Arbor Homes - Findley Heights - Maintenance

General Home Maintenance

Keeping your home maintained on a regular schedule can help you retain thousands of dollars in value during your ownership. Your home can lose up to ten percent of its value due to deferred or poor maintenance. Whether this is your “forever home” or you plan to sell it in a few years, there are general home maintenance practices that can help you maintain its value and function. A maintenance plan can help you stay on track with your home’s upkeep.

Summer General Maintenance

  • Use a pressure washer to clean the outside of your home. Following this, touch up trim, siding and caulking, or any paint that needs attention.
  • Have carpets, tile, and hardwood floors professionally cleaned.
  • Check for areas that need mortar repair, including brick or stone fireplaces and facing, and have them re-pointed if necessary.
  • Your heating system should be inspected in late summer in preparation for the cooler months of fall. Call your local HVAC professional. Many offer yearly service and inspection packages.

Summer Upkeep Checklist

 

Fall Home Maintenance

  • Check the weather seals and caulking around windows and doors to be sure they keep the cold of fall and winter at bay.
  • Check your gutters and downspouts for leaves and debris. Clean them if necessary.
  • Rake any dead leaves from your lawn, flower, and plant beds to prevent pests and rot.
  • Trim limbs of trees and bushes at least 12” away from your home.
  • Check your water pipes for leaks and winterize outside faucets and irrigation systems.
  • Clean and reseal or paint, decks, fences, and any other exposed wood.

Winter Home Maintenance

  • If the water to outdoor faucets can be shut-off, do so. If not, insulate them so that they do not freeze.
  • Winterize your outdoor irrigation system.
  • Touch up and repaint home interior where necessary.
  • Plan next spring and summer’s home improvements and maintenance.

Spring Home Maintenance

  • Have your cooling system inspected to be sure you will be cool during the warmer spring and summer months.
  • Clean the gutters and downspouts to make sure they flow freely.
  • Inspect your roof for missing, damaged, or loose shingles and tiles. You can inspect the roof from the ground with binoculars.
  • Check the flashing in the roof valleys and around the chimney. Re-seal if necessary.
  • Inspect the chimney and fireplace for hazards and damages like cracks.
  • Check for cracks around windows and doors. Seal any with weather stripping or caulk.
  • Check the exterior of the house for rotting wood. Repair if necessary.
  • Clean windows, frames, and screens.
  • Clean flower and plant beds and prepare them for setting annual flowers and plants. Remove dead plants and replace.
  • Trim dead limbs from bushes and trees. Do not trim flowering bushes and shrubbery until after they have bloomed.

Monthly Home Maintenance

  • Change or clean furnace air filters.
  • Clean windows, doors, and screens (weather permitting).
  • Polish wood and light fixtures throughout your home.
  • Clean the range hood filter.
  • Test smoke and carbon dioxide detectors.