So you’ve spent time researching, planning, purchasing or maybe even building your new property. You’ve assessed the local amenities. You’ve stamped your approval and have moved your entire family to your new roost. You’ve settled in and have happily starting progressing in your new life? You’re all done, surely?
Alas, in property the work is never done, and now the burden falls on you to maintain your new home. Keeping everything in working order is a task in itself, but taking preventative measures to increase the lifespan of your home is something that you can never waste time taking care of. Online searches can help here, as can local services, but as a general rule, if you want to find out how something operates, you need to engage with it yourself.
The more effort you put in here, the less effort you put in later when you have to fix the problem.
So without further ado, what follows is a simple list of the items you should keep prioritised when you’re doing your annual or bi-annual check of the house.
1. A Thorough Clean
Sometimes a thorough, intensive deep clean is all you need to keep the internals of your home in shape. This can also help you assess damp or cracks in the wall that have potentially occurred without you being aware of them. Following this, you should give a clear and precise inspection of your house exterior, including roofing. This should be done every four to five months. It’s easy to ignore unused items of furniture from the day your moving company places it for you. Check behind those too.
2. Check Interference With Electric Lines
If you’re lucky enough to possess a garden that has trees in it, sometimes these can grow without you realising and interfere with electric cables, which is bad for everyone nearby. Taking a few minutes every few months can prevent any awkward power cuts.
3. Getting The Chimney Cleaned
It’s best to hire a professional to do this, but if you are confident in your ability, you can give it a go. Just be sure you have the correct tools.
4. Replace Grout
This should be inspected once every two months. A little preemptive replacement can solve cracked tiles and generally tidies up your bathroom areas.
5. Inspect Roofing Felt
This is a valuable material for keeping out leaks and improve your heating bills. Making sure this is in good condition and you can potentially save hundreds.
6. Check Your Boiler
Checking the pressure of your boiler (water heater) can be invaluable. These are expensive to replace, so a quick check relatively often can also save you hundreds. These can be somewhat fragile if you overuse it, so be careful and treat it wisely.
7. Plumbing
Making sure the plumbing system in your area is working in tip-top shape and you can save some nasty leaks and cold showers down the road. This is one of those things that people often only address when there’s a problem, but sometimes checking for buildup in the pipes can be all you need to do.
Keep these tips in mind and you’ll surely be able to hold off expensive repairs. Every home is vulnerable to them, but your keen eye will surely prevent too many issues happening at once.
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