Proactive maintenance identifies emergent issues before they proliferate. It informs homeowners on next steps for protecting their (likely) most precious investment. Keep reading as we explore the crucial link between home maintenance and long-term structural health. 

Roof Inspections

Out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, the rule of the day when it comes to most roofs. Homeowners don’t do anything until they notice a leak. At that point, it’s already too late. Stay ahead of unexpected roof breakdown with regular inspections. Ideally, once a year. Every two years at the most. 

A professional set of eyes will analyze beyond the shingles. They will assess the condition of the substrate and flashing. If they see an issue, they can recommend a preferred course of action. They will also provide top-notch documentation for insurance and appraisal purposes.

Gutter Cleaning

Hand-in-hand with roof inspection goes gutter cleaning. 

Precipitation from the roof should enter the gutters and flow away from the home. When there is a clog, there are a couple of things that could happen:

1. Water overflowing at the clog will pool directly at the base of the house. This constant moisture saturation will lead to hydrostatic pressure. This pressure can cause the foundation to crack.
2. Instead of overflowing, the water may back up at the clog. Roof deck. Eaves. Fascia board. All are at risk when this backflow occurs. 

Moisture Control

Water, it’s a building block of life. However, when left unchecked, it can wreak untold havoc. Especially on the bones of the home. We’ve already touched the roof and gutters. These are obviously two major areas susceptible to moisture damage. They’re just the tip of the iceberg.

Take the windows. Over time, small cracks begin to form in the window-to-wall transitions. This is a natural point of weakness for moisture ingress. Use a silicone-based sealant to shore up these cracks. 

Plumbing and HVAC are also common victims of moisture-related issues. Stay ahead of small leaks. Call for professional inspection and service as necessary, especially for HVAC ducts. 

Siding Care

Outside of the roof, no component of the home’s building envelope gets tested by Mother Nature quite like the siding. The cladding will face threats from precipitation, pests, winds, and solar rays. When any of these forces break through, the siding can no longer do its job as a first line of defense.

Proper siding care will vary based on material type. Wood siding should be painted roughly every 5 years to enhance its moisture resistance. Similarly, brick cladding needs to be sealed along the same timeline to remain nonporous. More durable composites, such as fiber cement and steel log, need to be gently washed every 18 months or so to knock away standing debris for ongoing performance. 

Savvy Material Selections for Long-Term Structural Health

No matter how well you maintain your home, there will come times when replacements are needed. For example, poorly maintained cedar shingle roofing will require full replacement in as little as 20 years. Well-maintained cedar (debris cleaning, preservative treatments) can last up to 40. Therefore, if you reach the point where replacement is necessary, here are some innovative options well-suited to retrofitting:

• Composite roofing shingles – Lightweight. Easy to work with. The highest rating for fire and impact. Should last over 50 years with minimal maintenance requirements.
• Hurricane-grade storm windows – Reinforced glass panes set in steel frames. Can withstand winds up to 250 MPH. A premier option for withstanding extreme weather events.
• Fiber cement siding – Inorganic for elite pest, fire, and moisture protection. Diverse aesthetics that do not need to be painted for ongoing curb appeal.

By choosing any of these low-maintenance options, homeowners can ensure long-term structural health while limiting ongoing upkeep. 

Seasonal Tips for Home Maintenance

There is never a bad time to invest TLC into your home. However, the seasons often provide a general framework with which to plan maintenance activities.

Spring – This is the season to refresh. Clean the gutters. Have the roof inspected. Check around the house for signs of water damage wrought by standing snow. Make sure the A/C is in good condition for the warming temperatures. 

Summer – Turn your attention to the exterior. Clean and stain decks and fences. Check the foundation for signs of cracks. Clean the dryer vent to mitigate the risk of fires. Assess the condition of the garage door.

Fall – Get a leg up on winter. Circle back to the gutters, which are a repository for the falling leaves of autumn. Inspect the condition of your heating system. Make sure the insulation is airtight, paying special attention to the caulk and weatherstripping around windows and doors. 

Winter – Focus on interior maintenance. Test the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Clean appliances and check the range hood filter. Monitor the pipes for signs of freezing. 

Stay One Step Ahead of Structural Issues with Proactive Home Maintenance

Home maintenance is more than busywork for retirees with too much time on their hands. It’s a crucial component for protecting the home’s long-term structural health. Use the best practices listed above and consider any of the savvy material choices to guarantee that the integrity of your home is never compromised. For more of the latest trends in home and renovation, explore the content at Better Housekeeper for ideas and inspiration!

Photos By: Stock Images

There is nothing more important than the well-being of your own home. Looking after it and maintaining it can be a responsibility, but there are also some fun things to do as well. Take care of your house and it will take care of you! Here are six home maintenance tips to keep your home in tip-top shape. 

1. Clean Vents and Ducts

Prevent air ducts from becoming clogged with debris. Clogging reduces air flow which forces your heating and cooling unit to work harder causing it to break down faster than it normally would, which could cost you extra money in the end.

