Spring Home Health Check 

 

As the weather starts to improve, now is the time to review the state of our homes and properties ahead of the Spring and Summer months.

At the National Self Build & Renovation Centre (NSBRC) we know that a badly maintained home will not work up to its full design specification or be energy efficient and that by investing a little money on proper property maintenance you can potentially save many hundreds, and possibly thousands, of pounds in the long run.

To help you the technical help team at the NSBRC have compiled a list of the 15 top Home Health check tips:

 

1. Do you understand how much your house costs to run – How much gas, electricity and water you use? If you don’t understand how your building works, it is difficult to make it work more cost effectively.

2. Get your insulation right. Look to insulate lofts and under floor voids, but remember not to block or impede ventilation in those areas, as this can also lead to problems.

3. Install efficient heating system and controls – Design your heating system around how you use your home and make the controls as user-friendly as possible.

4. Control air flow. Look at the internal decoration. Could you hang thick curtains, install window draught-proofing, secondary glazing or wooden shutters?

5. If they are not in place, fit bird/leaf guards to guttering and the top of soil pipes, to prevent debris blocking them and again avoid damp problems.

 

6. Replace old or rusting fixing to roof slates and guttering – Spring showers can cause huge damage if the water is not draining properly. A dry house is a warmer house.

7. Remove lime scale from taps, shower heads etc.

8. Check and clean your fans - You need to remove moisture from bathrooms and kitchens before it circulates and condenses.

9. As the weather warms (and not when they are on) bleed your radiators - this will help the effective and efficient running of your heating system for next year.

10. Make sure your stop cock is working correctly. When there is a case of burst or damaged pipes, it is too late!

11. Maintain any external painting to bargeboards – the decorative features attached to the gables of a house that follow the pitch of the roof.

12. Check damp proof courses (DPC) - the horizontal barrier in a wall designed to resist rising damp. If there is any bridging from patios, water may penetrate.

13. Clean out gullies and check for possible obstructions in drains. Broken or damaged drains can easily lead to structural problems.

14. Remove potentially damaging vegetation from external walls. Unfortunately whilst this can look pretty, it can also have consequences, regarding damp and damage to the superstructure.

15. Repair and re-paint (if timber) windows/doors. This will extend the life span.

About the NSBRC

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre is a unique visitor centre offering everything a self builder or renovator might need - inspiration, information, advice; full sized houses and life-size ehibits, along with thousands of products from hundreds of suppliers.

For more information, please visit the NSBRC website via the link below.