Preventative Maintenance

The weather was so nice yesterday-- one of the first of the Spring when I also had the opportunity to get out into the yard, and being spring break for my son, it made for a good father and son activity. Sometimes the line between Home Renovation and Repair and Gardening is a little fuzzy, and this is one of those times. But, thankfully for all around, we at Suite 101 cover both areas nicely, and I hope you visit our gardening section as well.

In the Army (I'm a Reservist) we "PMCS" virtually EVERYTHING. PMCS is the "preventative maintenance" system that is used, recognizing that PREVENTING problems is usually much more cost- and time- effective than fixing them. The same philosophy holds true for your home as well.

Spring's lovely weather called me irresistibly outdoors yesterday, and in taking care of the yard projects, it gave me the opportunity to give the house's exterior a good examination to see what needs the cruel winter brought about on our poor house's skin. Kids are great assets when it comes to looking over these things -- their curiosity often allows them to notice those things adults' jaded eyes often miss.

Such was the case yesterday when my son noticed some pesky bees going into our wall to roost. Some bees can be terrible to your house -- some will dine on your home like termites, some call your home THEIR home, and can build huge and damaging nests in your walls. We have been fighting that problem for some time, we thought we had them beat, but it appears they are coming back! It doesn't help that winter's ravages have knocked of a piece of the siding-- a fact I would not have noticed had my son's curious eyes not followed the bees.

Another problem my yard work led me to notice was the ivy. Ivy can have a classic, sophisticated, even romantic look. Think of the image of the "Ivy League" schools, so named due to ivy covered walls. Ivy on the walls can look charming -- as long as they are SOMEONE ELSE'S walls! Ivy can be terribly destructive! It can crumble stone and stucco, and eat away at paint and wood, and is MUCH more easy to deal with as it is just starting to crawl up the walls than AFTER it is well established.

Keep an eye on the roof, too, as you are cleaning up the yard. Several things are important to look for and address -- sticks and leaves, moss, gutters, and shingle condition. Anything on the roof other than the shingles does not belong, and can cause damage-- get it off! Sticks and leaves can gather around chimneys and vent pipes. Moss often likes to grow in shaded areas. The screens that are designed to keep your gutters free of leaves and sticks can cause them to collect on the roof above them if you are not careful. And keep an eye on those shingles and their overall condition. Nothing lasts forever, and though replacing the shingles is a big job, its not as big as replacing the rotted structure if you allow leaks to go on unrepulsed!

More details later on exactly what to look for and what to do about it, but make sure you use your YARD time to also examine your house. Problems can sneak up on you if you are not ever mindful and aware of the house's condition, and those problems are usually MUCH easier to fix if you can prevent them, or catch them early (of course the same could be said for your HOME and the relationships that build THAT structure, as could be said for the physical structure of your HOUSE!)

Blessings on both your house AND your home--

Jim