Preparing for Summer
Sunday marks the start of spring, but Mother Nature has other plans. Meteorologists are forecasting snow for the first day of spring along the east coast. If you are like me, you cannot wait for the warmer, longer days. My Pinterest folders are full of outdoor projects, seeds and plants and of course recipes
Since we cannot get outdoors this weekend, we will make a list of all the things around the house we need to do, looking for any damage done during the winter and general maintenance to prepare for the warmer months. Here’s our partial list.
Walk around the house to inspect the foundation, roof and siding. During this inspection, you want to note the damage.
• Make sure all the soil slopes away from the foundation.
• Check out the roof, sometimes you can see missing shingles? Are there loose bricks around the chimney? Check the interior ceilings in rooms and crawl space to see if there are stains.
• Gutters and drainage- let me tell you from experience a good gutter system can save you money and heartache. Make sure the gutters are clean of debris look for blockages and damage to the gutters. Minor repairs we can make for others we will call in a professional.
• Check the siding to ensure it is all intact make sure you check for gaps around windows and doors and caulk any gaps.
• Clean the siding, you can rent power washers, check with local rental places on their policies, if you are going to hire someone to make sure you get estimates and check their references.
Schedule your inspections and tune ups
• Air -conditioning system, you do not want to wait until there is a heat wave to call for service. Your contractor should have a checklist they use that includes inspecting the thermostats, controls, checking the refrigerant level, tightening connections lubricating moving parts, cleaning coils and blower and checking the condensate drain.
• Home generator, we bought one of these after being with electricity for over a week during Hurricane Sandy, and it has been used it a few times since been installed. Some routine things you can do yourself make sure check the owner’s manual. We have a contract with the company that installed ours, so I will call to schedule our yearly tune-up.
• Duct Cleaning I do not do this every year but when I do, I check local websites to see if I can find a bargain. I do change all the filters and vacuum the vents.
Taking care of these items can prevent costly repairs and alert you if there are potential problems.