Spring Time Home Maintenance Checklist
Wow that was quick seems like just a few weeks ago we were making the Fall Home Maintenance checklist (that was 7 months ago now).
Spring time is known for blooming flowers, allergies, chirping baby birds, and spring cleaning.
Also a perfect time to get all of the maintenance done on your home. Maintenance is a slippery slope, miss it one year, and miss it the next, before you know it you are forced to spend thousands of unnecessary dollars to repair something that could have lasted you ages with proper care.
Here is a list of the top items to complete for your home this spring season.
Roofing & Gutters:
Check/Fix Shingles & Check/Fix Gutters
Checking your roof every spring will help prevent and diagnose tons of potential problems. Especially after a winter of heavy snow and rain in the northwest tons of roof shingles have been severely damaged as a result of snow, ice, and rain. Spring storms however don’t lighten up and we will see a ton of rain before it begins to dry up again.
Spring is a great time to check up on roof damages… there are breaks in the weather allowing homeowners to find a day or two to inspect the roofing and get on repairs before any more rain rolls right in.
What to look for…
Shingles: Look for cracked, torn, loose, or missing shingles. Check around the chimney to ensure that flashing is tightly secured as well.
If there are any trees above the roof check for damage in the shingles around the overhanging branches and consider trimming the branches or getting rid of the trees altogether if they are severely in the way.
Gutters: The purpose of a gutter system is to catch rain water & debris and steer it away from the home to prevent damage. After a leafy fall in the pacific northwest filled with tons of wind, rain, & snow during the winter your gutters take a beating and are likely in need of a cleaning.
If you ignore your gutters and don’t clean them at least every spring you will cause water to back up in the gutters causing spillage and damage of the roof, siding, and more.
Fill low areas with compacted soil to prevent flooding
Low areas in the yard or next to the home can cause flooding when heavy spring rain comes. Fill the low areas with compacted soil to even out the surface and allow for steady drainage.
Check outdoor faucets and hoses: The biggest culprit to outdoor faucet damage is freezing temperatures. Hopefully you used faucet covers on all of your outdoor faucets but even if you used faucet covers theres no guarantee that the pipes haven’t frozen or any other damage hasn’t happened.
The best quick way to check your faucet is turn the water flow on and attempt to block the flow with your hand or thumb… if you are able to stop the flow you most likely have some damage that needs to be inspected in the pipe or faucet.
Spring time is a great time to inspect your outdoor hoses for dry rot, damage, tears, and wear.
Service the AC
Before you have to crank up the AC during the hot summer months it’s a good idea to have it professionally inspected. If you would like to inspect the AC unit yourself check for leaks in the hose connections, change the filter, and make sure the unit is draining correctly. If you previously experienced issues last summer season give your ac unit a 30-45 minute test run and consider calling a professional for an inspection.
Check Power Equipment
In order to ensure seamless working condition of all of your gas and battery powered tools it’s a good idea to check and service them at least once a year. Ensure that all blades are sharp, and all equipment is clean and not damaged. Purchase replacement blades, parts, and refills so you don’t have to worry about it later.
Pressure wash, inspect, and fix siding
Siding aside from roofing shingles takes some of the most wear during the winter months. Daily beating of rain, snow, and wind takes a toll. Check for loose siding, these should be fixed asap… loose siding allows water to enter into the wall causing rots in the support beams, drywall, and plaster.
My siding is dirty should I pressure wash it? Yes pressure washing your siding is a good idea but you have to be very careful. High pressure washing car cause more bad than good if using high pressure as it will loosen pieces and might get water inside.
Aside from that small warning washing your siding after the winter will help preserve it for much longer than normal. Cleaning away the grime and dirt will keep it bright and shiny as well as less prone to rotting and deterioration.
Polish your hardwood floors
Hardwood floors should be polished on average twice a year. If you can’t get around to polishing them at least that often consider polishing them once spring rolls around. After a heavy winter your floors experienced tons of wear with the constant coming and going in wet dirty shoes.
Polishing them up before the warmer weather rolls around will help get them ready for more “dry” foot traffic and shield the finish from harmful dust and dirt particles that would normally scratch up the surface.
Freshen up the landscape
If you haven’t touched your yard since last Fall there is a high chance that it is littered with dead leaves, branches, weeds, and who knows what else. This is damaging to your lawn and is preventing healthy growth. As a general rule of thumb spend a weekend or two outside pulling weeds out, trimming bushes & tress, cleaning up overgrown shrubs, hedges, and whatever else, and consider planting a couple of new things to continually be improving your landscape.
Inspect decks & porches
Over the winter your deck, porch, and railings may have become worn or some of the bolts and screws may have become loose. Go around a perform a quick check tightening any loose boards or screws. It might also be a good time to consider repeating or adding a fresh layer of finish on that deck.
Drain waste and vent system
Those things get clogged up occasionally and it’s a good idea to flush the system at least once a year and there is no better time to get that done other than spring.
Sprinkler System
Before you have to use it, it’s the perfect time of year to ensure that your sprinkler system is in full working condition without any leaks or issues.
Repaint the exterior of your home
It is recommended by professionals to repaint your home every 3-7 years. As we mentioned above about pressure washing it removes the grime and dullness of your home and turns it into a fresh and shiny structures. Wether you are planning on selling your home in the near future or just want to enjoy it in a brighter condition than it’s currently in… repaint.
It’s not only for aesthetics, repainting your home helps preserve it as well. A fresh coat of paint will help prevent rotting, mold, termites, dampness, and much more.
Check basement & Crawlspace
A damp basement is a big problem, not only is it a breeding ground for insects and rodents a damp basement indicates that there is inadequate ventilation, higher than normal humidity, and those are plenty of reasons for concern.
If your home has hardwood floors a damp basement or a inadequately ventilated basement can cause higher than normal humidity in the hardwood or other type of flooring. This in turn results in bulging, cupping, warping, and many other problems in your floors.
Ensure that there is ventilation and ensure that all ventilation vents in your crawlspace are open as well. Ventilation is of utmost importance.
There are a ton of other things you could do to your home in the Spring time but this is just our small list of some of the most important items. Take a look at this graphic we have created for easy reference.