Part of being a homeowner is dealing with the demands of home maintenance. Although your homeowners association will take care of routine maintenance for common areas, it’s up to you as an HOA member to make sure your home is ready for the wet weather ahead. Before you can enjoy those cozy evenings by the fire, here are some home maintenance tasks that you need to check off your list. Start by evaluating five main areas of your home.
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Roofing. Sometimes home maintenance can be risky. If you feelcomfortable climbing up on your roof to remove leaves, debris and clean out gutters, then find someone to spot you. Otherwise, hire a qualified service provider. Make sure the water drains properly not only at flat roof drains and scupper drains, but also on sloped roofs, around flashings, and all areas where water is channeled during heavy rains. While you’re up there, take a minute to look at your homeowners association from a different perspective.
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Windows and doors. An often overlooked home maintenance chore is vacuuming your window and sliding-door tracks periodically. Leaking often occurs at the bottom corner joints of windows and sliding doors when debris gets lodged in the track of a sliding frame or when the built-in holes are too small. Also be sure to seal any cracks around windows or doors with calking. It’ll save you a trip to pick up sandbags when there are threats of potential flooding in your homeowners association during a winter storm.
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Furnace. Turn on your furnace to make sure it’s working properly. You might notice a burning smell, but that’s normal when it hasn’t run in awhile. Also make sure to change your filter each month. This is a good home maintenance tip for all year round. If you think your furnace might need a tune-up, let your homeowners association manager know.
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Chimney. If you have a fireplace, have your chimney swept to prevent any potential cause of a fire. It’s also a good idea to keep your chimney’s damper closed when you aren’t using the fireplace, to keep out cold air.
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Pipes.You’ll prevent a home maintenance nightmare later on if you remember to check your pipes before a winter freeze. You’ll want to make sure they are wrapped and well-insulated to prevent them from freezing and bursting. Before a freezing night, also make sure the water to your hose bibs is shut off inside your house.
Once you run through this quick checklist, you can rest assured your home is ready for the winter weather ahead. Be sure to contact your homeowners association manager if you need recommendations of reliable vendors or more information of steps you can take for proper home maintenance.
