Top 8 Commercial DIY tips – From Maintenance experts AM Planned Maintenance.

At AM Planned Maintenance, we know that keeping professional spaces such as shops, pharmacies, restaurants and pubs in good condition takes constant work. That is our business, after all. But we also understand that not every minor issue needs a professional call-out. Sometimes, a little targeted DIY can solve the problem quickly and save you time and money.

Keeping a building running smoothly isn’t just about fixing things when they break. It’s about planning ahead, spotting problems early, and making sure everything works as it should. At AM Planned Maintenance, we specialise in Reactive and Planned Maintenance to keep buildings safe, efficient, and reliable.

Last week, my wife and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It was a joyful milestone, a reminder of how quickly time passes and how important it is to pause and reflect on what has been built together. While we are still very much enjoying the happiness and rhythm of married life, the occasion also prompted me to think more broadly about the significance of anniversaries not just in our personal lives, but in our professional ones too.

In 2023 British firefighters responded to a staggering 600,000 incidents across the country including, 138,000 fires. Whilst a majority of these fires occurred in the home a whopping 13,297 took place in commercial and non-residential buildings.

Retail and hospitality premises are among the most at-risk non-residential buildings for fire. Together, they accounted for 2,527 incidents, a significant share of all non-domestic fires. Unfortunately, these fires can be especially intense as retail and hospitality environments are designed to be welcoming and comfortable, but that often means they contain:

With most of our clients based in towns and city centres, it was important for us to find a flexible, portable, yet powerful water jetting system that could clear even the toughest of blockages. After looking around, we decided to go with the Superjet VP35P from Jetchem.com

We’ve now got four units fitted in our fleet, and after three months of solid use, we’ve put them through just about everything. Here’s what our engineers think of this compact but seriously capable bit of kit:

The decline of the Ahwahnee is a stark reminder that property maintenance is about far more than aesthetics. In the absence of proper planning, small issues can escalate into major operational and reputational problems. Relying solely on reactive maintenance often results in higher costs, guest dissatisfaction, and long-term brand damage.

Despite their popularity the average profit margin for a busy pub is a paltry 10-15%, so it’s no surprise that the industry only spends on average 1.5% of turnover on maintenance and repair. With maintenance budgets so tight it’s important to focus on the areas which customers value most. Surprisingly this is not beer selection, price or location but instead according to a recent study Good Food (80%), A Nice Pub Garden (64%) and A Good Atmosphere (60%).

In the article below, I will outline some of major property maintenance issues faced by the industry in these three areas and what can be done to prevent costly maintenance problems.

Reinventing Retail: How Superdrug’s ‘Beauty Playground’ Shows the Power of Customer Experience and Why Property Maintenance Matters.

The modern high street has its fair share of challenges, from ever-growing online competition to shifting shopper habits. But the smartest retailers are proving that with the right approach, physical stores can do more than just survive—they can truly stand out. By investing in clever store design and next-level customer experiences, traditional retail spaces can transform into genuine destinations that people go out of their way to visit.

A perfect example is Superdrug’s latest innovation: the opening of its ‘Beauty Playground’ at Manchester’s Trafford Centre. Following a successful pilot in Rushden Lakes, Superdrug has turned one of its main stores into a lively, interactive beauty hub that prioritises customer experience over traditional transactions

Why Teamwork is the Real Secret Sauce in Reactive Maintenance

Looking for the ultimate hack to make your Property Maintenance truly shine? Spoiler alert: it’s not some shiny new piece of kit, the latest smart scheduling software, or a fancy algorithm that promises the world. The real secret is much simpler — and probably closer than you think.

It’s good old-fashioned teamwork.

Did you know the average Brit spends over five months—about 170 days—of their life washing dishes? That’s nearly 98 minutes each week, or roughly 85 hours every year. So when your sink clogs, it’s not just a small inconvenience—it’s a major disruption.

This becomes even more critical in commercial environments, where the lack of washing facilities can seriously impact business operations and customer service. That’s why investing in regular drainage maintenance is so important—it helps prevent costly surprises that could grind your work to a halt.

We’ve learned from our drainage engineers that most routine drainage maintenance issues we encounter could have been far less severe if property managers had acted sooner when early warning signs first appeared. Spotting these problems early not only protects your property but also helps avoid costly reactive maintenance later.

Below are the top 5 early warning signs that you need drainage maintenance.

As the saying goes, infantry win battles, logistics win wars — and it’s every bit as true in property maintenance. Even the best engineers can’t work miracles without the right support behind them. That’s why, whether it’s planned or reactive maintenance, we rely heavily on our extensive network of trusted suppliers. They make sure we have a steady, dependable supply of tools, materials, and consumables, keeping projects on track and clients’ properties running smoothly, no matter what surprises come our way.

Let’s talk about Loos. We know they can be a bit of a sticky subject, and drainage maintenance isn’t something discussed in polite circles but the state of your WC could be sending your business down the tubes.