Your Home Inspector’s Top 10 Tips for Fall Home Maintenance
Your home is a precious investment. Protect your investment!
Keeping on top of house maintenance is endless but doing these ten things will help protect your investment and keep you warm and dry as it gets colder.
Here are 10 important tasks to make time for this fall to keep your home safe and beautiful. I like to start from the outside in, same as when I do home inspections.
OUTSIDE
1-Gutters and downspouts
When gutters get blocked with debris water no longer is discharged where it should but overflows around the foundation and walls, this can damage the exterior envelope and cause leaks in basements.
Get on a ladder (or have someone do this for you) and look in the gutters surrounding the roof line. Clean out any leaves and debris and spray clean with a hose. Make sure that the downspouts are discharging water away from the house - 6 feet is a good distance.
2-Landscaping
People often underestimate the importance of maintaining the exterior of their homes. Invest a bit of time here to avoid a lot of potential problems later
Trim any plants/weeds next to the foundation away from the wal to air flow and keep exterior walls dry. Look at any tall trees around the house that may have branches touching the roof and get those trimmed back. Ensure that areas next to the house are sloping away from the foundation. You want rain water to drain away, not stick around. While you’re at it seal the gap between that patio and the house. (see how)
3-Exterior walls and foundation
I often see issues with foundations at houses I inspect - and most could have been avoided with early intervention.
Look at any exposed basement foundation for cracks or holes that can be sealed up. Problem areas usually exist around air conditioning pipes, electric meters and hose bib outlets. Window wells often collect leaves and debris, window wells that are full of blown leaves allow water to remain and not drain away which means leaks in your basement.
4-Windows and doors
An easy way to keep your heating costs down is to pay attention to how air is getting in.
Look at the caulking around window and door frames, and if you see gaps or cracking, it’s time to apply new caulking. Your local hardware store can help you find the right caulking product and give you tips on application.
5-Garden Hoses
Hoses left outside left to freeze will splits, hose bibs not turned off can leave to damaged pipes from freezing which means a wet basement and plumbing repairs.
When your gardening and watering is done for the season, turn off the water to the exterior hose bib,then drain and put your hoses away for the season.
6-Roof
There have been increasing instances of roof damage in the GTA and Niagara due to high wind storms over the past couple years. Avoid major damage inside and having to replace your whole roof before necessary by checking regularly for spot damage.
From the ground, walk around your home and look at your roof from across the street. Any missing shingles? Any areas that look like the shingles have lifted a bit? Call a reputable roofing company to make the necessary spot repairs.
INSIDE
Now that the outside is done, it’s time for the inside stuff.
7-Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC)
If you have a forced air furnace, it’s likely time to change the filter, the filters get trap and get clogged by dust, pet dander and other particles, this makes the equipment work harder than necessary, reducing the lifespan of the components of your furnace. Typically filters must be replaced every 3 months, some filters are designed for longer periods between changes, check the filter details. If your furnace has a whole home humidifier installed, now is the time to replace that filter as well and open the bypass damper.
If you have electric baseboard heaters it’s a good practice to clean the heating fins with a vacuum to make the heating more efficient.
If you have a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) installed (common in newer homes) then cleaning the filter at the same time as your furnace is a good practice. HRV filters need cleaning typically every 2 months.
If you have a fireplace (wood or gas) it’s a good idea to have it serviced before the heating season starts.
I recommend having your furnace serviced yearly by a qualified technician to keep things running smoothly and head off any potential problems. Many reputable companies have well-priced maintenance programs that are less expensive over time than one-off calls.
8-Other ventilation appliances
Clean the bathroom fan vents with a vacuum, the vents capture dust and will make the fans work harder to rid the moisture effectively or other problems will start (mold)
Clean the lint from the dryer vent that leads to the outside (not just the one you empty with every load inside the dryer itself), trapped lint in ducting is a fire hazard.
Kitchen range hood filters can be cleaned or replaced. This is also a good time to remove any grease on the underside of the hood.
9- Plumbing and Leaks
Little unseen drips can cause damage to hardwood floors, cabinets and other finishes, not to mention mold.
Take a close look under the sinks and look for any signs of leaks and get those repaired. If you have a sump pump in the basement, test it by filling a bucket of water and pouring into the sump, then make sure the pump starts and ejects the water.
While in the basement, take a look at the floors and baseboards for any water stains or a damp odor. Signs of these often indicate a problem outside.
10-Smoke and Carbon monoxide alarms
Most fire related deaths happen in residential buildings, those may be prevented by testing the smoke detectors and replace the batteries on a regular basis.
Time to replace the batteries in the detectors. Check the detectors for their expiry date - most are between 8-10 yrs. If your smoke detectors are hardwired, they typically have a lithium battery that lasts 10 yrs. Check your user guides for more details.
That’s the shortlist of things to take care of before the white stuff starts to fall. Stay Warm!