Tips for keeping on top of home repairs

When you buy a home, you mainly think about keeping up with the mortgage payments, paying your bills and ensuring that your home is neat, clean, and organised. However, there is another aspect that you should not forget—the time, labor, and cost necessary to stay on top of different home maintenance and repair projects, some of which should be done in certain seasons.

Unless something breaks down, it's easy enough to postpone maintenance issues. Since these tasks can often be done later, you end up either forgetting about them or procrastinating, waiting for a more convenient time to get around to doing them, especially if the thought causes financial stress.

Besides tending to forget or postpone home repairs, another mistake homeowners often make is trying to save costs by tackling projects themselves that should be done by experts. Take window replacement, for example. If you need to install new windows, this is always something that is better done by experts rather than referencing DIY home repair tips on Google. The best thing to do is look for a local company that has good customer reviews and do your research, look for AAMA-Certified Master Window Installers who do Window Replacements in Houston then to try to do it yourself. Not only will you get the best installation results at affordable prices, but you'll also make better choices when it comes to replacement window brands. For instance, you'll get more options when it comes to materials or colours.

Still, not everything requires expertise and here is a checklist to stay on top of home repairs that you can easily do yourself or take care of with the help of a local handyman.

A General Home Inspection Checklist:

Every month, quarterly, or biannually, you should perform the following inspections to stay on top of maintenance issues

Inspect kitchen sink disposals. One simple trick is to freeze vinegar in an ice cube tray. Once you put them in the disposal, it not only freshens them out but will also sharpen the blades.

Test your various home safety detectors, like smoke detectors and carbon dioxide detectors. This is really important and will only take a few minutes, knowing your detectors are working properly will really give you peace of mind. If you have an electric garage door you also need to check that all the sensors and electrics are in good working order so no accidents can happen.

Keep on top of your plumping, for instance, if you have unused spaces, like basements or guest bathrooms, run the water in the faucets and flush the toilets. This simple maintenance measure will prevent grime from building up in your water system. Another thing to do is to take steps to deal with any hard water buildup issues you might come across. 

A Seasonal Maintenance Checklist

Here is a basic checklist for maintenance issues associated with seasonal changes:

Spring: Do "Spring cleaning" in Spring because the exterior of the house will have been affected by the cold and damp of winter and the heat and humidity of summer. This, for example, is a good time to clean out gutters, as well as to see if any paint has chipped or any sidings have been damaged by the snow and ice of the winter.

Summer: This is a good time to mot your home. For instance, check the roof, drains, gutters, insulation, windows, boilers, fences, and chimney. In other words, the outdoor stuff.

Autumn: Now is the time you should be wrapping up all the cleanup and repair projects you initiated in summer and start getting your winter prep underway. Making sure your gutters are clean around this time is also important as you don't want to go into winter with potential issues. If you go to check this and find you need assistance, make sure to look for a service that offers Gutter Cleaning Buffalo way, or gutter cleaning wherever you are based, to get any issues addressed. 

Winter: This is the season to focus on interior projects, usually things that you may not have got around to earlier in the year, like building shelves and catching up on small painting projects. You also want to be on the lookout for icicles and ice dams and to de-ice where necessary. 
To-Do Lists & Calendars

Knowing when you use professionals

It's important to know when something is DIY achievable and when it's not, as trying to do difficult things on your own could lead to something being broken, leading to more costly repairs. By all means undertake tasks that are suitable for most abilities, such as cleaning the gutters, trimming the lawn and basic maintenance. However, when you're in need of more technical maintenance repairs, finding a reputable maintenance company such as Milestone Electric, A/C, & Plumbing would be a good idea, in order to have some peace of mind that more technical jobs are done properly first time round.

Since there is a lot to be done through the course of the year, it's easy to quickly fall behind, forget, or just give up on trying to keep up. One solution to stop feeling overwhelmed by all your chores is to have a running list of things that you need to do, as well as a calendar to schedule the best available times to get to them. You can do this either on a spreadsheet or just with pen and paper; the main thing is just to be organized and consistent.