There are several components that contribute towards good home maintenance.
Of course, any homeowner wants their home to look its best, with the kind of presentation and curb appeal that ensures their property is attractive and receives attention for all the right reasons.
However, home maintenance isn’t just about how your property looks. It’s also about the structural integrity of the property and its working parts – ensuring that every part of the building you live in is kept in good condition.
In this article, we’re sharing some of the best home maintenance tips for longevity, to protect both your property and your family who live in it. But before we dive into the tips compiled by our team at TN Design & Build, let’s first consider why a comprehensive approach to home maintenance is so important.
The Importance of Home Maintenance
We don’t need to tell you that owning a property is a big investment – both financially and in terms of your own time. It can often feel, to homeowners, like there is always something that needs doing or fixing around their property.
But while it can be tempting to put off certain jobs, there are a few reasons why ongoing home maintenance is so important.
For one thing, keeping on top of jobs and maintenance tasks keeps the job list small and manageable. It also saves you money in the long run, with maintenance typically more affordable than emergency repairs and replacements.
Finally, when you keep your property in good condition and stay on top of the various maintenance tasks in the next part of this article, you protect the value of your property and investment.
With all this in mind, then, what are some of the home maintenance tasks you need to consider – and how can you make managing these as easy as possible?
Maintenance Tips for the Outside of Your Property
- Clear gutters on a regular basis to avoid a build-up of debris which can cause drain blockages
- Keep your lawn, paths, and driveway clear of weeds
- Check the structure and stability of patio stones and driveways, to avoid trip and slip hazards
- Check windows and doors for any cracks around their border
- Inspect your property roof – both inside and outside
- Check your property’s curb appeal
Keeping the outside of your property in good condition is integral to protecting the foundations, keeping your property and outside space safe to navigate and use, and of course ensuring that your home’s interior remains a dry and warm environment all year round.
Checking the gutters is one job that is easy to overlook, however, fallen leaves and debris can quickly cause build-ups which lead to dampness around the base of the roof and blocked drains down the side of your property. If left unchecked, this can lead to water collecting rather than draining, impacting the stability of the property’s foundations and creating damp patches inside your home.
Similarly, if you don’t keep the roof well maintained you can find that you lose heat more rapidly and suffer from leaks which damage the loft space of your property and lead to high heating bills. Roof repair is much more costly than a regular roof inspection, making it well worth the investment every once in a while.
Checking patios, driveways, lawns, and the outer edge of doors and windows are all both aesthetic and functional maintenance tasks to perform – helping to prevent trip hazards and making your property as energy efficient to run as possible.
Finally, don’t forget the curb appeal of your property – that is, how well presented it is and how well it compliments its surroundings. Everything from the look of your front garden and driveway to the cleanliness of your front door is an important part of your year-round maintenance. Trust us when we say that curb appeal isn’t just for those looking to sell their home!
Maintenance Tips for Inside Your Property
- Test all smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, and burglar alarms
- Unclog sinks and drains throughout your property
- Check radiators
- Check all areas of your property for signs of pests
- Perform a regular sweep on any chimneys you use
- Treat any hardwood floors and features
The inside of your property balances aesthetic design with functional features and accessories. Checking on the alarms that keep you safe and which keep your property secure is an integral part of long-term maintenance, reducing the risk of breaks and damage caused by burglars, fire, and other risks.
Similarly, taking the time to unblock any drains and sinks using DIY techniques and professional drainage services can prevent extensive blockages from establishing and growing inside your pipes. Such damage can not only impact the delivery of fresh water and the removal of wastewater to and from your property but can also create costly damage to the structure of those pipes. Keeping pipes clean and unclogged is an important part of functional maintenance at home.
All the other maintenance tips for inside your property span both presentation and functional benefits. Treating hardwood floors and wood features keeps them strong and durable while checking your property for signs of pests ensures that you keep on top of any issues.
Checking and bleeding radiators is good for ongoing energy efficiency while sweeping chimneys ensures you aren’t filtering smoke back down into your home.
Protecting the Future of Your Family Home
Our advice, when considering and undertaking all of the above tips, is to create a calendar of maintenance both inside and outside your property. Some of the aforementioned tasks need to be performed regularly, while others can be undertaken on an annual basis.
We hope this helps and highlights the importance of ongoing maintenance when living in and ultimately looking to sell your property. For more advice like this, check out our other blogs on the TN Design & Build website.
