Your home is an investment. Not one without risk. Homeowners have heard plenty of nightmarish stories about complicated, expensive projects. Things like mold growth, crumbling foundations, or rotting beams are all possible costly repairs. On top of the unsafe living conditions, all of those costly repairs could threaten the value of your home. But, there are many things you can increase your chance of avoiding with some simple preventative maintenance.
Procrastinating on the little things in your home can mean a bigger, pricier fix later. This guide will highlight for you a few tips that will help you save money and add value in the long run.
Keep an Eye on Your Roof
A roof is a key element of your home. When it is damaged or leaking it can cause a variety of issues in your house. Regularly checking your roof is much more budget friendly than replacing your roof. It is possible to do your own roof inspection but make sure you follow all proper safety measures. Professional inspections and minor repairs can cost a couple hundred dollars.
Spending some now can prevent you spending a lot later. For example replacing a roof can cost thousands of dollars that is before even counting the dollars it would cost to fix any resulting interior or property damage. Since, a leaky roof can cause walls to crumble and destroy furnishings. To avoid that take the initiative to check your roof every six months.
Scan Your Foundation
Your foundation bears the brunt of the natural elements. Things like rain and wind can erode the soil around your home’s foundation over time. You won’t immediately notice a significant issue but gaps near your foundation will allow pooling water. Left unchecked, this can lead to flooding, mildew, rotting support beams, and severe foundation damage. Instead of ignoring your foundation gaps. You can check them twice a year in different seasons. It is much quicker and cheaper to scan your foundation and level any gaps with soil. Saving you tons of money in the long run.
Clean Your Gutters
Cleaning your gutters is crucial. Gutters are crucial for redirecting water from your roof and foundation preventing siding damage as well as soil erosion. Clogged gutters make that job much harder. It is recommended you clean your gutters twice a year. Installing a high-quality leaf guard for gutters can help keep gutters clear between cleanings. Knowing gutters have such an impact on your property it’s worth investing in good quality gutters rather than paying the price later on.
In regards to cleaning gutters it is up to you the scale of the project. It can be a weekend DIY or a simple call to a specialist. All depends on how safe and comfortable you feel on a ladder. Either way is bound to cheaper than expensive water damage.
Assess Your Trees Check
Trees beautify and add value to your home. When left untouched they can become a hazard. Weak or unhealthy trees can be at risk of cracking from snow, ice, and strong winds. They can come crashing into your property or damage your car. Keep your trees pruned to avoid long limbs tangling with telephone wire. The money spent on a tree specialist is money saved in the future.
ReCaulk Everywhere
Time can erode the caulk around your faucets, toilet, and pipes. As a result, small amounts of water can leak, which may not only encourage mold growth but damage cabinets, walls, and floors as well. Going around your pipes and water fixtures again with fresh caulk will reseal them and prevent leakage.
While you have caulk out it can be worth caulking your shower and toilet. Take the time to use silicone based caulk around your doors and windows to help weatherproof your house. Weatherproofing is vital to keeping utility bills down and helps keep pests out. There are many ways resealing the caulk in your house can help you prevent larger problems down the road.
Maintain Your HVAC Unit
HVAC maintenance can mean avoiding thousands of dollars in repairs and trying to schedule an emergency visit in the height of the season. Running a test on your HVAC unit out season can help you schedule a less expensive repair appointment. Or better yet schedule routine maintenance for two months out before both the cold and warm seasons.
Things like making sure you are on top of keeping the area surrounding your HVAC clear and replacing your air filters monthly can make a huge impact. Especially if there are smokers or pets in the home. HVAC maintenance can be as easy and simple as you want it to be.
Prevent Now and Save Later
As a homeowner you have to take proactive steps to maintain your property. Ignoring preventative maintenance only means paying more in repairs. You are rewarded by saving sometimes thousands of dollars. The best tip for any homeowner is to make and follow a preventative maintenance checklist including the six factors talked about in this list.
