Home Maintenance

SPRING

Clean the garage, shed & basement. Sell your unneeded stuff at a garage sale. 

 If you have a furnace replace the air filter.

Have central air-conditioning unit checked and maintained by a qualified technician before using. 

If you have a cesspool, have it inspected and pumped if necessary.

Check smoke, carbon monoxide and security alarms and replace batteries.

Clean windows. Check the windows for cracked or broken glass, loose putty around the glass panes, holes or bent frames in screens. Clean out any slider tracks.

Open the interior valve to outside hose.

Examine the foundation walls for cracks, leaks or signs of moisture, and repair as required.

 Repair as necessary any damaged exterior steps or pavement.

Check for damaged or overflowing gutters. Clean the debris out of all gutters and downspouts. Make sure they are free from leaks, leaves, dirt, etc. 

Undertake spring landscape maintenance and fertilize your lawn.

SUMMER

Monitor basement humidity and avoid relative humidity levels above 60 per cent or you may get mold. Use a dehumidifier to maintain safe relative humidity in the basement. 

Inspect the basement walls after heavy rains for water leakage.

Check basement cold water pipes for condensation and dripping, and insulate all sweating pipes.

 Look for termite tubes and damage. Probe visible wood structural members such as sills, joists, beams, and columns, with a screwdriver to ensure the wood is free from of termites or carpenter ants.

 Lubricate and maintain garage door hardware and ensure that it is operating properly. Lubricate the automatic garage door opener motor, chain, etc. and ensure that the auto-reverse mechanism is properly adjusted. 

Inspect electrical service lines for secure attachment where they enter your house, and make sure there is no water leakage into the house along the electrical conduit. Check the seal at the house penetration area.

Ensure that the ground adjacent your home pitched down away from the foundation wall, so that rain water does not migrate towards your basement walls. Soil should slope 1 inch per foot for a distance of six feet away from the house;

Inspect masonry foundation walls for cracks or weakened, crumbling mortar. Repair if necessary. 

Check exterior siding and trims for signs of deterioration such as peeling or cracked paint. Remove any wood/soil contact to prevent rot and termites. Clean, replace or refinish as needed.

Clean and seal decks. 

Repair fences as necessary.

Remove or trim any plants, shrubs or vines that contact any house siding.

 Check the condition of the roof material for possible repair or replacement, and examine all roof flashings such as at the chimney, roof joints, vent stacks, dormers and skylights for any signs of cracking or leakage.

Check the chimney cap and the mortar between all bricks. Re-point loose and damaged mortar joints in between the bricks.

 From the attics check underneath the roof sheeting for water leakage after a heavy rain. 

Trim back tree branches that brush against the house or roof. 

Driveways and sidewalks should be checked for cracks and deterioration. Any pavement that has settled down toward the house must be corrected because water may leak into the basement.

FALL

Maintain a premium contract on your heating system and have your heating systems checked by a qualified technician at least once a year.

Paint interior rooms while it's still warm enough to leave windows open. Ditto for shampooing or replacing carpets.

Remove portable air-conditioning units and store them. 

Check smooth functioning of all windows and lubricate as required. 

All yard care power equipment should be run until they burn all gasoline.

Cover outdoor furniture or store it inside a shed.

Clean and repair garden equipment after the last use of the season. 

Drain and store outdoor hoses. Close the valve supplying the outdoor hose connection and drain the hose bib (exterior faucet), unless your house contains frost proof hose bibs.

Ensure that all smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers are in good working order. Replace batteries in appropriate devices as needed, or at least twice each year. 

Disconnect the duct connected to the dryer and vacuum lint from duct, the areas surrounding your clothes dryer and your dryers' vent hood outside.

Ensure that all windows and skylights close tightly. Remove screens from the inside of casement windows to allow air from the heating system to keep condensation off window glass.

 Clean leaves from gutters and test leaders to ensure proper drainage from the roof. Ensure that these leaders carry all rain water away from the foundation area at least 5 feet. Downspout extensions will improve any basement seepage conditions.

Check chimneys for obstructions such as nests. Have your wood burning fireplaces and appliances inspected annually and cleaned/swept and repaired as required to prevent chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.

WINTER

 Make sure the heating system is inspected by a qualified technician. Then vacuum all heating supply registers, return grills, baseboards or radiators inside the home.

 Examine attic for frost accumulation. Check roof for ice dams or ice build-up. If either of these occur, this is a sign of inadequate insulation and/or ventilation.

  Check the operation of all ground-fault circuit interrupter outlets by pushing the "test" button. The "reset" button should pop out, indicating the receptacle is operating properly.