There is a crisp chill in the air, football is on every TV and food is cooking in the slow cooker. You might be ready for a North Carolina Fall but is your Raleigh home ready? Fall maintenance is very important in that it prepares your home for the (sometimes) harsh winter months ahead. When done seasonally and annually, you can prevent many issues and avoid costly repairs for your Triangle Real Estate. Please watch this My Carolina Today video for expert advice from Linda Craft.
Here are some additional exterior home maintenance ideas that will keep your Raleigh home running in peak condition and save you money in the future!
How to Inspect Your Raleigh Roof from Top to Bottom
Your roof’s drainage system annually diverts thousands of gallons of water from your house’s exterior and foundation walls. Few homeowner problems are more vexing than a leaky roof. Once the dripping starts, finding the source of the problem can be time-consuming and expensive because water follows the path of least resistance.
- Climb on the roof or use binoculars if climbing on the roof is too scary. Check ridge shingles for cracks and missing shingles from wind damage. Look for damage to metal flashing in valleys and around vents and chimneys.
- Scan the entire roof for missing, curled, or damaged shingles. Look in your gutters for large accumulations of granules, a sign that your roof is losing its coating; expect problems soon!
- Vents have rubber boots around them to seal the openings. The hot summer sun dries the boots out causing them to split open and caulk to shrink. When a roof is leaking this is the first place to check. Fall is a great time to caulk and seal or replace them. The life of a vent boot is 5 to 7 years. The life of most roofs is 20 to 30 years depending upon the shingle and elements. If your roof has dark steaks on it that is an air born algae that is shortening the life of your roof. You can have it cleaned for under $500.00 and it will look better and last longer
- If your home is more than 7 years old you may want to hire a roofer to inspect now and perform preventive maintenance. We offer an extensive list of local home care providers who can help you with your repair needs. Please visit our website for this list.
Protect Your Raleigh Real Estate with Gutters!
Gutters divert thousands of gallons of water away from the house. If they are not functioning properly that water will end up seeping into your home if you are on slab or into your crawl space. If water does not flow away from your house it will cost you thousands of dollars to repair.
- Gutters need to be cleaned 2 to 3 times a year depending upon how many trees you have around your property.
- Clogged gutters lead to damaged exterior surfaces and to water in your crawl space and basement. Many fascia boards are rotten behind gutters only because the homeowner did not clean the gutters and the water could not flow. It pooled in the gutters and sat against the wood causing rot. Rotten wood is expensive to replace and attracts termites.
Just a $5.00 Tube Can Save You Hundreds (or more) on Your Raleigh Home
Walk around your house and look for the areas where masonry meets siding, where pipes or wires enter the house, gaps in the exterior siding or around your windows. If it is left unchecked it could allow water to enter into the infrastructure of your home causing mold, rot and energy loss. If there is a small opening now it will get bigger in the winter as the cold temperature causes everything to contract. Seal it now to keep the elements from getting in.
- Concrete cracks so check your driveway, sidewalk and porch steps and caulk cracks with concrete sealer. When water gets in and freezes this winter it will cause deeper cracks and uneven surfaces. Breaking up concrete and replacing it later is very expensive.
- Weather-strip your garage door. Make sure the seal between your garage door and the ground is tight to prevent drafts and keep out small animals
Washing Isn’t Just for the Inside of Your Triangle Home
Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cary and the surrounding areas received a significant amount of rain this past summer. Over the warm summer months mildew has formed on your exterior. Power wash the exterior of the house to remove mildew which not only looks bad it shortens the life of your paint. After power washing inspect exterior walls to see if any paint is peeling or blistering on the house or outbuildings. Peeling paint is a sign that the existing paint film is failing and can no longer protect the siding of the building. Left uncorrected, the siding itself will deteriorate, leading to expensive repairs in the future.
As you can see, it is very important to perform regular maintenance on your Raleigh home. If you happen to live in a managed townhome or condo in the Triangle, do not be shy to contact your HOA on scheduled preventative maintenance questions. Join us next week for interior Fall maintenance tips for your Raleigh Real Estate!
We are here to help you with maintenance of your greater Raleigh area home by referring trusted home care professionals and we are here to help when you are ready to buy or sell your home. For more expert advice from the most experienced Real Estate Team in the Triangle, visit www.LindaCraft.com or call us at 919.235.0007.