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Exterior Home Repairs
Seasonal Exterior Home Repairs - Keep Your Home Tip Top All
Year Long
Maybe you're a new homeowner eager to start things off on the right foot
or a longtime homeowner that has gotten behind on some of your home
maintenance chores. Below is a list of
common seasonal home repairs and maintenance tasks to keep the outside
of your home looking as good as the inside of your home.
Spring - Spring is a busy season for making exterior home repairs
like cleaning, fixing damage from the winter, the starting of new
gardens and home improvement projects. Spring is the time to a build a
deck or test out those landscaping ideas. Now is the time you will put
in the
sweat equity that will pay off the rest of the year.
- Have fireplace and chimney cleaned
- Turn off gas pilot
Check air conditioning and make repairs as needed
- Test well water for quality
- Clean patio furniture; refinish and reseal any wood furniture
- Clean eaves, troughs and roofs, and siding
- Replace storm windows with screens; repair or replace any broken screens
- Clean windows, check operation of hardware
- Re-level any exterior steps or decks that shifted due to frost or settled
- Landscape maintenance - replace anything in your landscape that died during the winter; repair winter lawn damage, plant spring annuals and, prepare for summer annuals; fertilize trees
- If you have a septic tank, check the level of sludge and scum before the spring thaw
- Repair winter damage: hanging water spouts, cracked siding; touch up or repaint trim
- Prepare pool for summer use: clean it of winter debris; raise fill level; check to make sure all pump equipment is working; check and adjust chemicals
- Spray for pests;
If you have any exterior home improvements you want to make, spring is the time to do it
Summer - Summer is when you can sit back and enjoy all the hard work you
put in the spring and fall. Have family and friends over for a barbeque
to enjoy your new deck and summer squash. Take a dip in the pool as
you've earned it.
- Check for smooth operation of garage door, lubricate and have repaired if needed
- Check caulking and seals on windows, repair if necessary
- Repair driveways and walkways as needed
- Get on the roof and inspect it for any leaks, cracks or other issues.
- Maintain your landscaping by watering, weeding and fertilizing
- Carefully inspect incoming lines to the house to make sure there is no water able to leak into your home at the entry point
- Repair any exterior gates and hardware
Fall - Fall is a transition season; the time to clean up from summer and
prepare for winter.
- Turn on gas furnace pilot light (this can wait for winter if you are in a warm climate)
- Check your quality if you are on a well
- Replace window screens with storm windows and remove screens from the insides of casement windows to allow the hot air from your heating system to prevent condensation on the windows
- Ensure that all exterior doors and windows shut tightly and renew weather-stripping
- Cover outside of air conditioning units
- Clean and store summer patio furniture
- Clean leaves from eaves, troughs and roofs
- Check fireplaces to make sure they're clear; buy and store firewood
- If you have a septic tank, measure the sludge and scum to make sure you don't need to drain it before spring (septic tanks need to be drained
usually every three years)
- Prepare your landscaping for winter - plant fall annuals in early fall, gather fall crops from gardens, plant for winter vegetables mid-fall,
prune where necessary
Winter - Winter is a time when the exterior of your home takes a beating
and you take a rest. The only exterior work and maintenance you should
be doing is what's necessary to prevent damage or injury.
- Shovel walks and driveways
- Protect the landscape from winter cold; plant your spring seeds if you're a serious gardener
While most maintenance is seasonal, there are some tasks that should be
done year-round. Be sure air vents and windows are not blocked or dirty,
test the ground fault interrupters, fire alarms, and fix any safety
hazards. There, that should be enough to satisfy the do-it-yourself,
weekend warrior in any of us.
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