For someone who is buying a home for the very first time, it can be exciting but also intimidating. Generally one of the things that home owners get the most intimidated about is how they will keep up with the maintenance of their new home. Maintaining your home doesn’t have to be something that is hard if you just set up a plan for what to do when it comes to having certain repairs done.
Maintenance Tips for Home Buyers
Owning a new home is always a very exciting thing as it is a new beginning for you and your family. It’s especially exciting if you are someone who will be buying a home for the very first time. There are so many opportunities and projects that await you. For instance, you can enhance the way your home looks buy building a deck or even having a pool installed in your backyard. However, it can be a little hard to figure out where you should start with so many different ideas in mind. With that being said, you should first and foremost focus on preventative maintenance of your home.
Locating Your Water Shut-Off Valve
In case of a leaking pipe, you will want to know where your water line shut-off valve is located. While the weather can play the main role in a possible leaking pipe, sometimes a leaking or bursting pipe can occur over time due to wear and tear, or from something simply getting stuck in the pipeline. It’s important to know where your water valve is so that you can shut it off immediately to keep water from ruining your dry-wall as well as your personal belongings. This valve is generally located near an alley or a street.
Locate Your Circuit Breaker Box
While you are searching for your water valve, at the same time you can also keep an eye out for your circuit breaker box. Once you have figured out where is you will want to take a closer look at it to determine which fuses control the electrical outlets for various different places throughout your home.
Call Before You Dig
You might decide that you want to plant some new shrubs or build a new fence, before you do so you need to make sure you aren’t hitting utility lines that could cause some major issues. By calling Manitoba Hydro, they will be able to let you know where and where not to dig. Their number is 1-800-940-3447. They will be able to come out and mark the areas in your yard where the pipes and wires run so that you’ll know where and where not to dig.
Check out Your Home’s Foundation
Soil that is very wet, and rain water building up around the base of your home can eventually cause some structural damage. Also, if leaks spring and water comes into contact with the foundation of your home, it can cause any current cracks in your foundation to expand. You will want to check your foundation regularly before any major damage occurs, because you can get a foundation company to come out and fix any minor cracks before they get larger. Also, check your gutters and make sure they stay cleaning and make sure that they are draining properly. Leaves and dirt generally build up inside of gutters over time and can cause improper draining of run-off water from rain and snow.
Be Cautious When Drilling Holes in your Walls
No knowing where you can and can’t drill holes in your walls is something that has caught many new homeowners off guard. You just need to keep in mind that behind these walls you have hidden cables, duct work, wires, and pipes. You don’t want to accidentally drill through one of these because it causes damage such as leaks, and electrical issues that will only cost you money and frustration to have to fix. To keep any damages from occurring you should purchase a Stud Sensor. The device detects if there are pipes, wires or anything behind the area of the wall that you plan on drilling in.
These are just a few tips to ensure that you keep up with regular maintenance on your home to avoid major repairs in the future.