Our series on getting to know your home continues with an examination of all the things you need to know to take the best care of your home’s exterior.
- Find out what kind of foundation you have. A slab foundation, crawlspace and basement all bring different needs.
- Check your home’s drainage. In particular, be sure water drains away from the home and doesn’t pool near the foundation. Your gutter downspouts should direct water at least four feet away from the house, preferably more. Consider hiring a yard grader to check and level your land if water pools in your yard.
- Verify your basement waterproofing measures. Basement waterproofing involves several passive and active options, including french drains and sump pumps. If you have any mechanical waterproofing, such as a sump pump, test it to be sure it works. You won’t want to find out about problems the hard way during a basement flood.
- Check your roof. Find out what roofing material you have and when it was installed. Some materials last a decade or so, while others can be expected to last a century. This research will help you estimate when you might need to replace it.
- Hire a roofer for a roof inspection. A roof that looks good from the outside could be concealing major problems just underneath, and you want to know if any potential issues are waiting for you.
- Inspect the chimney. If you have a gas or wood-burning fireplace, your chimney should be inspected and cleaned every year before you use it for the first time. A chimney pro will deal with glaze, structural issues and any animal nesting or other obstructions. This work will give you peace of mind once you light up that roaring fire on cold winter nights.
- Verify the venting. Ventilation is one of the most important parts of your home that you may never think about. In most cases, the HVAC system smoothly and transparently traffics air in and out of the house. However, certain specialty elements of your home require a little more.
- Bathrooms should have exhaust fans that vent to the outside. Check to ensure the vent directs air outside and not just into the attic. Pros tell us they see this more often than you think!
- The attic should have some kind of ventilation to keep air moving and prevent moisture from building up in the attic.
- Look at the gutters and downspouts. These are among the most critical lines of defense to your home. Hire a pro to clean them and ensure everything’s in good shape. Even a minor bend in the wrong place can cause water to back up or clog the gutter with debris. Your pro will give recommendations on what needs to be repaired or replaced.
- Hire a gutter cleaner at least once per year, if not two or three times, depending on the foliage in your area. You want water to drain smoothly and continually.
- Consider installing gutter guards. They don’t entirely eliminate the need for regular gutter cleaning, but they can significantly increase the time between cleanings.
- Learn about your siding and exterior. As with roofing, siding materials might have lifespans measured in decades. Find out what you have and when it was installed; this will give insight into your maintenance schedule.
