The spring checklist: finding out what winter did to the house
Freeze and thaw, snow load, ice dams and four months of heating leave marks. A spring walk-around finds them while they are small. Here is the list, outside then in.
Spring is the honest season. Everything winter did is visible now, before the leaves and the paint hide it, and every Pro's calendar has room in April that it will not have in June. Take an hour on the first dry weekend and walk the house with a notebook.
The roof, from the ground
Binoculars, every side. Missing or lifted shingles, granules piled at the downspout outlets, a pipe boot that has cracked, flashing pulled from the chimney, a sag anywhere. Inside, go into the attic with a flashlight and look at the underside of the deck for stains, and at the insulation for anything wet or matted. A stain that was there in the fall and has not grown is old; one that has grown is a call.
Gutters and downspouts
Clean them of the winter's debris and check that they still slope to the downspouts and are still attached. Ice pulls gutters off their hangers. Run the hose and watch the water leave at the bottom, at least four feet from the foundation.
The walls and the trim
Walk the perimeter and look at every piece of wood: window sills, door frames, trim boards, the bottom of siding. Peeling paint, soft wood at the ends, gaps that opened over the winter. Press a screwdriver into anything suspicious; if it goes in, it is rot and it gets worse every season it is left. Check the caulk around windows and where anything goes through the wall.
The ground
Look at how the yard slopes at the foundation. Soil settles over winter and the grade that used to carry water away may now carry it in. Add soil to keep six inches of fall in the first ten feet. Look for new cracks in the foundation, in the driveway and in the walk, and for any low spot that holds water. See the drainage piece in this section for what to do about it.
The outside faucets
Turn each hose bib on with the hose off and let it run a minute. Then go inside and look at the wall or ceiling below it. A hose bib that froze over the winter usually splits inside the wall and only leaks when it is turned on.
The air conditioner
Before the first hot day, clear leaves and debris from around the outdoor unit, hose the coil down from the inside out with the power off, and change the filter. Turn it on for a full cycle and listen. See the tune-up piece in this section for what a Pro's spring service should include and what it should cost.
The deck
Look at the ledger board where the deck attaches to the house, the posts where they meet the ground, and the railings. Rot at the ledger is the failure that drops a deck full of people; if it is soft, or you cannot see how it is attached, a Pro should look before the first party.
Inside
Test the sump pump by pouring a bucket of water into the pit. Check the water heater and every place from the leak piece in this section. Check the dryer vent. Test the alarms.
The list turns up two or three things most years. Call on them in April. In July, everyone else calls.
Trades this touches: Roofing, Siding & Windows, Landscaping, HVAC, Plumbing.
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