Prepare your home for the great British winter!

Spettro are specialists when it comes to repairing homes and commercial properties when the weather does its worst but take their advice this Autumn and you’ll save yourself some cash this Winter.

Tony Smith, one of the directors at Spettro, has nearly 40 years experience of fixing damage to homes caused by our great British weather. “Take action this weekend and you could save yourself a lot of hassle and money just by checking through the list below,” he explains.

Ensure that all gutters and downpipes are cleared, are free of leaves and debris and that there are no blockages in any downpipes or hopper heads where rainwater discharges into.
Check that your drains and gulleys are free-flowing and remove any vegetation or blockages to assist with the flow of water.
Ensure that flat roofs are in good condition and that any tears, rips or other repairs are undertaken in order to prevent rainwater seeping through into the property.
Ensure that any missing or broken roof tiles or slates are replaced and that courses are aligned to prevent rainwater ingressing through into the loft space.
Ensure that all pipework is adequately lagged and protected to prevent freezing in exposed areas such as loft spaces or outbuildings.
Ensure that all water tanks in the loft are adequately lagged and immersion heaters have sufficiently thick insulation jackets fitted.
Ensure that your gas boiler has been serviced by a Corgi Registered heating engineer before winter commences.
Ensure that your loft space is insulated to the recommended thickness (which is a minimum of 300mm) whilst ensuring that the fiberglass quilting insulation does not block the airflow to the roof eaves. Check that no insulation is placed directly under the cold water storage tank, as this requires a certain amount of warm air to prevent freezing.
Check radiators to ensure they are bled of any air blockages and that they are working at maximum capacity and any thermostatic valves fitted can be turned easily.
If you are going away during the winter months, turn your thermostat down and leave your central heating system on so that if we get a bit of snow then your pipes won’t burst!

Remember, if your home or business does get damaged by extreme weather conditions then you can leave it to Spettro to get the repairs done by their trusted tradesmen. Spettro Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority which allows them to mediate with all the major insurance companies, a service which is free of charge to the insured!

5th Nov 2008 | Permalink

Successful Spettro Franchisee Launches Another Territory!

Graham pointing to his next successful job Graham Calladine has been running the Chesterfield & Mansfield area for just over a year and has now expanded to Sheffield.

Graham launched Spettro (Chesterfield & Mansfield) at the height of the 2007 summer floods and has continued to bring in business ever since. His business became operational a little quicker than he expected in order to help families around the area when their homes were affected by the severe flooding. Graham was surprised with his initial success, “I couldn’t believe that I managed to earn back over half the cost of my franchise in just one week of trading!”

Graham explains why he decided to take on another franchise territory, “Spettro seems to be going places and getting a stronger hold in the market with every passing week. I am really looking forward to the challenge of managing both franchise areas and keeping very busy!”

Spettro deals with claims for flood, fire, storm, impact damage and burglaries. They also are involved in property rental refurbishments and detecting the origin of water leaks. Spettro Limited is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which allows them to loss assess and mediate with all the major insurance companies, a service which is free of charge to the insured.

Spettro’s pilot franchise turned over £240,000 in its first year, with a 65% operating profit and with 24 yellow page territories launched or soon to launch, why not request a prospectus: contact Spettro on 01883 621047

26th Sep 2008 | Permalink

Franchisees complete first year of trading with Spettro

A happy Kevin Edwards Spettro’s first three franchisees launched in August 2007 and after their first year of trading with Spettro are keen to recommend the business opportunity to others.

Graham Calladine (Chesterfield & Mansfield), Kevin Edwards (Manchester Central) and Raza Ahmed (Bradford) launched their Spettro franchises at the height of last summer’s floods and have continued to bring in business ever since. Graham’s franchise became operational a little quicker than he expected to help families around the area when their homes were affected by the severe flooding. Graham was surprised with his initial success, “I couldn’t believe that I managed to earn back over half the cost of my franchise in just one week of trading!”

