The importance of home maintenance home inspections
Not sure where to start with your homes maintenance?
It's spring and time for home maintenance in Houston Texas. Spring is here and the weather is starting to change this is the time to look around your home. This is a challenge for many home owners because they may be a first time home owner or just don't know what to look out for. Don't worry we will go through some common issues that will need addressed. So lets make sure your home is properly maintained so you get the full life span from some of the homes most important systems.
Check your wood siding for wood rot or moisture damage also look up at the soffit of your home look for holes or moisture damage. . Are there debris obstructing the water shedding abilities of your roofing materials if so this can cause roof leaks and the life of your roofing materials. It's a good ideal to look around your windows to see if the caulking is separating if so than it's time to re calk these areas. Remember moisture is the enemy of your home so sealing any gaps or holes will save you allot of headaches and extra expenses. Having your a/c system serviced in the spring can save you money and extra wear on your system it could be the difference of your system breaking down in the summer. Summers are hot in Houston and a/c repairs are harder to get done in a timely manner in the middle of summer making the home uncomfortable for you and your family. These are some areas to check out in the spring time if you would like a more complete list have me perform a maintenance home inspection I will provide you with a report and photos of areas that need repairs or maintenance. thank you for reading Houston's Edge Home Inspections LLC
Let's start with the drainage, grade, and vegetation clearance.
The next time you have a big rain check out the drainage patters around your home. Make sure you don't have areas where water drains towards your foundation of your home this will lead to foundation damage overtime. If you do observe improper drainage it's important to have a landscaping drainage specialist to evaluate.
Clean all debris out of your gutters drainage is very important and overlooked by many home owners.
The recommendations is to have about 4" of foundation exposed on a brick veneer home and 6" from siding . So before you start spreading the mulch around make sure you have some of your foundation exposed. This is a common mistake made by home owners and landscapers.
Many times during a home inspection the flower beds are built up over the slab making a conducive condition for termite activity giving termites an easy entry point into your home.With the proper amount of slab exposed you may be able to see a termite tube going up the side of the home. If you see a mud tube going up the side of your foundation break it open to see if it's ants or termite if termites are found call a licensed termite inspector for a termite treatment of your home.
Check out your vegetation growing around your home. It's a good ideal to keep all vegetation off the walls of your home for proper ventilation to prevent wood rot , moisture damage to your home and conducive conditions for termite activity.
Roofing maintenance.
It's important to view your roof. For roof maintenance be safe you can get a pretty good look from the ground area. It's always better to be safe unless your comfortable with walking your roof areas ,but always take caution and practice ladder safety.
One of the most common issues are roof debris. Most of these roof debris are caused from leaves, pine needles, and tree limbs dropping from trees. Are there debris obstructing the water shedding abilities of your roofing materials? If so this can cause roof leaks and the life of your roofing materials.