Essential Exterior Maintenance Checklist for New Homeowners

When settling into a new home, it’s important to know the lay of the land so your experience is as smooth as possible. In this article, we’re going to run through a few of the key maintenance checks that a homeowner should make upfront. Let’s get started!

Inspect the roof and chimney

The roof is one of the essential parts of any home, maintaining the temperature of the house with its layers of insulation, and ensuring that the elements are kept at bay. This is why it’s important that one of the first (and most thorough) inspections you do on your new home is of the roof and the chimneystack. Check for loose shingles, vegetation, and mould. Wooden roofs in particular may be vulnerable to decay, so you may want to consider steel roofing as an option.

Clean eavestroughs and downspouts

An eavestrough is another word for a roof gutter — the drainage for your roof that ensures gathered water doesn’t just drain off the side and collect in your garden. You want to check that the eavestrough installation put in place by the previous owner has stood the test of time — that it has been correctly attached and hasn’t come loose in any place. The downspout is what directs the gutters into a drain. Checking these is nobody's favourite job, but it has to be done. Left unattended, clogged downspouts and gutters can cause moisture to eat into the structure of your roof, allowing for vegetation, mould, and worst of all, rot. On top of this, the gutters could actually collapse in extreme cases — so get up that ladder!

Check the siding

The house siding (or cladding) is the layer of wood, stucco, or plastic that protects the exterior walls of your home. If the siding is made of boards, check that there are no signs of deterioration underneath. Additionally, make sure that none of the boards are broken or loose, as a storm or strong winds could tear them clean off the side of your home.

Clean windows and door screens and check the seals

It’s a good idea to wash your windows, even if they seem squeaky-clean. Why? Because it allows you to check how good the seal on your windows is. You don’t want to wait until heavy rainfall to find out! The same can be said for screen doors — make sure that they aren’t permeable.

Inspect the deck

Decking is fantastic, so long as it’s well-maintained and treated. Look for signs of rot and breakage and add a layer of wood finish if it seems to be up to scratch — that way you know exactly when to add the next coat of finish.

Lubricate garage door springs

If you’re lucky enough to have a garage, be sure to lubricate the springs before you even open it — doing so could save you potential damage to the system, particularly if it hasn’t been used in a long time. 

Found a problem and not sure where to start? Why not contact Limestone Construction and Excavating for help? Any job — commercial or residential, big or small — we’re willing to take a look at. We offer free, no-obligation quotes and pride ourselves on having an exclusive network of partners in the Whitby area whom we work with. 

So why hesitate? Call us now on 905-431-9924, email us at quote@limestonece.com , or contact us through the form on our website and get the ball rolling on your inspection or renovation.