Raza is also enjoying the rewards of running his own business, “I am more than happy with the performance of my franchise. The success and financial rewards are more than what I hoped for and with excellent help from all the team at head office the franchise has really proved itself.”

Mark Carey launched his franchise in Tunbridge Wells this June and explains why he decided Spettro was the franchise for him, “I chose Spettro for several reasons, principal amongst which is that buildings insurance is a non discretionary expense (if you have a mortgage) and therefore would not be directly affected by general economic conditions, the territory assigned is large enough to be viable and Kevin and Tony’s approach to selling was not high pressure.”
Spettro deals with claims for flood, fire, storm, impact damage and burglaries. They also are involved in property rental refurbishments and detecting the origin of water leaks. The business is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which allows them to loss assess and mediate with all the major insurance companies, a service which is free of charge to the insured.

A Spettro franchise territory is based on a Yellow Pages region and if you purchase a franchise you receive the sole rights to operate for Spettro in that whole region. Spettro now have 20 territories launched or soon to launch across the UK and those still available include East London, Glasgow North and Birmingham Central.

20th Aug 2008 | Permalink

The Spettro Team - Who Are We?

Spettro Ltd evolved after it was decided to expand the original building company (which was established in 1971 by Tony & Jenny Smith, two of Spettro’s Directors) through the franchise route, the original company having specialised in buildings insurance claims repairs as well as contractors to numerous Banks in the City.

A Buildings Insurance Claims Management company may not be something you’ve heard of before but when disaster strikes in your home or workplace then Spettro are the team to work with you and your insurers in order to get the job done. The experience gained over nearly forty years has been instrumental in the success of Spettro, the coordination of its services and its proliferation through its franchises across the UK.

Kevin England and his wife Sandra are the other two Directors. Kevin has been actively involved in the operational development of the company and Sandra is soon to come on board bringing her vast knowledge of the financial services sector with her.

For those of you getting in contact with Spettro then the person you are most likely to speak to first is Shirley Shine, Spettro’s Office Manager. Shirley and her team will make sure that the right person comes to your aid.

21st May 2008 | Permalink

Building works to property front

"Some weeks have now passed since the completion of the works to the front of our property, and we wanted to thank you for the excellent service provided by both yourself and your team.

We were both extremely impressed, and more importantly reassured, by your professionalism, and the way in which you managed not just the rebuilding project itself, but also dealt with our insurers. This helped remove a lot of the stress and uncertainty from the situation, something that we were very grateful for."

21st Mar 2008 | Permalink

Removal of Asbestos

“I contacted Spettro for advice on removal of asbestos from my Grandma's home. We were concerned that it might affect her health. After a visit from our local Spettro representative we discovered that there are many different types of asbestos and hers was not as dangerous as some can be.

Spettro organised for its removal and now we feel much happier. We would recommend Spettro to anyone who had a similar issue as they quite simply know what they are talking about!”

4th Mar 2008 | Permalink

Impact Damage from Drunk Driver

“Shortly after we moved into our new home a drunk driver crashed through the front wall of our house at 3am in the morning. His truck destroyed our wall and damaged our car which was parked on the other side of the wall.

We called Spettro who handled the situation and project managed the repairs since we were both very busy with our jobs. It worked out brilliantly, we now have the wall repaired (looks even better than before!) and have given Spettro’s phone number to all our friends in case of a similar emergency.”

2nd Mar 2008 | Permalink

Smoke Damaged Property

"Spettro helped us after a fire in our home left our property smoke damaged. Although we lost some family photos that can’t be replaced, our lives are now back to normal.

Spettro handled the entire process and dealt with our insurance company. We don’t know what we would have done with out you. Thank you Spettro for helping us get our lives back to normal."

20th Feb 2008 | Permalink

Recovery After Flooding

"It was the most frightening experience of my life. I’m just so glad that I called Spettro who came out, assessed the damage to the property & organised the repairs.

Things moved along much quicker than I expected and although the whole experience was horrendous, it was made much easier having someone that knew the process and dealt with the insurance company for me."

4th Feb 2008 | Permalink

Case Studies