Cleaning furnace vents should be done at least once every two years or before summer. Cleaning dryer vents should be done more frequently depending on how much you use them. Areas that have warm and humid summers, like the state of Virginia, can have more deposits and buildup in their dryer vents after the summer season. This is why many homeowners need dryer vent cleaning in northern Virginia and other neighboring cities within the state. It’s not just debris and other kinds of buildup that homeowners should be concerned about their dryer vents. Lint buildup can cause dryer fires if left uncleaned.

2. Keep your Roof in Good Condition

A well-maintained roof is crucial for the safety and stability of any home. Many owners don’t realize that their roofs need regular maintenance and upkeep to keep them in top shape and prolong their lives, but ignoring your roof could be catastrophic if a large storm or other weather phenomenon occurs while you’re away from home. At least twice each year (and more often if there’s been an especially hard winter) homeowners should take steps to check their roofs thoroughly, repairing or replacing shingles as necessary. A home without a roof doesn’t exist! Roofs help protect homes from all sorts of elements that can potentially destroy them. For this reason, it’s important that you get any damages repaired by a professional straight away. You should get someone to check if there are any loose tiles, broken slates, missing ridge tiles, or cracked mortar. If water starts leaking into your house because there is a hole in the roof then this could cause serious damage throughout both the interior and exterior, so it’s imperative that this is repaired immediately.

3. Be Aware of the Exterior

The outside of your home is just as important as the inside since water damage from rain and bad weather can cause structural issues that affect both interiors and exteriors. Fix damaged gutters because they’re an essential part of your home’s exterior which keep the rain away from the walls and foundations resulting in reduced damage to them and better insulation properties for the house itself! Also, remove low-hanging tree branches that could cause damage to your roof or windows. If you don’t feel comfortable making repairs yourself, call a professional for help – it’ll be worth it in the long run.

4. Take Care of Appliances

Harsh weather conditions such as high winds, rain, snow, and various types of precipitation can affect the functioning of your appliances. These problems may not seem like anything serious at first glance, but they can lead to a much larger problem if they’re not addressed. Even a simple power outage due to a damaged electrical wire can lead to serious damage, so check your appliances regularly and have them serviced by professionals as needed.

5. Keep Proper Care of Heating Systems

Did you know that a dirty HVAC system can cause a ton of damage? This is not something to neglect. The filters in your HVAC system need to be clean at all times so you should have them changed every 3 months. In addition, you should regularly dust the coils and fins on your unit. Proper care of your heating system extends the life of this important appliance, reduces energy bills, and keeps you safe during wintertime. Before winter arrives each year, make sure to have your furnace inspected by a professional to ensure it’s in good working order. The same applies to fireplaces, wood stoves, and other heat sources used around the home – learn how to properly maintain them so you can avoid dealing with potentially dangerous situations.

If you haven’t added insulation to your home yet then now is a great time to start! Insulation helps reduce the energy required to heat and cool your house during different seasons, making it an excellent investment for your home. You can find all sorts of types of insulation on the market but the two most popular choices are spray foam insulation and fiberglass insulation.

6. Inspect your Plumbing Regularly 

It’s important to check the condition of your pipes from time to time to make sure there are no leaks and also if they are in good working order. You should not ignore any problems with your plumbing, as they could lead to a burst pipe or worse which could cause damage throughout the house! Just like appliances, plumbing systems require regular maintenance if they’re going to function properly over time. Drain clogs are not only extremely annoying but they can cause bigger problems if left alone for too long, so be mindful about what goes down your drains on a daily basis. If drain cleaners don’t seem to be clearing up a particular problem, call a professional for help since it could be a symptom of a larger issue. Also, if you find other issues with your plumbing system, make sure you get in touch with a professional who can fix it for you.

Owning a home is definitely an accomplishment in itself, but it can also be incredibly frustrating if you don’t address problems before they become much bigger issues. Taking care of your home is seriously important and the six tips provided in this article are simple to follow. Do not neglect anything in your home if you want it to stay healthy and functioning well for many years to come!

Photos By: Pexels, Unsplash

As time goes on, there are more factors to consider, including what you want to do with your home in the future. It is important to stay on top of all these little things to avoid major problems later.

Combine a Home Warranty with Regular Maintenance

If you have been considering a home warranty for your house, then now is the time to look into it. A home warranty covers certain repairs or replacements that may occur over time. It will cost a little bit upfront, but it can save you a lot of money later on. If something goes wrong, when an appliance stops working, at least you’ll have the option to get it fixed. It is better to be safe than to be sorry later.

Regular Cleaning and Maintenance Should be your Priority

Once you decide on a warranty, the next thing you should do is make sure to keep up on regular cleaning and maintenance of your house. This means getting rid of mildew and mold and even taking care of pest problems when they arise. Cleaning will not only make your house look better, but it can also prevent any pests from coming back. It is important to get rid of things like dirt and cobwebs that may accumulate throughout the year.

Even if you don’t end up getting a warranty, keeping up on cleaning and maintenance will be beneficial. Take care of all the little problems before they turn into big problems. Keep an eye on things like your furnace, which should be cleaned up and inspected every year. Don’t wait until you notice a problem to get it checked out.

