Homeowner Summer Maintenance Checklist

From our builder, Miller & Smith, a checklist of items to do as you enter each summer season:

• Clean, test and replace batteries in smoke alarms
• Test and reset ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) breakers/receptacles
• Change furnace filter
• Operate air conditioning system. If service is needed it is more conveniently arranged before the busiest part of the season arrives. If you settled in the winter months, please contact your HVAC subcontractor to find out if you need to schedule a "start up" service for your unit.
• Adjust registers and dampers.
• Test sump pump if applicable.
• Inspect grout around tile (floor or wall) and touch up.
• Check caulking, inside and out, and touch up.
• Clean weep holes and lubricate window/door tracks.
• Test exterior faucets/hose bibs.
• Clean gutters and confirm that downspouts and splash blocks drain away from the house.
• Look for settling of backfill soils and fill in where needed.
• Check to make sure areaway drain* is clean and clear of debris.

After 3 years for most of our houses, there may have been some settlement of the soil against the base of your house. There should be a slight grade (slope away from your house) of the ground or dirt so that water will drain away from your foundation.

*Note: An areaway drain is a drain at the bottom of a well, e.g. at the bottom of exterior steps leading down to a basement.