Spring cleaning is a household tradition for many American homeowners. If you’re planning on welcoming the spring by cleaning up your home and doing some rearrangements, it’s also a great time to dive a little deeper with home maintenance and ensure your home is ready for the summer months. While many homeowners are concerned with the cleanliness of their homes’ interiors, it is very important to pay attention to the outside of your home. The following checklist includes a few basic spring maintenance tasks for the exterior of your home that should be on all homeowner checklists.
Check your gutters
The gutters around your roof have the very important job of moving water off your home and away from it. Take time to thoroughly clean and inspect your gutters. Remove debris from inside the gutters and clean them inside and out. You can use a standard scrub brush or a power washer on a low power setting to easily blast away grime, mildew, and mold. Pay close attention to any parts of your gutter that seem to accumulate mold and algae, as these areas may indicate a roof drainage problem that could become very expensive to fix.
As you clean your gutters, pay attention to your downspouts. Consider using a hose to run water through your gutters so you can evaluate the drainage. Your downspouts should move water away from your home and prevent it from pooling around the foundation. Over time, pooling water could lead to slab cracks and other damage to the foundation.
Inspect for termite damage and other pests
Termite problems can easily go unnoticed for too long if you don’t take time to check for them. They consume wood from the inside out, so it’s common for a homeowner to have a termite problem without realizing it until the damage becomes severe. A few signs of a termite problem in or around your home include:
- The presence of flying termites. Matured termite colonies produce winged adult termites that fly off to produce their own colonies in the spring.
- Mud tubes around your foundation, crawlspaces, or pipes. Termites create mud tubes to travel easily between food sources.
- Hollow-sounding timber. The various wood structures around your home should not sound hollow after a gentle knock. Hollow noises could indicate that termites have already consumed the wood from the inside.
- Listing in your wooden surfaces. If your porch seems to be listing to one side or is partially collapsing, a termite colony may be steadily making its way from the outside to the interior of your home.
If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s a good idea to call an exterminator immediately before the issue gets out of hand and the termites cause serious damage to your home. An exterminator can also help with other insect infestations including ants, roaches, and wasps around your property.
Roof maintenance
Even the most well-built asphalt shingle roofs will only last 20 to 25 years at most with good conditions. Putting off roof repair can have serious and costly consequences. This spring, you should take time to schedule a roof inspection with an experienced and reliable roofing contractor. Your roofer will be able to identify any problems, such as damaged shingles, discoloration, leaks, and problems with roof flashing.
Spring tends to bring the most rain throughout the year, so scheduling a roof inspection during the early spring can help you prevent leaks and water damage before they appear.
Repaving and walkway maintenance
Most homes have paved surfaces, including driveways and walkways that circle these homes. Another great item to add to your spring home maintenance checklist is repairing these surfaces. Over time, cracks in paved surfaces and concrete walkways will worsen as water enters the cracks, freezes, expands, thaws, and refreezes. Small cracks will quickly become larger gaps, allowing weeds to pop up in unsightly areas. Addressing these issues in the spring will mean the paved surfaces and walkways around your home will be ready for next winter’s weather.
Window checkups
Your home’s windows are some of the most important features of your home. Take time this spring to inspect your windows carefully, looking closely for any cracks in the glass as well as damage to the frames and tracks. If you think it’s time to replace your windows, it’s a good idea to replace as many as you can at once. This process doesn’t take very long for an experienced window installation team.
New splashes of paint
Are there painted surfaces around your home that could use some attention? Whether you want to repaint the shutters on your windows, your front door, or the door to your garage, spring is the perfect time to do outdoor painting. Just keep an eye on the weather forecast and make sure it will be dry for several days, so you don’t need to worry about the rain interfering with your painting.
Mr. Roof can help with all your spring maintenance needs. If you notice any issues with your roofing, siding, windows, or insulation this spring, contact us for a free estimate and we’ll be happy to help.
