If you’re out of work, or at risk of being out of work, focus on home repairs you shouldn’t delay.
These home repairs include fixing roofs, shoring up foundations, and repairing or replacing malfunctioning furnaces.
In short, think of all the things that could cause your house to flunk a home inspection.
It will if your roof is shot, your house is sagging or there are flood marks on your basement walls. These are problems that threaten the integrity of the house, which is why home inspectors properly focus on them.
Even if you plan to live in a house for the rest of your life, there are problems you can’t afford to ignore.
Roof
Don’t wait until a roof leaks badly before fixing it. By then, much of the damage is done.
You need to take preventative action. That means going into your attic to look for any sign of leaking.
Likewise, you or someone else ought to get on your roof from time to time to make sure the shingles are in good shape. Bits of shingle in your gutters or errant shingles in your yard are bad signs.
The easiest means of avoiding problems and maintaining your roof is with an annual care and maintenance plan by an experienced roofing contractor, like Muth & Company Roofing.
A leaking roof often doesn’t need to be replaced. Sometimes the leak can be fixed by repairing flashing around a chimney or repairing gutters, or even just keeping your gutters clear of leaves.
Foundations
Nothing puts your house at risk like foundation problems.
Signs of foundation problems include cracking walls, doors and windows that don’t close, and sagging floors or ceilings. Foundation repairs generally aren’t cheap but if you don’t fix them, they could cost you a lot more.
One caveat: It’s hard for a layperson to tell if a foundation repair is done correctly. Talk to previous customers before hiring a contractor. For complex jobs, it’s worth hiring an independent foundation expert to inspect the work afterward.
Exterior walls
In addition to protecting the roof and foundation, you have to protect what’s in between. Paint and exterior siding protect your house from the elements and help maintain structural integrity.
They also help boost the curb appeal of a house, which is why flippers repaint a house before selling it. You can let painting slide for a while, but not too long.
Beware of painters who bid way below everyone else. Good painters spend a lot of time scraping and patching and priming before they start putting on the new paint.
Heating and air conditioning system
If your furnace goes out in Columbus, OH in the colder winter months, you may damage your pipes, plus the house will become too cold to live in. Likewise, in the humid summer months around central Ohio, a working air conditioning system is essential for keeping out moisture and mold.
On top of that, a malfunctioning furnace can be deadly if it leaks carbon monoxide. So, problems must be fixed.
A tougher call is when to replace a heating or air conditioning system that is working but breaks frequently or is inefficient. You’ll get better deals in spring and fall, the off-season for furnace and air conditioning contractors.
In an economic recession, homeowners may have to play defense when it comes to home repairs.
Call Muth & Company Roofing today at (614) 682-3060 for a FREE estimate on Columbus roof repair or Columbus roof replacement.