Preserve Your Home Value: 10 Essential Maintenance Tasks

Keeping your house in good working order is important for many reasons and carrying out regular and essential maintenance tasks will help to avoid some major repair bills that can be incurred as a result of putting off jobs and it will also help to preserve the value of your home.

Here is a look at ten essential maintenance tasks that should be on any homeowner’s checklist.

Painting and decorating

We can soon get very familiar with our surroundings and this means that touching up areas with paint that have become worn or damaged and re-decorating a room are tasks that are often left for too long.
You should look to apply a fresh coat of paint at least every five years and ideally you should aim to get the paintbrush out every 2-3 years.

To see what needs doing, try to imagine you are looking at the house for the first time or as a prospective buyer and walk around with a notepad detailing all the faults and areas that need decorating or touching up.

Radiator maintenance

The radiators in your house can easily lose their efficiency if they are not bled at least once a year. Check to see if there are cold patches or the radiator feels cold at the top and hot at the bottom. This is a sign that they need bleeding, which is a simple job but will help you to avoid wasted energy and money and keep the house as warm as possible.

Add extra security

It is always a good idea to periodically check the security you have on the windows and doors and see if there are any ways you can improve it by adding some extra locks or bolts.

Blocked drains and guttering

You need to check your drains at least once a year and make sure they are not blocked and if they are, use a solution to give them a clean through so they are in good working order.

Also check the guttering around the roof to see if there are any blockages or debris that could affect how the water drains away and at the same time check to see if there is evidence of damage to the roof tiles or flashing that needs repairing. It is often much better to call in experts like Skilled Roofers Birmingham to get a professional opinion and estimate if you think there is a problem, however minor.

Insulate your pipes and tank

This is a once-only exercise but worthy of inclusion as it should be considered essential maintenance as insulating your pipes and hot-water tank will save money on your heating bill and reduce the risk of water damage in the winter.

Draught excluding

Again this is not an exercise you will have to repeat regularly but it is well worth making the time to address and draughts by sealing them up using self-adhesive draught excluders.

Clean your patio

A good maintenance task would be to clean and the repoint your patio where the joints are cracked and broken. It will greatly improve the appearance and help to stop weeds creeping up through the gaps.

Paint your shed and fencing panels

First impressions count and a house that is surrounding by tired and faded fencing panels and has a shed in the garden that looks like it has been there for years, will quickly drag down the overall appearance of your home.

It also makes sense to paint your shed and fencing with a wood preserver every couple of years to prevent them from rotting as well as greatly improving their looks.

Loft insulation

Another one-off task that is definitely worthy of mention as you will instantly save money on your energy bills and your home will also probably feel warmer.

Paint the front door

The main entrance to the house will obviously see a lot of traffic and your front door can very quickly start to show signs of wear and tear.

Give the door a fresh coat of paint every couple of years and it will keep the entrance looking smart and help to extend the life of the door itself.

It is sometimes difficult to find the time for carrying out maintenance tasks but when you consider the negative aspects of not keeping your home in good shape, it is easy to see why it is important to make the time.

Simon Manners has many years of experience in home maintenance. He greatly enjoys writing about usual questions and concerns on homeownership blogs.