Knowing What Needs Fixing Before it Breaks

One great way to make sure that everything is working properly in your house is by knowing where potential problems may come from. For example, a regular inspection of your appliances will show you just how old they are and how much longer you have before they need to be replaced. This way, if something happens to go wrong with one of them, you won’t be surprised by it.

How a Home Warranty can Help you Maintain your Property 

A home warranty can be a great way to keep your house in top shape. When something goes wrong, even if it is an expensive fix that you would not have normally covered under homeowner’s insurance, then the warranty will help take care of that problem for you. 

If something were to go wrong with your house, it is important to address the problem before contacting the company that issued the warranty. First, you’ll want to see if you can fix the issue on your own or if you need professional help. If you need professional help, then it is best to get someone out there quickly to get things fixed. 

As long as you know what went wrong and how serious it is, then they should be able to help you out. If it is a small problem, then there may not be much they can do for you until it gets worse – but communication from the customer’s side is always important. A warranty provides peace of mind and the company should provide resources as well as assistance when needed.

All Photos By: Freepik

Inspect Your Water System

Check your Fire Detection Devices

Prevent Accidental Poisoning

No one likes doing chores but if you let them pile up then they will soon become unignorable for most of us! Sometimes it can be hard to find the motivation, even when we know that they need to be done, so it might help you to know that good home maintenance practices will actually save you money in the long run. There’s no sense in putting things off needlessly. In fact, when you put off routine home maintenance, it can result in a minor or non-issue evolving into something much worse. In this sense, keeping on top of your home maintenance is a simple way of saving money and reducing your expenditures elsewhere. You don’t need to do anything too drastic in order to make a difference. In fact, it is often the smallest of tasks that make the biggest difference to the health of your home. The following home maintenance tips should be within anyone’s capabilities and will help to minimise the impact that general wear and tear have on your home.

Check Your Smoke Alarms

This is one of the most important home maintenance tips that there is. Every home needs to have a working smoke alarm and you need to take responsibility for making sure that your smoke alarm is in good working condition. You don’t want to wait until there is an actual fire to give your smoke alarm a field test. Checking your smoke alarms regularly won’t just give you peace of mind and make sure that you and your family are safe, but it will also ensure that you are able to recover some of the financial damage that a fire can cause. Even if your home is fully insured, you will find that many policies are voided if the smoke alarms haven’t been checked in the last year.

Have an Emergency Plan

No matter how careful you are or how much effort you put into keeping your home in good shape, there will always be room for things to go wrong unexpectedly. If this happens, it is vital that you already have a plan in place for dealing with the situation. Calling out an emergency worker to fix plumbing and other maintenance issues in your home can be expensive. However, by sorting something out in advance, you can avoid having to pay the first price you come across. It’s worth having a business like Pascoe’s plumbers in Perth on speed dial and ready to go should the need arise. They can be with you in just an hour if a problem does arise.

Vacuum Your Fridge Coils

A statistic that may surprise you is that the refrigerator accounts for around 15% of the average Australian household’s annual power usage. If the coils at the back of the fridge become dirty and dusty, they will have to work harder in order to maintain the appropriate temperature. Taking the time to give them a little clean can, therefore, save you a noticeable amount on your energy bills. In order to clean the coils, you will first need to unplug your fridge and pull it away from the wall a little. You can then use a suitable hoover attachment to suck up the loose bits of dirt and dust. You can also wipe them down with a damp cloth if you think it will help.

Clean Your Air-Conditioning Filters

Heating and cooling our homes require a lot of energy and the average Aussie household gives over about 40% of its total energy to ensuring the right temperature. With summer just around the corner, the mercury is expected to soar and millions of Aussies will be turning to their air-conditioning for comfort. Much like your fridge, if the filters in your air conditioning are clogged then it will have to work harder, therefore, costing you more money, and will be less efficient. Simply taking the filters out and giving them a good clean can make a tremendous difference to the efficiency of your air-conditioning and the comfort of your home.

Inspect Your Roof

Taking care of the roof of your home is vital to protect it from all kinds of expensive issues. A roof that is damaged or no longer fit for purpose can lead to a range of problems in your home, from dampness and mold that requires remedial work, right through to severe structural damage. Problems with your roof are something that you can’t ignore, so it’s crucial to call a professional roof replacement contractor to inspect your roof as soon as you spot any issues. The contractor can carry out a roof inspection, and advise you on the next steps to prevent further costly damage to your home.  

Protect Against Pests

One of the defining features of Australia, from the perspective of the rest of the world at least, is that it is overflowing with creatures that want to kill you. Of course, actual Aussies know that the danger is often hugely exaggerated. However, that doesn’t mean that you won’t want to take measures to keep critters out of your home. Every now and then, it is a good idea to go through all your cupboards and make sure that there isn’t any food debris or other waste that is likely to attract insects and pests. If you have any pets, then make sure that their food is kept sealed and out of reach of any creatures that might want to steal it. With these home maintenance tips, you can get ahead of the game and prevent problems with your home before they occur. If you can stay on top of your home maintenance, you will find it is actually remarkably easy to manage.