Spring Tips: Exterior Maintenance

3/19/2019 (Permalink)

Time to get your home ready for BBQ season, here are a few tips to help with you spring time maintenance.

With Spring approaching, it’s time to check your home and see if the wintery cold caused any damage to your home or building. Signs of winter damage start to show themselves once the weather warms up and the surrounding environment starts to thaw. This article will help you get out of winter hibernation and back into barbeque season! Here is a quick maintenance checklist focusing on the exterior of your building:

1) Start at the Top (Inspect the Roof)

A healthy roof is one of the most important parts of your home. Ensuring it is sturdy and sealed is central to keeping your entire home efficient. Damage to your shingles, flashing, or any leaks can quickly trickle down and affect other areas of your home. When looking at your shingles look for curled edges, tears, or loose stones in your gutters, these are all signs of damage and could be a signal for replacement.

It is also important to have proper drainage form your roof, this means cleaning you gutters and downspouts. Repair any holes in the gutters and clean out leaves and pine needles. Organic material can degrade in your gutter and create a thick muddy mess, stopping water from being properly redirected away from your property.

2) Check the Structure (Inspect the Foundation, Walls, Windows, and Doors)

Do a walk around of your home and check for cracks/holes in the foundation. as well as inspecting the exterior walls, siding, windows and door. If you identify a foundation issue, contact a specialist to take a look. When inspecting the windows and doors, pay special attention to the caulking and weather stripping, issues in the seal are often harder to find than obvious holes or tears. All of this will limit the chances of water using one of these pathways into your house and reduce your heating/AC bill.

3) Independent Structures (Garages, Sheds, Fences etc)

Make sure the garage door is functioning properly and has a strong seal at the bottom. Sweep and vacuum dust, dirt, and debris around the doors. Also make sure there is nothing that could fall off the ceiling and impede the doors from working properly. Looks for signs of cracked or split fencing boards, especially near any gates and ice can raise fence boards and make gates stick.

4) Spring Yard Cleanup

It is grass cutting season! Time to get that lawn mower out, change the oil, get the blade sharpened and have the yearly debate of what is the better way to cut the yard, side-to-side or up-and-down (My vote is for side-to-side) Now, head to your local hardware store to restock on supplies such as landscaping bags and grass seed. Don’t forget to pick up the tools you need to thatch, weed, and clean out your garden beds. Now that you are ready, fire up the BBQ, pull out the cooler, and invite for the family and friends.