Maintaining Your Home For A Lifetime

There is nothing quite like owning your own home. Sure, it comes along with paying a mortgage and maintaining proper upkeep, but you also have the joy of coming home after a long day to the comfort of your own surroundings. If you’re like most people, owning a home is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make and you take pride in the ownership of your private oasis.

However, to ensure your home is equipped to accommodate you for a lifetime, there are important maintenance needs that must be regularly looked after. By maintaining your house with these three tips, you’re guaranteed to have a wonderful, well-kept lifetime home.

Remember the Roof Over Your Head

Without a sturdy roof, your home remains at risk for a number of different reasons:

• Once winter arrives, it’s possible your roof will collapse under the weight of the snow and ice.
• Rainwater can leak in and cause horrendous damage to the interior of your home.
• Heat and air conditioning can escape through faulty parts.
• Sagging, weak spots in the roof risk the structural integrity of your home.

It’s important to conduct an annual inspection of your roof, ideally before cold weather arrives. One of the biggest hesitations homeowners have about roof inspection is the costly price tag that typically accompanies this maintenance task.

Many repairs and replacements can be extremely expensive, causing many to simply consider the short-term costs instead of the long-term effects. It is important to understand that by putting off necessary repairs, you put your entire home at risk.

While hiring a certified roof inspector is a sure-fire way to catch any potential problems, you can conduct a DIY inspection, too.

1. Walk around your home and inspect your roof from the ground. Look for any problem areas like sagging, aging or other signs of damage and take notes.
2. Identify any areas on your roof with moss, algae or excessive leaf buildup as these are the key areas for water damage and potential leaks.
3. Note any buckled, curled, missing or damaged shingles. This is the leading cause of roof damage because these areas offer direct exposure to the weather and other natural elements.
4. Clear your gutters of leaves, pine needles, pinecones and other debris – this incudes all overhangs and downspouts. Also note any open joints or signs of rotting or rusting.
5. Keep a sharp eye out for granule loss in the texture or shingles of your home.
6. Inspect your roof from atop, paying close attention to the counter flashing, or metal strips placed in prone areas of your roof.
7. If your home has an attic, inspect the underneath of your roof for signs of water damage or other weak, sagging areas.

If there are any major concerns from your inspection, have a local professional visit your home as soon as possible.

Bathe Your Beautiful Abode

Yes, even our homes need a bath every once and a while, especially if you live in a humid or dusty environment. This is one of the most important steps to take when ensuring your home will looks it’s best for a lifetime.

The easiest way to clean the exterior of your home is to use a pressure washer. In conjunction with hand tools, a pressure washer is the best way to clean off mildew and dirt buildup on the outside of your home. Consider these quick tips when spraying down your house:

• Cover or move any near-by plants to prevent them from being damaged by the powerful water or debris.
• Also cover any electrical wires or outlets as electricity and water don’t mix. Keep an eye out for overhead power lines and try not to blast your home’s electrical service-entrance cable, the electrical meter or exterior lights.
• Ensure your ladder is placed at a proper angle (75 to 78 degrees) against your home. This helps you get a firm, secure footing so you can use two hands on the washer.

If the pressure washer isn’t able to rid heavily concentrated areas of mildew, consider using cleaning solutions like a mildewcide, bleach and water concoction, and tools like a fiberglass extension pole and soft siding brush.

Be Willful on Window Checks

By being conscious and consistent in your window checks, you’ll ensure that your home stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. How diligent you are about inspecting the wellbeing of your windows will make a big difference on how your home looks from the outside and how it functions on the inside. Make a note of the following when you next inspect your windows:

• Condensation forming in the center of the glass often hints at the possibly of a gas leak, meaning the window is no longer providing good insulation.
• Windows that are hard to open and close are a sign that the surrounding wood is swelling. Consider sanding down the wood panes to make them easier to operate.
• If you have casement windows that are hard to open and close, you likely have debris build up in the window track that needs to be removed, then clean and lubricate the track. If this fails to make the window easier to work, consider replacing it all together.
• Water leaking around the window is a sign that your seal is damaged and likely needs to be replaced or freed from water or debris buildup.
• Drafty windows signal that the panes or weather-stripping around the sashes needs to be replaced. Consider investing in new, energy efficient windows.

Protect Your Investment

While these three tips are key to keeping your home in good condition for a lifetime, the most important thing you can do to protect your investment is to have reliable insurance coverage. Let Esposito Insurance Group protect your beautiful home with insurance that is affordable and dependable. Call us today to learn more!