Property Maintenance Tips for Homeowners

When you’re a homeowner, you’re often busy concentrating on how to pay your mortgage or ways to style your property to make it look its best. However, it’s important to remember that all houses need to be maintained, too, if you want them to last, retain value and not cost you thousands of dollars in unexpected expenses.

To help you ensure you keep your property well-maintained, read on for some key tips you can follow today and into the future.

Set Yourself a Maintenance Schedule

Since it’s easy to forget to do all the maintenance tasks required around a home during the year, it’s a good idea to set yourself a schedule as a reminder. Put together a plan that covers what needs to be done in each month of the year. Some things will be monthly, but many will only be required quarterly or once or twice per year.

By doing this, you’ll stay vigilant and be able to catch potential issues before they become major problems, which are also quite costly. It’s worthwhile documenting the condition your property is in with photographs or videos, too, as this helps you notice if things deteriorate. You may also want to think about insurance and home warranty plans you need to put in place to cover yourself in case major work does end up being required.

Clean Gutters

As for jobs around the house, an important one is cleaning the gutters. These clog up more quickly than you think, particularly if you have trees nearby that overhang the gutters and continually drop small twigs, branches and leaves down into them.

Most gutters need to be cleaned a few times per year. If you don’t do this job, or get someone else to come in and sort it out for you, you could end up with ice dams and icicles forming in the gutters, which can turn into pooled water which creates rust and holes. If your gutters get backed up in a short amount of time because of overhanging trees, you may want to install micromesh guards to stop detritus from accumulating.

Maintain the Roof

Another area that needs to be maintained is the roof of your property. This should be inspected by a professional roofer or other specialist at least once a year. While you may not be able to see any issues from the ground, keep in mind that roofs do actually wear down, and extreme weather in particular can lead to broken tiles and shingles.

You can also end up with holes in the roof and leaks if vines, moss, and the like grow over/under tiles and end up lifting and cracking them. Have a professional check to see if there is significant wear that needs to be addressed or signs of other damage.

Check HVAC Systems

If you want to stay cool in summer and warm in winter, don’t forget to keep an eye on your heating and cooling systems. HVAC units need to be maintained since they can wear down like anything else, and they need care and attention to stay running effectively. Plus, the sooner you address niggling issues, the sooner problems can be rectified. This will stop small things from turning into large, costly issues.

Get a licensed electrician to take a look at your heating and cooling appliances a couple of times per year or annually at a minimum. It is wise to get the systems checked in fall and spring, so they’re ready to run all day, every day if needed in winter and summer.

In particular, get the filters cleaned and replaced. Also, have the ventilation and condensation hose of the units inspected. You don’t want these to get into disrepair and end up breaking and leaking water and other liquid everywhere.

Watch out for Pests

To keep your home secure, you need to watch out for pests, too. Termites are especially a problem, as they’re not typically visible (not until they’ve done a huge amount of damage, anyhow) and can lead to all sorts of structural issues.

Hire a professional to come to your home and check the house and its perimeters for termites and other creepy crawlies that might damage the property. Pest inspectors should check in the roof, under the house, in gardens and in other areas to spot any infestations.