As the weather starts to cheer up after a winter full of rain and storms, it’s a good time do a spot of maintenance around the exterior of your home. Thoroughly going over your home’s exterior now will nip potential problems in the bud and give you peace of mind for the year ahead.
But do you really need to bother? The simple answer is yes. Neglecting your home maintenance can be costly. For starters, without a water-tight roof and working gutters, your home is at risk from rain damage and damp. And if your insurance company decide you haven’t sufficiently maintained your home, they could reject your claim for the damage caused. So, doing some post-winter home maintenance could save you from much bigger expenses later on.
Repair storm damage
There aren’t many of us who haven’t experienced at least a few days of windy weather over the winter. Storms tend to bring higher wind speeds and strong gusts that can challenge even the strongest of roofs. So, it’s a good idea to start your maintenance at the top of the house and work your way down to ground level.
First, check that the main elements of your roof are all in good order. You don’t need any specialist skills to do this. Stand back from your house, so you have a good clear view of your roof and see if anything looks out of place such as slipped tiles and missing lead flashing. Another way to spot problems with the roof is to go up into your loft. Check for signs of daylight coming through, listen for the sound of dripping water and look for watermarks on timbers.
Should you find there’s some repair work to be done, then you’ll need a local roofer to carry this out safely. But there’s no need to panic as replacing roof tiles is a quick job and typically costs between £150 and £250. Although if a scaffold is needed, the cost will be nearer £500.
If a scaffold is going up, it’s a good idea to get the rest of the roof professionally inspected at the same time. It might also be worth checking your gutters for debris and damage too, as this is the next job that should be on your spring maintenance checklist. Windy weather tends to blow twigs and leaves from trees and these have a habit of collecting in gutters along with dirt and moss. Blocked gutters can’t channel the rain away from your home effectively, so walls can become soaked through.
Clean doors and windows
The lashing of wind and rain against our windows does leave them looking pretty grubby. And once the sun starts shining on them, it can highlight just as dirty they are. Your front and back doors are likely to be just as dirty, even if it’s not as obvious.
Windows can be cleaned as a DIY job using a window cleaning product or a solution of distilled vinegar and dish soap. However, if there are windows that are hard to reach without ladders, it’s best to use a window cleaning company instead. Costs for this job aren’t high and if it’s just a few windows that need cleaning, it’s likely to set you back between £10 and £25.
As well as cleaning the windows, check the seals, hinges and other mechanisms are clean and working properly. As all of these are replaceable if they’re faulty, there’s no need to worry about needing new windows if there’s a problem. But fixing these issues is essential as windows and doors that don’t close and lock properly can void your home insurance and leaving them in poor condition makes your home attractive to burglars.
Go over your fences, patios and paths
Garden fences can also take quite a battering over winter. So, as the weather warms up, it’s a good time to go around your boundary and check them over.
Unless a panel has blown down, it’s not always obvious that there are problems. However, wood can start to rot and posts can start to come loose. If you fix these problems early on, it can save you needing to pay out for new fences. Once the temperatures have risen above 10ºC, it’s warm enough for most fence paints and preservatives to dry – meaning you can get them protected ready for next winter and looking their best before summer hits.
Just like your gutters, your paths and patios are likely to be full of tree and garden debris. So, the first job to do here is to give them a good sweep. As there’s usually a lot of moisture in the garden and not so much sunlight, it’s likely there’ll be a build-up of moss and algae on your hard surfaces too. A stiffer brush should be enough to tackle moss and lichen but algae is a bit trickier to remove. You can either use a pressure washer or a patio cleaner and brush to do this. Once your paving is clean, it’ll be easier to check for loose slabs and joints that need refilling.
Neglecting these jobs can leave surfaces slippery and slabs a potential trip hazard. So, although it can be mucky and time-consuming, you do need to make sure this is part of your post-winter maintenance.
