The fall and winter seasons can be tough on your home, leading to burst pipes, jammed gutters, and all sorts of other home repairs. That makes spring the optimal time to examine your home for signs of damage and make repairs where necessary. Plus, if you’ve got spring fever, taking on a few maintenance projects is a great way to burn pent-up energy!
While you’re getting ready for spring, give your home a little TLC with these spring tips for homeowners.
Spring showers and summer storms are coming just around the corner, so you need to make sure your plumbing is in tip-top shape. Start with one of the best and most common spring plumbing tips around: cleaning your gutters.
During the winter, your gutters can build-up clogs of old leaves and sticks. These could eventually redirect water out of the gutter and into your home’s foundation or roof, causing serious damage over time.
Once you’ve finished cleaning out the muck, check for leaks or places where the gutter has come loose. Your gutters need to stay firmly attached to the fascia board along the edge of your roof. If the gutter is leaning or pulling away from this board, the gutter needs new fasteners added to keep it in place.
For significant repairs like these, you may want the help of a professional craftsman. You’ll get the peace of mind of knowing that a professional handled your repairs; plus, they can look for signs of damage you may have missed! They can also give you advice on how to keep gutters clean going forward and when you should clean your gutters from here on out.
One more plumbing spring home maintenance tip: do an interior and exterior spring house faucet check. Inspect your outside faucets for freeze damage and gauge water pressure. It’s good practice to check your indoor faucets for leaks too — plus, if you find one, you’ll be glad you took the time to check!
Speaking of damage, have you noticed any wood rot around your home? Even if you haven’t, depending on your home’s condition it may be wise to have a craftsman check around all door and window trim for signs of damage. They'll use a metal probe to gently but firmly probe any wood trim around the exterior of the home since it's exposed to moisture.
Don't forget to ask them to check your railings and deck if you have them. If the probe penetrates the wood more than a small amount at the surface, serious rot is setting in and weakening the wood. Rotten trim can indicate water damage deeper into the structure as well. Follow the moisture and have any rotted wood trim or railings replaced before the spring ends.
Window spring maintenance is also essential to make sure your home is ready for the coming warm weather. Start by fixing or replacing damaged screens, then check for cracks around the window, caulking any that you find. Finally, wash your windows on the inside and out — you’ll be surprised how much dirt accumulates and how much better your windows will look once you’re done!
After a long winter of turning on the heat and a summer of using AC to follow, be sure to maintain your heating and cooling system. Swap out your filters, clean drain lines, and, if you really want to get into it, look up an AC or furnace tune-up checklist. It’s also smart to have a qualified professional inspect your heating and cooling system once a year. Whether you need a handyman for air conditioner repair or inspection, hiring a professional means you can have confidence your equipment will last.
Chipped paint and old siding are bound to stick out compared to the freshness of the spring buds and, if you fix up your exterior in spring, you’ll have all summer to enjoy it!
Noticing some flaking and cracking paint? It's time to have the paint on your home scraped, sanded, and repainted before moisture gets behind the rest of it and accelerates the damage. This is a major job, so you’ll need to bring in a craftsman to make sure it's done right.
And how does the condition of your deck, porch, or patio look? Check for stability and loose boards, then stain and seal your flooring. Many decks can go a year or two between these annual chores, but doing it every spring provides the most protection for the wood. Annual staining and sealing protects your investment and keeps it looking new for only a few hours worth of work per year.
There's no need to handle all these exhausting spring maintenance projects on your own. Louisville Handyman and Remodeling can help! We provide handyman and home remodeling services across the Louisville, KY area and have a team of experienced craftsmen that can take on almost any project that you have in mind. Contact us today to discuss your spring maintenance projects around your home!