Outdoor Home Maintenance Hot Spots
Proactive outdoor home maintenance prevents problems and preserves the value of your property. Gutters and the foundation are two important Outdoor Home Maintenance Hot Spots outdoors to check. Checking the gutters and foundation is a must.
Outdoor Home Maintenance Hot Spot #1– Clean the Gutters
We recommended that you clean cutters at least twice a year, in the spring and fall. However, if your property has trees additional cleaning may be necessary. When leaves and other debris accumulate in the gutters, the gutter cannot drain effectively, they clog. Then water can back up and spill over the sides of the gutters, damaging siding and contributing to basement and crawlspace flooding. Water can also back up into the eaves and under shingles, where it leads to rot, infestations of termites or carpenter ants, and even interior paint and wall damage. In addition, each of these situations can lead to mold growth.
The most reliable method for cleaning gutters is reaching in with gloved hands and scooping out the muck. Gutter cleaning services from an outside company do the job for $100 to $200 depending on the size of the building.
Outdoor Home Maintenance Hot Spot #2 – Check the Foundation
To insure that rainwater runs away from the foundation check that the soil slopes away from the house at the rate of 6 inches for every 10 horizontal feet. Fill in any low spots where water can accumulate and sit.
Remove any soil or mulch that is within 3 inches of any wood siding. If it is closer, you give termites, carpenter ants and other wood destroying insects a bridge into the house for a feast.
Shrubs and other plants that grow too close to the house are also a problem. They can abrade the paint and conduct moisture to the siding. Both give bugs an easy entrance point. Use a pair or pruners to clear about a 3 foot space between the plants and the house.
A few hours well spent, prevents serious problems down the road.
