is how to balance them.
We're Exterior Plas, a family run manufacturer founded in 1988 in Thornwood, Epping, and our reactive maintenance department started in 2007, so we've seen both sides.
Key takeaways
– Reactive work responds to a failure or a resident report. It's essential, but it's hard to predict.
– Cyclical work is scheduled. It covers routine checks and adjustments, including toe and heeling.
– Planned checks can reduce urgent repairs. They won't remove them.
– The right mix depends on the age and condition of the windows you're responsible for, and windows near the end of their working life often make more sense to replace.
What reactive window maintenance means
It's repair work done after something's gone wrong: a resident reports a handle that won't turn or a sash that won't shut, and an engineer attends to fix it.
That's the work residents notice. It's also hard to plan, because reports tend to arrive in clusters after cold or wet weather, and a fault that's been ignored is often a bigger job by the time anyone sees it.
Repeat visits are common too, because if nobody checks the hinges while fixing a handle, the same window can come back with a new symptom.
What cyclical window maintenance involves
It's a planned programme of checks and small adjustments carried out at set intervals, often once a year, with engineers working through each window in turn. Nobody waits for a report.
Typical tasks include:
– checking each window opens and locks properly, then lubricating hinges and friction stays
– adjusting hinges and keeps so the sash sits square
– toe and heeling, which repacks the glazed unit so its weight sits correctly
– inspecting gaskets and seals for gaps or shrinkage, and noting parts that'll need replacing soon
This is routine care. It won't make a window last forever, and we don't put a figure on extra years. What it does is catch wear while it's still a small job, and you're left with a record of every window's condition, block by block.
Reactive vs cyclical window maintenance compared
The main difference is what triggers the work: reactive jobs start with a fault and cyclical ones with a date in the programme, which affects budgeting and how much you learn about your stock.
| | Reactive | Cyclical |
|—|—|—|
| Trigger | A failure or resident report | A planned date in the programme |
| Timing | Unpredictable, often with seasonal peaks | Set in advance, usually yearly |
| Typical work | Replacing worn hardware or misted units | Routine adjustment and toe and heeling |
| Budgeting | Hard to forecast | Easier to plan across a year |
| Information gathered | The fault that was reported | The condition of every window visited |
| Best suited to | Sudden faults and security issues | Large stock of similar windows in fair condition |
How planned preventative window maintenance fits a housing estate
It works best alongside a reactive service, because faults still happen between visits and you'll always need someone ready to respond when a resident reports one.
On an estate, a sensible order looks like this:
1. Map the windows you have, including their system and age, then group blocks with similar windows so each visit covers more ground.
2. Agree how residents are told about visits and how access works.
3. Record findings at every window, even when nothing's wrong.
4. Use repeat faults to decide where replacement belongs in the longer term plan.
Access is usually the hardest part. If residents aren't in, a planned visit becomes a return trip, so build missed appointments into the schedule from the start.
Industry commentary argues that more planned work can help social landlords reduce reactive maintenance costs, and government guidance on the Decent Homes Standard expects homes to be kept in a reasonable state of repair.
Many landlords buy this work through window repair frameworks, which are agreements that let a landlord call off repair work from approved contractors without tendering every job. Some cover reactive repairs only. Others include cyclical programmes. Each framework sets its own terms for response times and reporting, and we'd work to those. If you're writing a specification, spell out whether cyclical checks are included and how often, and who decides when a window moves from repair to replacement.
When a cyclical programme is not the right choice
Planned checks aren't always the best use of a maintenance budget.
– Windows near the end of their life. If frames are failing or units keep misting, yearly adjustments only delay the decision, and our windows and doors pages show the replacement systems we make.
– Very small stock. A building with a handful of windows may not need a formal programme, and a check during other planned works can be enough.
– Fire doors and fire rated windows. These often have their own inspection requirements, so don't fold them into a general programme without checking.
– Unknown systems. If nobody knows what's fitted, there's nothing sensible to schedule yet, so start with a survey.
Working with Exterior Plas
We manufacture, install and maintain windows and doors for local councils, housing associations, schools, commercial clients, homeowners and the trade across London, Essex and the South East. Our reactive department grew naturally out of the manufacturing and installing we've done since 1988, and our factory in Thornwood is around 15,000 sq ft, with CNC machinery, fabricating REHAU systems.
You can read more about our reactive maintenance department or our London repairs service, and to talk through a programme, contact us on 01992 578 903 or at enquiries@exteriorplas.com, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
FAQs
What is the difference between reactive and cyclical window maintenance?
Reactive maintenance repairs a window after it fails or a resident reports it, whereas cyclical maintenance is scheduled, so engineers check and adjust windows before anyone has to report a fault.
How often should cyclical window checks happen?
Often yearly. Window age and your framework terms should set the final interval.
Will cyclical maintenance stop reactive repairs?
No. It can cut urgent call outs, but handles still break and units still fail, however well a programme is run. That's why you'll need a reactive service working alongside any planned programme, with both feeding into the same records.
What does toe and heeling mean?
It's the process of packing a glazed unit inside its sash so the weight sits correctly, which helps the sash stay square and close properly when done well.
Sources
– Evo PM: reactive vs planned repairs in social housing (industry commentary)