Protecting your home isn’t just about sturdy locks, motion sensors, and pretending you’re the star of a home improvement reality show. It’s also about giving the outside of your house the love that it deserves, because let’s be honest, your home’s exterior deals with everything: sun, rain, wind, nosy neighbors and birds with questionable aim. Whether you’re adding exterior composite cladding or just trying to stop that one draughty corner from whistling like a ghost, a little attention now will save you a lot of hassle later on. You need to give your exterior a once-over if you want to protect your house.
Check For Cracks
You would do this the same way you might inspect yourself before leaving the house and realising that your shirt is inside out. Walk around the home, check for cracks, gaps, peeling paint or suspicious-looking moisture patches. These tiny issues have a sneaky habit of growing into bigger and pricier problems if you let them stay there. While you’re walking around the exterior of your home, check the gutters. They may not be glamorous, but they are the unsung heroes of home protection. When they are clogged, all that rainwater looks for somewhere else to go, like under your roof tiles or down your walls. Yikes. Give them a clean out a couple of times a year and ensure that the downpipes are doing their job too.
Roof Problems
The winter winds have a talent for sneaking through cracks and gaps, calling your house faster than you can say ‘where’s my jumper?’. Check windows and doors for drafts, replace seals where needed, and consider adding insulation to key areas. Your heating bill and your shivering self will thank you. While you are in weatherproofing mode to protect your home, don’t forget your roof. Missing tiles, loose flashing or a suspiciously saggy-looking section should be dealt with sooner rather than later. Roof problems are like the bad hair days of your house. They don’t magically fix themselves, and ignoring them only makes things worse and more expensive.
Wobbly Fences
There are other important structures on the exterior of your house, too, like fences. They deserve a little love. Wobbly fences might seem harmless until a big storm hits and suddenly you’re playing ‘whose panel is this?’ with the neighbors? Tighten the fixings, repair broken slats and consider giving wooden fences a fresh coat of preservative to protect them from the elements. And of course, while you’re doing your fences, look at your garden. It does play a role in your home protection. Overgrown shrubs and trees may look whimsical, but they are easily able to trap moisture against walls or send roots where they’re not supposed to be. Trim them back to keep your home breathing easy and avoid any unplanned nature versus building conflicts.
Protecting your home is not about being paranoid, but about being smart. Simple habits that keep your sanctuary strong, sturdy and weather-resistant will help, and a little maintenance goes a long way.
Feature image by Laura Rivera on unsplash.com.
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