Home Maintenance For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Page 6
Home sweet home to most people consists of comfy surroundings and handsome finishes — cabinets, counters, flooring, and appliances. Yet the “bones” of a home consist of a complex system of pipes, wires, and ducts, which, often without warning, can go haywire and reduce your home to rubble.
A small electrical short can result in a disastrous house fire, and a poorly burning gas appliance not properly vented can produce deadly carbon monoxide.
If you don’t have smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide alarms, install them! If you do and they aren’t operating properly, fix them! A little maintenance can go a long way when it comes to smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide alarms. Vacuum them regularly, test them often, and replace the batteries at least twice a year or as needed.
The dangers associated with fire and carbon monoxide are clear. Less obvious is the devastating effect that a malfunctioning garage door or garage-door opener can have on you or someone in your home. Small children and pets can be seriously injured or killed by a malfunctioning system. Is the auto-reverse (anti-crush) function working properly? Does your system have electronic sensor beams, and are they doing their job?
Another concern for keeping your home safe relates to personal safety and security from prowlers and unwanted visitors. Have you stopped setting your burglar alarm due to repeated false alarms? The false alarms may be something as simple as a loose contact at a window or door or a failing backup battery.
Throughout this book, you can find out about maintenance tasks that will keep your systems running efficiently and safely to prevent disaster. However, in Chapter 16, we focus on some of the more common safety issues and specific steps that you can take that can save your home, your life, and the lives of your family should disaster strike. When it comes to home maintenance, maintaining your home-safety systems is job number one!
Chapter 3
Putting Together Your Home Maintenance Plan
In This Chapter
Deciding what tasks to undertake now versus later
Staying safe as you maintain your home
Knowing when (and how) to hire a pro
When people think about owning a home, they picture warm summer afternoons relaxing on the patio, not a hot afternoon fixing the fence around it. Fortunately, there are far more fun days than workdays. But don’t kid yourself: There will be work to do. Of course, we think it’s the fun kind of work. And we’re not alone. Many people get a great deal of enjoyment from maintaining and improving their homes.
Not a do-it-yourselfer? Not buying the work-as-fun concept? Let’s talk money, instead. Maintenance is the work required to protect and maintain what is probably your single largest investment — your home. It’s not optional. If it’s not done (by you or by a professional), your home and its systems will slowly deteriorate, operate less and less efficiently, look worse, and, ultimately, lose real value. So, with those negative outcomes in mind, we’re sure you’ll agree that maintenance is necessary.
This chapter helps you prioritize your home-maintenance tasks and provides home-maintenance schedules you can follow. And if you’re not a do-it-yourselfer? Well, we tell you how to find a pro, too.
Your What-to-Tackle List
Out of the enormous universe of potential projects, which ones are the most important and when should you do them? Let’s talk about priorities. By setting priorities, you make sure that your most critical and financially sensible projects get done first. This may seem to be the obvious approach, but you’d be surprised by how many low-priority jobs get done before truly necessary projects.
We understand how that happens. Do-it-yourselfers are eager to get going, so they begin with whatever comes to mind first. And homeowners frequently confuse what they want to do with what they need to do. Sure, installing a pretty new granite countertop is a lot more “fun” than shoring up a crumbling foundation wall, but it won’t be any fun when the kitchen starts sliding into the backyard.
We like to divide maintenance jobs into three categories:
Musts are anything that threatens health and safety, violations of fire or building codes, structural weaknesses, and other critical needs.
Shoulds are anything that cuts utility bills, reduces maintenance costs, or prevents a large repair in the future.
Coulds are anything related to improving appearance and function.
For example, removing a dangerously obsolete (and probably overloaded), 60-year-old fuse box and replacing it with a modern circuit-breaker box (and more amperage for today’s higher power demands) is, without question, a must. Reducing heating and cooling costs by adding another layer of attic insulation is a should. And wallpapering the bathroom is a could. Voilà! Intelligent priorities!
