HomeWise.ie
Ireland's Home & Garden Search Engine
   


Seller Signup...

Quality Service, Seller or Tradesperson? Sign Up Now!




Home & Garden Articles


Home Maintenance Made Simple

Thu 14 Aug 2008 - 08:36

Home Maintenance Made Simple
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Ulm]Kelly Ulm

During my work as a home inspector, I see many people's homes each day. I see nice homes and some that are not so nice! Some are new and some are old, some are big and some are small. Of all the homes that I see, the majority of them are in need of regular monthly maintenance. I see an incredible amount of damage and wasted money on things that could have, and should have been avoided by regular maintenance. This is not to mention the creative ways that people have found to wire and plumb their houses! I'm being nice by saying creative! I've seen houses that after I inspect them, I wonder how in the world didn't they burn down yet!

The biggest enemy of any house in my opinion is water. It is usually ground water that leaks in through the foundation walls. Sometimes it is from roof leakage and other times it is from plumbing leaks. Of all the ways that water can and eventually will enter your house, they are all controllable! I'm going to go over, later in this report, some tips to control the water. The second biggest enemy in my opinion is the homeowner handyman. There ought to be a law! Just because you can physically do your own wiring in your home, doesn't mean that you should! That's a tip from you're your friendly home inspector.

I know I'm being a little sarcastic, but bear with me. I think that if the average homeowner would take a few minutes each month and do some regular maintenance, they would save so much in the long run. I've been talking about saving money this whole time. Well how about saving something more important than money, how about you or your family's life! Of all the houses that I inspect, do you think that most of them have working smoke detectors on all levels and in each bedroom? How about a working CO detector? I think you know where I'm heading with this don't you? By the way, when was the last time that you changed the batteries in your smoke detectors? Have you ever gone over with your family, especially small children, the steps that they should take in case of a fire or other emergency?

I can go on and on about the importance of regular home maintenance. Instead I'm going to give you some quick tips that you can do right now. If you do these few things each month, you will already be ahead of most when it comes to home maintenance. They're not hard or time consuming, just important. After these items, I'm going to show you a way to make it easy to maintain your home! Remember your home is your biggest investment that you will ever make. Most people wash their cars weekly and maintain their home close to never!



Build the grading up around your house. This is important whether you have a basement or not. It should be built up to slope away from your house at around an inch per foot for five feet. Some houses, this is not possible due to sidewalks or a neighboring house. Anything that you do will help divert the water away though. If you have sidewalks that adjoin your house, you should caulk the joint with a good concrete caulking that does not shrink. If you have windows in the basement below grade, be sure to add window wells.

Clean your gutters and downspouts regularly. At least twice a year you should check and clean out your gutters. Proper functioning gutters and downspouts will help divert the water away from your foundation and out of your basement. Depending on how many trees are in the area of your home, you may have to clean them more or less. The spring and fall would be a good time to do this. Remember that these are gutters and not planters! I saw a house that actually had flowers growing in the gutters! The poor homeowner could not figure out why they were getting water in the basement! You could try some of the gutter guards if you like. In my experience they do not seem to work as planned or are not worth the money you would spend on them. There are companies that will come and clean and service your gutters for you also.

Test the GFCI outlets in your home. GFCI stands for ground fault circuit interrupt and these can help save your life! You should consult with a licensed electrician on the proper locations in your home to have GFCI outlets. So if you don't have any, you should think about having some installed. If you do have some, you should test them monthly. Testing them is as easy as pushing the test button to make sure that it trips and then resetting it. If they do not trip when tested, consult with a licensed electrician. Some homes have GFCI breakers in the main panel box; these serve the same function as outlets and should also be tested monthly.

Test the smoke detectors and change batteries as needed. As I mentioned above, you should have smoke detectors on each level of your home. In my opinion it would be good to have them in each bedroom also. You should have a plan of action that your whole family knows in case of an emergency. The proper fire extinguishers in the kitchen, laundry, garage, and possibly at each level of the house would be good. Your local fire department can help you with which type to get and the proper placement and usage of them.

Hire a qualified contractor to do the work in your home. I'm not saying that you should not do any home repairs yourself; I just think that some things are better left to the professionals. If in doubt, at least call a professional for some guidance.


This article is just a small sample of the things that you could and should be doing each month. There are many other things that you can do to help protect your family and your investment. If you would like to keep your home in great shape and save yourself money down the road, then regular home maintenance is the key!

Kelly Ulm has been a home inspector for nine years and was a carpenter for twelve years before that. He has a wonderful free program for keeping your home in great shape that you can get access to at http://www.homemaintenancereminder.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Ulm http://EzineArticles.com/?Home-Maintenance-Made-Simple&id=1398275


Looking for information on General Home Improvement, Find a supplier at HomeWise.ie

back to General Home Improvement articles
back to all home & garden articles