Home Maintenance Guide Tennessee Housing Development Agency Andrew Jackson Building Third Floor, 502 Deaderick St., Nashville, TN 37243 (615) 815-2200 - www.thda.org Important Phone Numbers 1 The first thing you need to do is read this Home Maintenance Guide, be to make a list of important telephone sure to keep it near the phone so you will numbers that you may need to help know where it is in case of emergencies. maintain your home. Once you have FOR EMERGENCIES, CALL 911 MY ADDRESS MY PHONE IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, CALL FIRE, POLICE, EMERGENCY NUMBERS FIRE DEPARTMENT POLICE DEPARTMENT SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT HOSPITALS INSURANCE COMPANY UTILITIES’ EMERGENCY NUMBERS ELECTRICAL POWER COMPANY GAS COMPANY WATER DEPARTMENT SEWER DEPARTMENT STREET DEPARTMENT PHONE COMPANY HEATING OIL SUPPLIER GARBAGE SERVICE l l l Tennessee Housing DevelopmenT Agency l l l 2 Important Phone Numbers REPAIR SERVICE EMERGENCY NUMBERS HEATING SERVICE AIR-CONDITIONING SERVICE TELEPHONE REPAIR SERVICE CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE PLUMBERS ELECTRICIANS CARPENTER PAINTER APPLIANCE REPAIR SERVICES OTHER REPAIR SERVICES l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l Emergency Switch/Valve Locations 3 Now, take a minute to find the shut off location of each one or how it works. valves for your utilities. Then write down Also, read the warranty and instructions where they are located so someone for all your appliances. Then place all else could find them if necessary. Make this information in one location so you note of any special conditions about the can find it when you need it. ELECTRICAL MAIN SWITCH LOCATION WATER MAIN VALVE LOCATION HOT WATER HEATER SHUTOFF VALVE LOCATION GAS MAIN VALVE LOCATION WARRANTY AND INSTRUCTIONS LOCATION l l l Tennessee Housing DevelopmenT Agency l l l 4 Contents HOME MAINTENANCE GUIDE for TENNESSEE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AGENCY IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS 1 EMERGENCY SWITCH AND VALVE LOCATIONS 3 INTRODUCTION 5 HOME EXTERIORS 6 Foundation 7 Exterior Walls 8 Roof and Gutters 10 Windows and Doors 12 Yards 14 HOME INTERIORS 15 PLUMBING 20 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS 31 MONTHLY MAINTENANCE/INSPECTION CHECKLIST 35 GLOSSARY 39 l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l Introduction 5 Your home is one of your most The first section gives you a place to important financial investments and record the important names and phone proper maintenance will help you protect numbers of departments, companies this valuable asset. Since you are the and home maintenance professionals owner, it is your responsibility to take that you need to keep on hand for good care of your home. maintenance and emergencies. You can take charge of maintaining Then we’ll look at all the major parts your home by regularly doing: of your house. In each section we’ll discuss what you need to look out for * Routine Inspections in your routine inspections and how you can take preventive measures to * Preventive Maintenance maintain your house. A house is made up of a lot of The last section is a schedule different parts that are all related and for a month-by-month inspection of depend on the other parts. For example, your house. If you follow the monthly if you have a leak in your roof, it can not inspection schedule, it will help keep only damage your roof, but can cause your house in top notch condition. you to have problems with your ceilings, Remember, problems with your house walls, and your electrical system as will not simply go away. They will only well. So, it’s very important that you fix a get bigger and cost you more. It’s really problem when you detect it. true that “an ounce of prevention is worth This Home Maintenance Guide will a pound of cure.” provide you with important information about the different parts of your house. Each section will give you several important items to look for as you conduct your routine inspections. As we discuss each part of the house, we will give you preventive maintenance tips that can save you from problems in the future. l l l Tennessee Housing DevelopmenT Agency l l l HomeHome ExteriorsExteriors hen you think of the exterior part Windows and Doors - Windows and Wof your house, you think of the outside doors are openings in the siding and portion of your house. The exterior of your walls of your house. house is made up of five major areas: Yard - The yard is that area surrounding Foundation - The foundation of your your house generally known as your house supports the structure that is property. above it and keeps the structure from shifting. Each of these areas make up the