With any home, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Owning a home, as any do-it-yourselfer will tell you, is a never-ending job. A new problem seems to arise just as a home improver completes a previous repair job.
One way to stem some of those problems is with a yearly maintenance schedule, like the one that follows.
Each task will take only a few minutes each month, but those minutes will help keep your home in top shape.
January
With sub-zero temperatures limiting outdoor work and even making trips to the hardware store an ordeal, January is a time to look at the details indoors–the doorknobs, for instance.
Once a year, tighten the retaining screws that hold a doorknob to its spindle. (The knobs can loosen to the point where they no longer function.) Also, the screws in the doorknob’s face plate often get loose and need tightening. If the screw hole is larger than the screw, fill it with wood putty.
Also, check the strike plates and latch plates for loose screws. While checking each doorknob and latch, lubricate each with a dash of chemical lubricant such as WD-40. Don’t use household oil because that can gum up the hardware.
February
While temperatures can be below freezing during most of this month, the spring rains are not that far away. So it’s a good time to inspect your home’s sump pump, if it has one, says Larry Desmond, a home sales associate with the Waukegan-based Century 21 Maki and Associates.
During a rainstorm, water around a house is diverted via pipes into the sump pump pit, then ejected into the sewer system by the pump. If the pump isn’t working, your basement can flood.
Start by removing the sump pit’s cover. “Make sure the bottom of the pit is free of debris,” says Desmond.
Then, test the pump by pouring water into the pit until it rises about 8 inches or so, raising the pump’s ball cock. The pump should then vacuum the water out of the pit via a vertical pipe.
If the pump isn’t working properly, it’s probably less expensive to replace it than to fix it.
Also, check the pump’s exhaust pipe for leakage. And, if your home has window wells around the basement windows, check to make sure that the drains in those are clear of leaves or other debris. Otherwise, water can enter through the windows.
March
When the first stretch of warm weather arrives, March is a perfect time to inspect your roof for any damage caused during the winter months, says Gary Lichthardt, a member of the technology and codes committee of the Home Builders of Greater Chicagoland Association.
“Use a ladder to get a close look at the roof,” he says. “What you’re looking for is missing shingles, broken shingles or raised-up shingles. Those can be the result of wind damage or ice damming in the gutters.”
Problem shingles should be repaired by a roofing contractor, or can be temporarily covered with a roofing patch.
April
April showers not only bring May flowers but also flooded basements.
Therefore, this is a good month to clean and check your home’s gutters to ensure water is diverted away from your home. Clean out the gutters with a garden hose, washing away any leaves, branches and other debris.
Leaks along the seams or corners should be repaired with a gutter patch compound, which is available in a caulk tube.
May
The cold weather and subsequent thaw cause everything on a house to expand and contract and this is a good month to visually inspect the caulk that seals the gaps between your home’s windows and exterior doors and the siding.
If the caulk has come loose or become brittle, remove and replace it.
“Caulking is important because it not only keeps cold air out but, more importantly, water out of a house,” says Lichthardt. “And a cold winter like the one we had can cause even new caulk to separate from the building.”
June
With temperatures consistently well above freezing, June is a good time to make any painting repairs to the exterior of your home, says Keil Morek, a sales associate at the southwest suburban-based Southtown Paint and Wallpaper.
“Things such as blistering or cracking paint should be addressed as soon as possible as they can lead to other problems, such as wood rot,” he says.
Paint defects can be spot-patched. However, if your home’s exterior has many paint flaws, you may want to consider repainting the entire home.
July
An annual power washing and resealing of a pressure-treated wood deck will not only make it look nicer but also help extend the deck’s life.
Rent a high-pressure power washer that will remove ground-in dirt and dead wood fiber, which make the deck look drab. After the wood is thoroughly dry, a new coat of deck sealer will prevent the deck from graying and stop the wood from cracking and splitting.
August
August’s heat often causes a drain on water supplies and that dwindling supply can show up in the form of reduced water pressure in the home.
To make sure you’re getting all the water pressure you can, annually clean out the traps at the ends of the faucets in your home. This is where the flow of water often is impaired by mineral deposits and other debris stuck in the traps, which looks like a small screen.
Unscrew the end of the faucet with a pair of pliers and remove the trap from the tip. Flush out the debris and replace the trap.
September
Though the cold weather has yet to set in, it’s a good time to learn the habit of changing the furnace filter, if you have forced-air heat.
As simple and as inexpensive as changing furnace filters is, many homeowners overlook this task. Clean filters can greatly cut down on energy consumption.
“I know of one homeowner who complained he couldn’t get heat to a bedroom, and this was in a new house,” says Lichthardt. “It turns out that the furnace filter was so clogged that the furnace couldn’t push the warm air into the bedroom.”
October
With a number of warm days left, October is a good month each year to reglaze a few windows on your home. Reglazing replaces the putty that seals a bond between the window and the frame. That helps cut down on a lot of cold air infiltration during the cold winter months.
Start with the windows in which the existing glazing is cracked or missing. Press the new compound in place, and use a flexible blade putty knife to compress the compound so that the exposed surface is flat and pitches 45 degrees from the sash to the glass.
Allow the compound to dry for three weeks before painting it. Apply the paint so it barely touches the glass to form a weather seal.
November
With the first cold breezes of the season in force, November is a good month to determine which of your exterior doors permit cold air infiltration.
There’s a good chance a lot of that cold air is coming from the bottom of the door, where opening and closing the door causes the sweep to wear out.
To repair the sweep, first remove the old one (you may have to take the door off the hinges). Most sweeps are held in place with screws. Sweeps come in different styles, but replacements can be purchased at home improvement stores. Install the new sweep according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You may need to cut it to fit the existing door.
Don’t install the sweep too tight. You should be able to slip a piece of paper under the door.
December
While digging out holiday decorations each year, take some time to make a visual inspection of your attic. “First, check the roof and gable vents to make sure those are clear, as the screens can act like lint traps,” says Lichthardt. “Those vents are extremely important in helping to remove the heat from the attic during summer. But the last thing you want to do is be hanging around your attic in the middle of summer.”
In addition, the vents help moist air to escape from the attic in cold weather, lessening the possibility of condensation and mildew in the attic.
In addition, check the attic for wasp nests. During the winter months, wasps are dormant and their nests are easier to remove.
