Dear Claire: What Maintenance Can I Do in the Spring?
Spring Home Inspection: Prevent Moisture Issues and Address Winter Impact
We had a question about spring maintenance tips – what does that mean? So for spring I always like to take it as an opportunity to inspect your house and see what winter has provided as far as information.
You want to walk around and look at the roof. Also, walk around the interior of your house. Look at the ceiling and see if there’s any discoloration. Look at the windows and check around the sills to see if there’s any moisture getting in anywhere. After our long winter of rain/snow you’re more likely to see potential moisture penetration now than you would at any other time of the year. Check out the flow on your downspouts. If you got down spouts like most of us do that just spill into the yard, you want to make sure that that’s getting away from the house and it’s not just getting into crawl space or basement. You want to go everywhere else around the exterior of your house. You should inspect your siding, looking for any penetration of water. Look for cracked or peeling paint, or anything like that that you think could be due to water penetration. Sometimes this can be fixed with caulk or bondo. Make note of it as it may not need to necessarily be fixed, but you’re going to want to watch it. So it’s great to just take a picture of it and then like with put your finger next to it as a as a judge of the size of the crack, and look at it again next year. Then you also have something to share with a contractor, if need be. Look at all the corners of your basement for moisture. I also check under appliances with a water hook ups (dishwasher & fridge). I pull those out and look under the sink to just check and see if there’s any moisture coming in. Spring is pretty much all about water and not letting it get into your house.
If you see anything that you’re wondering about give me a call and happy to recommend a professional. Also, feel free to contact me with any real estate questions. See you next week. Take care.
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