exterior of the house. The exterior of Siding - The siding of the house is the your house is what people see first - it is outside walls. their first impression of how you live. For that reason, you should keep your house Roof - The roof covers the top of the looking clean and neat. house. l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l Home Exteriors 7 FOUNDATION your findings and the date the inspection was conducted. You will then be able to The foundation of your house is the check any changes that may occur over part of your house that supports the the next few years based on your notes. floor, the walls, the roof and everything inside your home. A well-constructed Landscaping, Drainage and Water and properly maintained foundation Runoff - To begin your inspection you should last for your lifetime and then need to look at the landscaping and some. There are several different types drainage around the foundation. You of foundations, but one thing that they all may need to have someone grade the have in common is that they must rest on soil so that water will run off away from solid ground. If a foundation is properly your house. You should also make sure built, you should have very few problems that any gutters and downspouts will if you maintain it. A foundation that is be diverted away from the foundation. poorly built, either through materials or Landscaping planted around the labor, will only cause you problems later. foundation will absorb the water and A foundation can create many different stabilize the soil. However, trees and problems inside your house. Some may shrubs with large root systems can be very minor and require very little damage the foundation. repairs, while others may be major, life-threatening problems that require lots Cracks, Leaks, and Condensation - of time and money to fix. Small hairline cracks are common The foundation of every house should and nothing to worry about. However, be inspected at least two times a year, cracks that are wider than 1/16 of once in the spring and once in the fall. an inch are important. Wider cracks As your house ages and settles, your should be inspected by a profes- foundation can crack, creating new sional building inspector to determine problems. Severe weather conditions the cause of the cracking. Vertical or such as bad winters, severe summer stepping cracks usually are caused by storms, or long rainy periods can also severe winters where the ground has create foundation problems. frozen and expanded, thereby putting The foundation should look like a pressure on the foundation. Cracking “foot-print” of your house that is designed can also be caused by a “settling” of the to carry the house’s weight. Generally, foundation. Settling cracks will occur foundations are built on footers with when the foundation was not poured either a crawl space or concrete slab. If on solid ground. When leaks occur in your house has a basement, then your the foundation, they are generally from house will have an outside foundation. improper drainage or condensation. Insects - Insects are a potential FOUNDATION INSPECTION problem to consider when examining your foundation. Termites, worms and The first time you inspect your ants can hide in your house and create foundation you should make notes as to problems before you ever know they are l l l Tennessee Housing DevelopmenT Agency l l l 8 Home Exteriors there. They generally like dark and damp of your house is to hire an exterminator places that are difficult for the naked eye to spray for bugs on a regular schedule. to detect. You should have an annual Once you start having foundation termite inspection to ensure that you problems, it is difficult and costly to keep your house free of termites and correct them. These measures are insects. simple maintenance tips that can save you from expensive foundation repairs. FOUNDATION MAINTENANCE EXTERIOR WALLS Low-lying shrubs and ground cover, like grass or mulch, will allow the soil to The exterior walls and siding of your drain away from the foundation and will house should be weathertight to prevent keep the soil around your foundation water damage and drafts. Peeling paint, stable. Plants should not be planted damaged shingles and open seams in next to walls of your house. Flowerbeds siding and trim are not only unsightly, should be planted several feet from the they invite serious problems. Proper house. This allows for adequate drainage maintenance of your exterior walls will of the soil and limits the moisture and help you avoid costly damage of the condensation. inner walls. Exterior walls are made up Small hairline cracking can be of framing, insulation, sheeting paper, prevented by keeping the soil around siding and trim.