Autumn Home Maintenance Tips

 

Here are Ryder Creek Homes' seasonal home maintenance and improvement recommendations for Fall in White Rock BC & South Surrey or Langley:

• Rake leaves, check gutters and downspouts – White Rock and South Surrey in BC are generally very humid in Fall, Winter and Spring and water getting into the building envelope is the biggest cause of maintenance expense and inconvenience for households.
• Trim garden plants, clear dead leaves and stems of annual plants and scarify and aerate the lawn.
• Have forced-air heating systems and radiant floor systems inspected by a professional. Think to schedule an inspection and annual service in late summer or early fall outside the essential heating season to ensure a cozy and heating system problem free winter.
• Check fireplaces and wood burners for damage or hazards including faulty stove door seals, and clean and get a professional to inspect fireplace flues and chimney caps for corrosion and blockage. If you do have a real fireplace, it’s probably an annual requirement to get your chimney swept, so fall is ideal for this.
• Seal cracks and gaps around windows and doors with caulk or foam weather stripping; replace if necessary, again this is often a cause of unwanted water ingress, drafts and energy loss.
• Swap old, drafty windows and doors for more energy-efficient models and inspect double glazed panels for internal condensation (or “fogging”) indicating failed sealed units.
• Touch up exterior siding and trim with paint if necessary, to prevent water ingress – prevention is better than cure where humidity is concerned!
• Visually inspect roofing for missing, loose, or damaged shingles and leaks and consider an internal inspection of the roof void to check for humidity, insufficient insulation, blocked vents or signs of animal ingress (Rats, bats, squirrels and racoons!)
• Wash down windows and siding, removing moss and lichens that can accelerate the degradation of finishes and reduce their lifespan.
• Remove leaves and debris from gutters and downspouts, check basement sump pumps for correct operation and consider fitting high level alarms on older properties.
• Mend even minor cracks and gaps in driveways and walkways, if water can get in, then frost will soon cause surfaces to break up leading to costly repairs or replacement in the future.
• Drain and winterize exterior plumbing including in unheated garages - $15 of insulation now can save $100’s of dollars of water damage later.

Use our Autumn home maintenance checklist to make sure everything in your White Rock from the basement to the roof is in tip-top condition or let your local trusted builders and Home Maintenance Services provider, Ryder Creek Homes in South Surrey BC come take a look and make their recommendations and priorities for a trouble-free year ahead. Find more tips on Spring Home Maintenance, Summer Home Maintenance & Winter Home Maintenance.

 

If any of the jobs go beyond your skill level, lead to more involved repairs, or you’re simply unsure about the best way to carry out a home maintenance task and you’re in White Rock, South Surrey or Langley then your local trusted and registered home maintenance service from Ryder Creek Homes will be happy to use their experience to help.

 

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