Residential Real EstateKeeping a Maintenance Calendar for Your Home"s Exterior
If keeping your home in top condition seems like an impossible dream,
you"re not alone. After all, the process of rising each day, getting the
kids off to school and yourself off to work, coming home and determining
your family"s path of least resistance to the dinner table, then sending
the kids off to bed consumes all of your brain power. Weekends are reserved
for catching up on immediate needs: You need to grocery shop, pay your
outstanding bills, maybe mow the lawn or tune up the car so it won"t quit
next week. Home maintenance is easy to postpone because so many areas of
your home that are in need of your attention are out of sight and thus out
of mind. They only enter your mind when they begin to sputter, bang and
demand large amounts of money when the repairman comes to visit.
Let"s face it -- the only way most of us can remember to maintain our homes
is to keep a calendar, committing ourselves to a date and thus, a regular
schedule of home maintenance. The best part of compiling such a calendar is
that once you"ve outlined everything in and outside of your home that needs
periodical maintenance, and you"ve scheduled a time during which you"ll
perform that maintenance, the task of home upkeep suddenly doesn"t seem so
daunting, after all.
Let"s start with your home"s exterior. Consider your roof, which probably
cost you an arm and a leg to install. It"s one of the biggest investments
you"ll ever make. It"s also one of the most neglected, despite the fact
that your roof requires very little of you in the way of maintenance.
Unless you experience severe wind gusts and or thunderstorms that could
cause substantial damage to your roof, you need only inspect the gutters
and spouts about twice a year for clogs of branches, leaves and other
material which could block the flow of water. Throughout the year, walk
around the parameters of your home, and check for any missing or broken
shingles -- a side effect of windy weather. If you see any patches of
missing or broken shingles, call a professional to repair a small problem
before it turns into a larger, more expensive problem.
About four times a year if not more, examine your heating/air conditioning
unit. Is it obstructed with leaves and branches? Brush them away, or get
out the garden hose, and spray the unit"s exterior clean. Obstructions will
cause your unit to work harder to heat and cool your home less efficiently.
In short, it takes longer for your home to heat and cool, and when it does,
it never quite feels warm or cool enough. So either you run the unit for
the longer period of time, or you turn the temperature up or down to
compensate. The bottom line affects your bottom line; your energy bill will
climb exponentially. And ironically, this periodic maintenance is
effortless. Have your heating/air conditioning unit serviced each spring
when the cold months are behind you and you"re preparing for the arrival of
the warm months, and make sure the filters are replaced at that time, as
well.
Take a close look at your gardens at least four times a year if not more.
Pay particularly close attention to your yard and garden during the times
when you"re not engaging in frequent yardwork (i.e., the winter months),
and your grounds are more likely to suffer from overgrowth and a collection
of insects. Of course, if you live in a very cold climate, insects may not
plague you in the winter months. But if you let excessive tree limbs,
branches and leaves collect all winter long and into the following spring,
you"re building a habitat for six- and eight-legged creatures come the
warmer months. At that point, what was once a minor job of clearing a few
stray branches and leaves has become a big cleaning job, a bug infestation
and possibly the ruin of your garden.
Throughout the year, as you come and go from your house -- and as you walk
around it -- be aware of any missing or damaged bricks or siding. At least
twice a year, give it a thorough inspection, carefully examining the
exterior of your home. If your home is covered in siding, make sure it"s
not buckling or rotting. If you have a driveway and front sidewalks,
inspect those at least three to four times a year for cracks that may need
to be sealed. Before you wave away the problem, consider that cracked
sidewalks are an accident waiting to happen, particularly for seniors, who
could trip, fall and seriously injure themselves. And the same goes for
you. And each spring, examine your home"s exterior paint. Is it chipping
and showing signs of wear?
Also twice a year, inspect the outside of your doors and windows. Is the
caulking beginning to deteriorate? If so, that"s a job you can probably
tackle yourself at minimal expense. If you"ve neglected your windows and
doors to the point where caulking has deteriorated considerably and is
causing drafts in your home, you may need to call a professional, depending
upon your home-repair skill level.
Next, we"ll cover the interior of your home, which requires a more frequent
commitment. Nevertheless, these periodic checks -- much like the ones you
perform around your home"s exterior -- are extremely quick and easy, and
can save you thousands of dollars in arduous home repairs.
Also See:
Winter Gear for Your Home
Home Maintenance: Why, What, Who and How
A Few Small Repairs Could Make the Sale