Musts: Safety and health
“Safety first” is more than a slogan. In all cases, safety and health issues are your number-one priorities. Don’t even think about doing anything else until you:
Install smoke detectors and carbon-monoxide detectors everywhere they should be installed — in bedrooms, in hallways, and on every level of your home.
Purchase and install appropriate fire extinguishers for the kitchen, garage, and workshop.
Replace all old and faulty electrical wiring. If your home was built before 1950, have the electrical system checked to make sure it isn’t dangerously overloaded by the much higher power needs of a modern family.
Install a ground wire throughout the electrical system to prevent electrical shock.
Install ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) on all outlets within 4 feet of a sink, on all exterior and garage outlets, and on all electrical fixtures over showers and bathtubs.
Install or repair exterior lighting, for safety and security (aesthetics is just a bonus).
Clean out the dryer duct and replace the lint-catching flexible duct with a smooth, rigid duct.
Replace old, unsafe appliances.
Have the furnace professionally serviced and repaired (or replaced) as necessary.
Test for lead and asbestos, and perform any necessary abatement.
Repair unsecure or wobbly handrails.
Install a child-safe, auto-reversing garage door opener.
Replace any untempered-glass sliding-glass doors and shower doors.
Apply non-slip decals to the bottom of every bathtub.
Eliminate mold and take steps to prevent regrowth.
Replace or reinforce failing foundation components and broken or sagging structural members.
Make any improvements — installing grab bars and ramps, widening doors, changing door levers, and so on — that are necessary to improve the safety of elderly or physically challenged people in your home.
It just makes sense to do these things before any others. After all, they’re the tasks and projects that prevent fire, injury, and failure. Can you make a good argument for wallpapering the bathroom before completing every single one of these tasks? We didn’t think so!
Shoulds: Reducing costs and preventing problems
Jobs that save energy and reduce utility costs come next. If you’re looking to save big money and make your home significantly more efficient and eco-friendly, you should do the following tasks:
Add attic insulation.
Insulate heating and cooling ducts.
Seal gaps around doors, windows, and pipes.
Caulk around window and door frames.
Install weatherstripping on exterior doors and windows.
Insulate the water heater and hot-water pipes.
Replace old toilets with modern, water-saving toilets.
Schedule yearly furnace/boiler and air-conditioning service.
Replace an old “gas-guzzling” furnace or power-gobbling air conditioner.
Enhance attic and crawlspace ventilation.
Replace old appliances with today’s highly efficient Energy Star–rated appliances.
Take steps to protect against termites and other structural pests.
Replace energy-ineffici
ent single-pane windows with new double- or triple-pane windows.
Repair dripping faucets and constantly running toilets.
Doing things that prevent future problems is literally putting money in the bank. It’s smart to fix a small problem before it can become a bigger, more expensive repair. If you want to do all you can to avoid trouble tomorrow, do these things:
Seal any exterior gaps, including in siding and trim and around windows, doors, and pipes.
Maintain and repair the roof and flashings.
Monitor the condition of bathtub caulk and grout, and replace as necessary.
Find and stop foundation, crawlspace, or basement seepage.
Regularly clean and repair gutters, extend downspouts away from the foundation, and regrade the soil so water is directed away from the home.
Repair driveway, walkway, and patio deterioration, and seal cracks.
Paint exterior siding, trim, decks, and fences as needed.
Repair exterior cracks as soon as possible.
Trim bushes and trees away from the house.
Tuck-point brick and block as necessary.
Repair or replace leaking shower or tub walls.
Did you notice something about these projects? Most of them are about preventing water damage. The fact is, water and moisture are the number-one enemies of your home. Doing the jobs in this list, even if you do nothing else, will go a long way toward protecting your home’s systems, structure, and value.
