Spring Home Maintenance & Improvements

Dallas Home Inspections Blog, Spring Home Maintenance & Improvements

Maintaining Your Home Series

Spring is in the air! After a long winter, I think we are all ready for some sunshine. Spring is when we get excited about being outdoors and enjoying our yards. Along with some outdoor spring maintenance, tips we want to share some new home standards. Every year, there are numerous updates to the Texas building standards. Some of these are outdoors, and some inside.

Spring Maintenance Tips:

• Plants and trees are already beginning to grow! Be sure shrubs and trees are not in contact with your home.
• If you are planting new trees, be sure to plant them at least 10 feet away from the exterior walls of your home.
• Many of us add new soil and mulch to our flowerbeds in the spring. Be sure to maintain the soil and mulch level so that 4-6 inches of the foundation is visible. High soil and mulch contribute to moisture penetration into your home and create hiding places for wood destroying insects like termites.
• Great time to clean out the rain gutter. Leaves and debris should be removed.
• Also check rain gutters for roof covering granules. If there is an excessive amount of roof granules in your gutters, have your roof inspected by a certified, licensed roof specialist.
• Check the exterior caulking around doors, windows, air conditioning cooling lines, brick masonry expansion joints and hose bibs. Clean and re-caulk as needed.
• Examine any exterior wood siding and trim for wood rot and moisture damage and make plans to repair any damage.
• Open and close the windows in your home to make sure they operate freely. Lubricate window guides with a light oil.
• Visit our "Home Maintenance Guide" for more information on spring home maintenance tips!

New or Updated Standards:

As building sciences improve, there are new standards adopted each year to improve our existing homes and new construction homes. We thought that this spring would be a good time to introduce a few of them. These items will appear as a defects in many homes, even new homes. Many home builders are behind in achieving many of the new standards. Your home is your castle and as your Professional Home Inspectors, we want your castle to be all it can be.

• Attic installed metal ducts should be electrically bonded together.
• CSST (Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing) should be properly bonded.
• Metal hot and cold water lines at the water heater should be bonded.
• Flexible gas lines at appliances should be bonded to the black pipe gas line.
• All kitchen counter and island electrical receptacles should be GFCI protected.
• Appliance (food waste disposer) receptacles under the kitchen sink should be GFCI protected.
• Metal chimney caps should be bonded.
• "Kick-out" flashing should be installed at all roof coverings were another adjacent wall continues.
• All convenience electrical receptacles should have installed AFCI (Arch Fault Circuit Interruptors).
• All electrical receptacles should be child tamper resistant.
• Exterior electrical receptacles should be GFCI protected and inside a weather proof bubble cover.
• Attic access ports and attic stairs installed in the garage should be air-tight and have a 20 minute fire rating.

A Professional Home Inspection can identify many areas in your home that should be improved or updated to bring your home as close as possible to current building standards. A home inspection report is a tremendous tool to help homeowners build a to-do list of home improvements. Many of these improvements are safety related. Making these updates can save lives and prevent property damage.

If you have additional questions about home inspections, want to learn more or would like to schedule an inspection, contact your Professional Home Inspector.

Selman Home Inspections, Inc.

David Selman, Certified Master Inspector #10299

www.selmanhomeinspections.com

469-371-3228