Seasonal Checklist

 Spring 

1. Inspect and clean gutters and downspouts and make sure the downspouts are attached and there is proper drainage away from the home.
2. Check the grading around your home for settling.  Fill in the settling around your foundation to make sure water flows away from your home.
3. Check sump pump (if applicable) for operation.  If you do not have a sump pump, check the sump pit periodically during rainy weather.
4. Inspect countertop backsplash caulking, and re-caulk as needed.
5. Inspect shower and tub caulking and re-caulk as needed.
6. Inspect window caulking and re-caulk as needed.
7. Check smoke detectors.
8. When using fertilizers for your lawn, keep excess off of your exterior concrete as this can stain and/or deteriorate the surface of the concrete.
9. Seed and feed lawn.
10. Change furnace filter (monthly).
11. Review your home warranty manual.   

 Summer

1. Caulk control joints in your driveway with a gray exterior concrete caulking to help prevent water from soaking the ground under the driveway.  Your driveway will be more susceptible to frost heaving if this is not done.
2. Caulk any cracks in your driveway. With a gray exterior concrete caulking. (Not sealing these cracks will allow moisture in the crack to freeze in the winter and cause more damage making the crack bigger.)
3. Seal or re-seal your driveway with a clear silane concrete sealer.  This seals the surface of the driveway and helps prevent scaling. This can be rolled on or sprayed on.
4. Check sump pump (if applicable) for operation.  If you do not have a sump pump, check the sump pit periodically during raining weather.
5. Check smoke detectors.
6. When using fertilizers for your lawn, keep excess off of your exterior concrete as this can stain and/or deteriorate the surface of the concrete.
7. Adequately water the lawn as needed.
8. Change furnace filter (monthly).
9. Review your home warranty manual.

Fall

1. Caulk control joints in your driveway with a gray exterior concrete caulking to help prevent water from soaking the ground under the driveway.  Your driveway will be more susceptible to frost heaving if this is not done.
2. Caulk any cracks in your driveway. With a gray exterior concrete caulking. (Not sealing these cracks will allow moisture in the crack to freeze in the winter and cause more damage making the crack bigger.)
3. Remove outside hose connections, timers, hose-splitters, and attachments to avoid freezing.
4. When using fertilizers for your lawn, keep excess off of your exterior concrete as this can stain and/or deteriorate the surface of the concrete.
5. Seed and feed lawn.
6. Review your home warranty manual.

1. Remove outside hose connections, timers, hose-splitters, and attachments to avoid freezing.
2. Keep driveways, walks, and steps free of ice and snow to avoid damage to them and prevent hazardous walking conditions.  Don't use salt or damaging deicers on concrete.
3. Keep garage doors closed to cut down heat loss.
4. Inspect all doors and windows for tight fit and proper insulation.  Clean all window tracks, clean and ad-just the door thresholds, check weather-stripping at windows and doors.  The tighter your home, the more energy efficient it will remain.
5. Lubricate door hinges, latches and hardware.
6. Check the attic insulation to be sure the entire ceiling area remains covered.  Vents must remain unobstructed to vent the attic space and prevent condensation buildup.
7. Change furnace filter (monthly).
8. Review your home warranty manual.

Other Helpful Tips:

Bathroom Exhaust Fans
During cold winter months it is common for frost caused by condensation from warm moist air to collect on bathroom exhaust fans and inside their ventilation tubes.  When weather conditions warm, this frost will melt and appear as a leak around the exhaust fan or nearby area.  This can cause damage to drywall and leave water deposits on the floor, which are not covered under warranty.

To minimize these occurrences follow these simple instructions:

•    During cold months it is important that you do use your bathroom exhaust fans.
•    After showering or bathing, leave exhaust fans running for 20-30 minutes with the bathroom door open.

Following these instructions will allow the warm moist air to be cleared from the bathroom; and will then circulate dry air to remove condensation build-up from the fan housings and vent tubes.

Concrete Surface Scaling and Peeling
To prevent exterior concrete surface peeling, we recommend spreading sand on walks, steps, and drives during icy weather since deicing products usually contain materials harmful to the concrete.  Do not use salt in any form on concrete.  Salt, fertilizer and chemical deicers can cause either discoloration or peeling of concrete, or both.  Salt carried in under the car and on tires from city streets can damage the surface of driveways and garage floors, such damages are not covered by warranty.  Make sure that these surfaces are kept clean in winter weather.  We also recommend properly maintaining your driveway after closing on your home.  A driveway sealer (which dries clear), is recommended to seal the surface of the concrete which helps resist moisture and salt from penetrating the surface and causing damage like scaling and surface cracking.  Sealing your control joints in your driveway with vulkum is recommended to prevent water from saturating the ground underneath the driveway which can help prevent heaving.

Keep your driveway clear of snow and ice as much as possible.  Failure to clear snow off of your driveway and then driving over it can compact the snow into ice on your driveway.  The recurring freeze-thaw cycles that the concrete is exposed can cause the surface of the driveway to scale or peel, which is not covered under warranty.

Disconnect hoses from hose bibs before freezing temperatures
Before freezing weather arrives, disconnect hoses, quick connect adapters, Y’s and other devices from the exterior hose bibs (sill cocks), so that all water remaining in the exterior portion of your sill hose bibs will drain out.  Failure to disconnect all hardware from your hose bibs before freezing weather voids your warranty because it will cause the hose bib to split inside the wall.  Due to their construction it is impossible for hose bibs to freeze if you disconnect hoses and other devices from them.

Air Conditioner Pre-Season check.
With the summer months’ quickly approaching, the promise of heat will have many of us seeking relief inside our air conditioned homes. It is important that you do a pre-season check of the air conditioner to insure that it is fully operational.  In order to check the operation of you A/C turn your thermostat to the cool setting and set the desired temperature 5 degrees cooler than it is currently in your home, your air conditioner unit should turn on and you should feel cool air coming from the floor registers within a few minutes.  In the event that your A/C does not turn on, check your electrical panel to insure that the A/C breakers are in the on position.  After you have checked the A/C unit to insure that it is operating, turn the thermostat back to it previous setting and the A/C unit should shut off. (In order to properly test your A/C do not perform this pre-season check when outside temperatures are below 50 degrees.)  The steps above should insure that your air conditioner will be ready for use when the heat of summer arrives.

Settling around your foundation.
Settling of the ground along your foundation may occur which will not allow water to flow away from the foundation.  It is important that these areas get filled in, as water may enter your drain tile system and fill your sump pit.  During rainy periods, check for any settling, make sure your down spout extenders are down, and periodically check your sump pit.