Exterior Maintenance: Looking After Your House From The Outside




When it comes to property, what’s on the outside matters just as much as what’s on the inside. Anyone who has ever bought a house knows that the exterior is the first thing people see, and it has a great effect on the selling value of the house. In fact, according to Advantage Realty Services, homes with a well-maintained exterior often sell much faster and for a higher selling price. Even if you’re not planning on selling your house anytime soon, it’s nice to be part of a nice-looking neighborhood where all the houses are properly maintained. Whether you do it yourself, or you hire a company to do it for you, here is a list of outdoor maintenance that should be completed this summer to restore your home’s former glory.

Clean Your Gutters
You know your gutters are long overdue for a cleaning if you see evidence that animals are living in them. Mice, birds, lizards, frogs, and even feral cats are all likely to find a home amongst all the compressed debris in your gutters. Eventually, you might also see signs of plant life growing in those gutters. Sooner or later, your gutters will start to sag from all the weight of wildlife and debris in there, and you’ll have no choice but to go to the Drainage Superstore buy new gutters. If it’s still not addressed, the blocked gutters could also damage your roof. You can avoid this is you make a point to clear your gutters at least twice a year. Any gunk down in the gooseneck should be cleaned out by shoving the garden hose into the downspout. 

Inspect Your Roof
While you’re sorting out your gutters, you should also inspect the roof for curled and missing shingles, rusted and pitted flashing, and cracked caulk around pipe collars, skylights and other roof penetrations. If you’re not too thrilled about heights, you can do this inspection with a pair of binoculars. Make a note of anything that needs doing, then hiring a roof expert to get it done. You should conduct regular checks on your roof to make sure there is no damage, as this type of problem can spiral out of control quickly if not addressed.

Repaint
The worst thing you can do is leave any wood exposed because that is when it will begin to rot. Keep painted surfaces in good repair by scraping off any chipped and peeling paint and spot painting exposed surfaces. Make sure you repaint the woodwork every few years. If the paint on your whole house has started to fade a bit, set aside a sunny day to repaint the whole house. While it is possible to do this yourself if you split the job between the whole family, it might also be a good idea to hire a professional since it’s such a big undertaking. When the painting is complete, it’s a good idea to invest in a high quality exterior wall coating. Carefully applying it to the outside of the house will help to weatherproof your property and can reduce the risk of problems such as damp arising inside your home.