Coulds: Improving appearance and function
Many of the projects in this category are simple, inexpensive fixes or cleaning tasks that require what our grandfather called “elbow grease” — jobs like:
Patching holes in wallboard
Tightening up door hinges
Shining up a kitchen sink
Cleaning cabinets
Getting rid of mildew
Others are cosmetic improvements such as:
Painting the exterior
Installing crown molding
Putting in a new entry door
Installing new carpet
Adding a skylight
Replacing cabinet and drawer pulls
Installing new door hardware
And still others are practical, functional improvements such as:
Replacing an old, tired cooktop or dishwasher
Replacing shower tile
Replacing a worn-out garage door
Adding cabinet accessories like a pull-out rack
Installing basement storage shelves
Installing wardrobe organizational systems
Making your maintenance plan
After you know how to prioritize your tasks, it’s time to make your maintenance plan:
1. Grab a notepad and pen, and go through your home top to bottom and end to end, writing down everything you see that needs to be done, using the lists in this chapter to help you.
Be realistic. A 300-item list isn’t going to get done. Focus on what you can do in the next six months. Promise yourself you’ll make another plan at the end of the six months, and then do it.
2. Mark each item with an M (for must), an S (for should), a C (for could), or an L (for later); then prioritize within those main categories by putting a number by the letter: M1, M2, M3, and so on.
Take a few minutes to make yourself a clean, easy-to-follow plan with every task or project listed in priority order. Put the later tasks on a separate sheet, and save them for the next plan.
Compiling your list on a computer using Microsoft Word (or a similar word-processing program) or in Microsoft Excel (or a similar spreadsheet program) will make it easier and faster to sort items and change priorities.
Done. Now get to work — and try to have fun!
Your Home-Maintenance Schedule
Maintenance performed regularly and on schedule provides optimum longevity and helps prevent potential breakdowns or malfunctions. Beyond maintenance procedures for operational sake, the primary (and most important) reason for checking, inspecting, and constantly tuning up your home is to ensure maximum safety for you, your family, and your friends.
Every home is different, so feel free to pick and choose from the following checklists. Whether you live in a typical suburban house, a condominium, a town house, a high-rise apartment, a farmhouse, or a palatial country estate, you’re sure to find many items that pertain to your home.
Save manufacturers’ instructions and product manuals for maintenance instructions and cleaning tips. If you don’t have them, you can probably find them online at the manufacturers’ Web sites.
Things to do annually
Make these tasks part of your annual schedule:
Check for and repair bouncy or squeaky floors (Chapter 4).
Repair insulation, weatherstripping, and air leaks (Chapter 6).
Pressure-wash and oil or repaint wood fencing and check for rot (Chapter 18).
Install or check termite flashing at decks and fence-to-house connections (Chapter 18).
Inspect and test your landscape irrigation system.
Clean and check irrigation anti-siphon valves and backflow-prevention devices.
Check the water heater anode and the condition of the dip tube (Chapter 7).
Check and clean water-heater burners, tank, and flue (Chapter 7).
Clean or replace electric water-heater elements (Chapter 7).
Clean toilet siphon jets (Chapter 8).
Ensure that tub overflow is secure to avoid a leak at the tub (Chapter 8).
Bleed air-logged radiators (Chapter 10).
Professionally inspect and clean the fireplace and chimney (Chapter 15).
Fill cracks, gauges, and nail pops in wallboard (Chapter 11).
Repair sagging plaster at ceilings (Chapter 11).
Scrub and touch up the paint on walls, ceilings, and cabinets (Chapters 11 and 13).
Check and adjust the oven temperature (Chapter 14).
Check and replace appliance lights (Chapter 14).
Clean refrigerator-door gaskets and lubricate the hinges (Chapter 14).
Vacuum refrigerator condenser coils (Chapter 14).
Seal and protect tile and grout (Chapter 13).
Update your emergency preparedness kit and provisions (Chapter 16).
Vacuum dust off smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide detectors (Chapter 16).
Check flexible gas-line connections at appliances (Chapter 16).
Have your home inspected for termites or other structural pests.
Have a professional check your septic tank and drain as necessary (Chapter 9).
Things to do seasonally
With different seasons come different tasks. Use the following to keep your maintenance up to date throughout the year.