Gearing up for the winter requires preparing your home for the cold and snow. Preparation items may include, cleaning out your gutters, checking your roof, and sealing doors and windows. Beyond that, though, hiring a professional to do a full home inspection is worth the time and money to help address any issues that could arise this winter and fix the problem now before it’s too late.
Heating Your Home
As the temperatures drop outside, you’ll be turning up the heat inside. A home inspection includes a detailed look at your heating system. Before running the heat continually, it’s important to make sure the system is working properly. To maximize heating, and reduce energy consumption, vents need to be cleaned and filters replaced. With an inspection, they will identify any areas of concern so you resolve them in time to run your heating. Part of keeping your home warm is through insulation. An inspection will report on areas in the home that are lacking insulation or need updating. By adding additional insulation before winter, you can save money on heating costs.
Checking Your Roof
With a whole home inspection, one of the main focuses will be the roof. A roof inspection looks at the condition of the roofing materials, gutters, vents, chimneys, or any other access doors. Plus many other factors are looked at to ensure its sound and safe to withhold winter snow. Before the snow and bad weather start, making sure your roof is in top shape is an important safety measure. Other exterior items will be reviewed as well. Decks, doors, stairs, and siding are a few of the items that are inspected from the outside.
Addressing the Foundation
Oftentimes overlooked because it doesn’t affect curb appeal, but even more significant, is taking a deep look at the foundational elements of your home. The structure of a home is very important for safety, and addressing any concerns early on will save potential issues that could be very costly down the road. The basement and any crawl spaces will be thoroughly inspected and any concerns of active water penetration will be identified. Maintaining your home’s foundation will help prolong the value of your home. This is important if you ever decide to sell your home or want to change your mortgage. To save money, oftentimes homeowners will look into a 15-year mortgage a few years after buying as this saves you money on interest by paying your loan off quicker, and an inspection may be required. If you are up to date on any maintenance, this will make the process easier.
Looking at the Interior
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Examining the interior of the home is a major part of the inspection. Stairs, doors, cabinets, countertops, and windows are all reviewed in detail. Also, part of the interior inspection is looking at the electricity and plumbing. An analysis of the electrical components of your home is more than just making sure the lights turn on. Breakers, fusers, paneling, and light fixtures are just a few of the items that are addressed. Part of the process is smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are looked at and noted if missing in certain areas. For plumbing, the interior water supply is inspected as well as running all water sources, waste, and drains. Insulation and ventilation are also reviewed and noted where insulation should be installed for maximum efficiency.
A home inspection is one of the most important things you can do. Whether it’s for buying a home, valuing your current home, or maintaining your home it’s an investment that pays for itself. With our home maintenance program, you can have inspections done annually to be sure you are finding any concerns ahead of time. This saves you money down the road and maintains the safety and efficiency of your home.
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