Your house is kind of like your body in that it needs regular upkeep. Imagine foregoing showering, trimming your nails, and tending to those minor cuts and scrapes. It would not be long until you would be miserable to yourself and others, and those cuts and scrapes could end up landing you in the hospital with a serious infection. Your home needs more than just the regular routine of dusting, sweeping and mopping. It also needs monitoring and maintenance inside and out to prevent small issues from developing into big expensive problems.
Tree Risk
Trees are majestic, give shade, can cut down on cooling costs in the summer, and are aesthetically pleasing. However, they are a risk to your home as well. The canopy of the tree has an equally sized root system underneath. Tree roots can crack sidewalks and driveways, crack and infiltrate old terracotta sewer lines, and cause problems with fencing.
The leaves fill gutters, and their shade close to a porch or main roof can lead to algal growth on roofing materials. Trees that grow too tall can come crashing down on your house causing catastrophic damage. Keeping them trimmed to a manageable size is important.
Moisture in Basements
If your basement is not dry, there is a problem. If you cannot store a cardboard box in your basement without it getting moldy and deteriorating, it is too wet in your basement. You may see moisture on bare block walls or not. High humidity levels in your basement, especially in the summer, indicate a problem that can get out of hand.
Mold needs heat, food and moisture to thrive. Summer provides plenty of heat, but so can your furnace in the winter. Food is anything organic, and that can include cardboard boxes or the floor joists above your head in the basement. Moisture usually seeps in through foundations not properly sealed. Maybe you only need a dehumidifier in the basement, but you may also need basement waterproofing done. Get it checked by a professional.
HVAC Problems
HVAC is an abbreviation for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. It is more than just your furnace making your home warm in the winter and your central AC keeping it cool in the warmer months. Without proper heating, cooling, humidity control and ventilation, your home can experience structural damage over time.
The HVAC system in your home should be balanced for the proper exchange and circulation of air, and the system should provide humidification during dry winter months and remove it during humid summer months. Your home expands and contracts under the influence of the weather outside, and the weather inside also has an effect. Make sure your HVAC system is functioning properly to avoid moisture issues. You can ask a professional from Pacific Aire, Inc., or a similar company in your area for assistance identifying and addressing HVAC issues.
Gutter and Downspout Problems
Here, water is the problem again. The two main issues with gutters are the clogging of the troughs or downspouts with leaves of deciduous trees or needles from evergreens and downspouts that do not carry water away form the foundation. Clogged troughs and downspouts spill water over the gutter trough onto the ground. If your lawn has bare strips under the gutters, this is a sign of clogged gutters.
Downspouts that do not carry water away from the foundation are also a problem. Many older homes used to have gutters that drained into the sewer system, but new legislation banned the practice. When some gutters were disconnected from the sewers, they were never properly repaired to carry water away from the foundation. All of this increases hydrostatic pressure on the foundation, leading to potential wet basements.
Keep ahead of the little things that can grow into expensive repairs later on. When you encounter a problem at home, consider the other things that can be affected. The cost to repair the problem now can save you a fortune in repair costs for additional damage later on.