Home maintenance is a full-time job. If you let one thing slip, other problems soon start to follow, and if you don’t keep a close eye on all aspects of your building and yard, you can find yourself on a slippery slope to costly repairs and replacements.
This is not to say that maintenance is difficult, however. It simply requires a routine and a systematized approach. What you need for your Boca Raton home is a checklist of actions you can take on a regular basis to keep on top of your maintenance requirements. These tasks should be divided up between weekly, monthly and annual lists.
Weekly/ monthly tasks
These are routine jobs that don’t require much work or outlay and mostly consist of the ongoing replacement of various consumables. These basics would include the following:
- Check drains and gutters (especially before or during the rainy season)
- Check windows and repair broken glass immediately
- Touch up chipped or peeling paint as soon as you spot it
- Observe your interior and exterior for any signs of insect of rodent infestation and call pest control as needed
- Replace expired lightbulbs
- Check for and repair water leaks
- Check your main electrical breaker board for any signs of moisture penetration – rust or water marks. Switch the breakers on and off to ensure that they function. Call an electrician if there are any problems.
Annual/ seasonal tasks
These bigger matters should be attended to once, perhaps twice, each year.
- Check all windows, not only for broken panes, but to ensure that the frames themselves are intact and in good working order. Make sure that windows open and close properly and are not warped or damaged.
- Get up on the roof and check for any damage to tiles or shingles. Remove any debris from the roof and cut back any tree branches that make contact with it.
- Check your chimney for loose bricks or mortar and have the chimney interiors professionally swept before you light the first fire of the season.
- Aside from checking gutters and downpipes for blockages, you should also ensure that they all properly secured to walls and roofs.
- Repaint regularly. Paint is not just for aesthetic value – it also protects your home against the elements.
- Inspect walls and ceilings for cracks or damp and fix accordingly.
- Check that wooden decks and patios are still properly sealed against moisture. Sand down and refinish as needed.
- Check for any leaking faucets in kitchens or bathrooms. You may need to replace a washer or two every now and then.
- Check driveways and pavements for cracks and wear and repair as needed.
If you don’t have the time to go through all of these checks yourself, or are away from your Boca Raton property for most of the year, why not get a professional home maintenance company to do it for you? Contact Gardens Home Management Services and find out we can take the home care burden off your shoulders.