Your home is likely the biggest investment that you’ll ever make. You’ll want to keep your home feeling new, right? If you have a Home Warranty, it’s easy to forget that you still need to take an active role in the care and upkeep of your home.
Keep your home looking like new by knowing what to look for and how often to look for it.
A yearly check-in for the interior and exterior will reveal any trouble spots before they become a crisis. Here are a few items to add to your inspection checklist:
- Take a walk around the exterior of your home. Has the sun caused any paint or caulk to crack? If you paint your home every few years, it will look new for decades to come. Are the gutters full and overflowing with debris? That can cause wet rot on your roof that, when left unattended, can cause significant water damage to the roof’s flashing.
- Survey the interior of your home. Any construction will settle over time. Has the drywall cracked as a result? If you see any signs of settling, don’t panic. That’s normal. A bit of spackle and touch-up paint will erase any imperfections that result from the house settling.
- Be mindful of hardwood floors. High heels can pockmark certain types of hardwood. Dogs can scratch high traffic areas, regardless of the flooring’s quality. Overly active grandkids can do serious surface damage with toys, especially those with wheels. Do you know what type of hardwood make up your floors? Identify the wood used and gauge how susceptible to wear and tear.
- Pay close attention to your landscaping. Do you love to garden but don’t always have the time to weed? Overgrown plants can do more harm than good to grout, foundations and brickwork. Unkempt plants with rootbeds near the foundation of the house can affect the ability to drain rainwater.
It’s important to remember that despite machinery and technology, a home is still built by hand.
Everyone involved in its construction has a responsibility for its care and helps you keep your home feeling new. If you take these small measures, it’ll continue to look new. Having an awareness of the things you need to watch for as a homeowner and an understanding of product limitations will go a long way towards making home upkeep painless.