Home Maintenance – 8 Projects You CAN Do

ONGOING MAINTENANCE - YOU CAN DO IT!!

 

Like it or not, every homeowner has ongoing maintenance and general repairs to do.  If left unattended, even a minor maintenance issue can turn into a major problem down the line – and so they all really should be tended to.  And sooner than later.  Some maintenance things are ones that you need to hire a professional for, and some are ones that you can handle yourself.  Today, we’re focusing on the latter.

Whether you consider yourself a pretty handy person or don’t know the difference between vice grips and channel locks (or anywhere in between)… we feel good about telling you to go get those work gloves and get ready to dig into this list of things that we see on a lot of home inspections.  Things that you likely can do yourself to keep your home in a good state of repair, and safer for you and your family.

 

Here are 8 Issues we frequently see

that you really can fix on your own

 

Replace Smoke and CO Detectors. There’s probably not a cheaper and easier thing to do regarding your family’s safety than to have updated, and properly placed, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors.  Smoke detectors last up to around 10 years, and CO detectors are about half of that.  If you don’t know how old yours are, than it’s definitely time to change them.

Label that electrical panel. Having an accurately labeled electrical panel can be a matter of life or death.  And you don’t even have to mess with anything dangerous to do get it done.  Just grab a pen and paper and a light that you can plug in.  Plug the light in somewhere and go test the breakers one at a time to identify the room it’s in.  Rinse and repeat throughout the house.  Make sure to take notes so that you only write on the label sheet once (bonus points for using an older plug-in type radio and listening for it instead of walking back and forth to check the light).

Repaint the exterior trim.  Water is arguably the number one enemy of homes.  Water intrusion accounts for the vast majority of structural issues homeowners encounter.  Making sure that the exterior wood (siding, fascia, window sills, trim, etc) of your home is properly sealed and coated can extend the functional life of those components.  By decades in some cases.

Repair or replace downspout extensions. Continuing the list with another easily solved water concern is downspout extensions.  They might get in the way of the landscaping at times, and you might run them over with the mower at others.  But having them intact, functional, and directing water to at least 4-6 feet away from your foundation is an absolute must.

Tighten loose toilets – including replacing the wax ring. This one might seem a little intimidating for some, but there are literally thousands of tutorials out there on how to do it.  We would estimate that 50% of the homes we enter have a loose toilet.  And we assume that there’s no need to describe what happens if the wax ring that completes the seal becomes damaged from the toilet being loose.  Working on the pooper might be poopy work, but it beats having the ceiling below that toilet rain down on you.

Fill small cracks and trip hazards in the driveway. You might have concrete, gravel, asphalt, or some other material... but there’s multiple solutions out there for each driveway type.  Small cracks quickly become larger ones due to (yeah, you guessed it) water.  So filling and sealing them should be on the must-do list for any homeowner.  And getting rid of trip hazards makes everyone safer.

Replace outdated outlets. This one probably also seems like a stretch for some homeowners, but with the right safety measures it really isn’t an overwhelming task.  We strongly suggest that if, even after some research and appropriate precautions, you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself… then don’t.  But for many people, this one is completely possible to turn into a DIY project.  All outlets should be in good working order but the big issue we encounter is a lack of GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) in bathrooms, kitchens, garages, and exteriors – all places where the added protection is a must.

Replace those filters. Air purifiers can become air contaminators if the filters aren’t changed regularly.  Similarly, furnace filters (which, even tho the name doesn’t imply it, in almost all cases also includes when the air conditioning is running) can actually pollute your indoor air quality if not maintained.  And for those of you on private or shared wells, water filtration should be an extremely high priority.