Getting a thorough home inspection can be quite costly. However, you can do a yearly inspection of your home on your own as a way to protect your home and maintain its value. You can save more on inspectors if you at least know how to conduct a basic inspection.
Protect Yourself
When you check every nook and cranny in your home, you might come upon areas where there are airborne particles, smells, or things that may put your health at risk. Before starting your inspection, put on a face mask, gloves, and protective clothing. Even if you have to crawl through tight spaces in the attic or go to the basement that you haven’t visited for years, you’d still be relatively safer than when you do all these things in your regular clothes. Make sure to wear strong work boots to protect your feet from any sharp objects.
Calculate Your Home’s Energy Efficiency
To increase the energy efficiency of your home, it should be sealed and insulated properly. As the temperature switches between warm and cold throughout the year, your home might expand and contract in the process, which can lead to reduced efficiency. You can measure its energy efficiency using the blow door method, which can also accurately pinpoint the problem. Use it to check your doors and windows and find cracks, holes or leaks in them.
Familiarise Yourself with Common House Problems
If you don’t know how mould and mildew look like, look it up online. Look at those Google images to see if your home has one of those. Dark green or black mould is quite dangerous, but there are various types of mould spores that you may find at home. Once you identify a mould strain, it would be easier for you to determine the right method to get it off your home.
Check Your Electrical Wiring
This is one of the most critical inspections that you should do around your home, especially if it’s an old one with possibly worn electrical wires. When left unattended until the wires are exposed, they can start a fire. Check your electrical box too for any blackened area because this shows a possible electrical short in your wiring.
Clean Your Home’s Gutters
Clear the gutters of debris, sticks, and leaves that might be blocking the flow of water. Blocked gutters could overflow, especially during heavy rains. Pooling water is never good for your home’s foundation so clean gutters will not only protect the gutter itself but the rest of your home too. If you find any damage or leak in the gutter during your DIY home inspection, make sure to repair them right away.
When you check your home for possible problems, take note of each one of them and find a way to resolve them. But don’t forget to call for professional home inspectors if you notice some serious problems. This is definitely the right attitude of a home owner who wants to maintain the beauty and value of their home.
