Save Money and Protect Your Home with Preventative Maintenance

The cheapest repair is the one you never have to make. A few hours of maintenance a couple of times a year quietly prevents the big, expensive failures — the ones that always seem to happen on the coldest weekend of the winter.

Twice a year, walk your house

• Clean the gutters — clogged gutters send water where it shouldn't go, which is how basements and fascia boards get ruined.
• Check caulking around tubs, showers, sinks, and exterior trim; re-seal anything cracked or gapping.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and swap the batteries.
• Look for peeling exterior paint — it's the first sign wood is starting to take on water.

Before winter, in Pennsylvania especially

Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses so the spigots don't freeze and split. Have the heating system serviced. Seal drafts around doors and windows — it pays for itself in the first heating bill and keeps the house comfortable.

When you spot something, don't wait

A small soft spot in the floor, a door that suddenly sticks, a stain on the ceiling — these are your house telling you something early. Catching them now is a handyman visit. Ignoring them turns them into a remodel.

Not sure where to start? We're happy to do a maintenance visit and knock out the whole list in one trip.