Fall Home Maintenance to Tackle in September

With cold weather in the near future, now is the perfect time to get your home ready for winter. There are a lot of tasks that homeowners have to handle in the fall, which is why I recommend getting started early before it gets too chilly. What are the most important things you should do to keep your home both comfortable and protected this season? Here are my top five tips. 

Gutters

Before we know it, leaves will be clogging up your gutters and downspouts. If you’ve ever thought about installing gutter guards, now is the time to do it. Guards will protect your gutters from debris and help you to avoid that cumbersome autumn clean-out. Plus, clear gutters are the only way to ensure that rainwater is removed from your home properly.

Doors

With so much moisture in the air this summer, many elements of our homes have expanded. You may notice that your doors are sticking, making them more difficult to open. As the weather cools and the wood contracts, there may be gaps that will let cold air come right into the house. Make sure that your door sweep is in good working order and install some weather stripping to seal any space between the door and its frame.

Insulation

Most homes that I visit are under-insulated, which is a problem in both the summer and in the winter. Insulation helps regulate the temperature of a home, allowing for heat retention and overall comfort. Lots of homeowners I meet tell me that their second floor is much warmer than the first, a surefire sign that a house doesn’t have enough insulation. 

Roof

Now is a great time to inspect your roof to make sure that there is no damage to the shingles and the flashing around the chimney. As snow sits on a roof for much longer than rain, it’s easy to get leaks in the wintertime. Any current roof issues should be dealt with before the cold weather hits to make sure that a small problem doesn’t become a big one. 

Windows

When I visit a house, I will often use a thermal camera to see how much heat is being lost. Old wood sash or aluminum windows are both major culprits. New vinyl windows are great in terms of energy efficiency and heat loss reduction, and at my own house, we love the tilt-in sashes for easy cleaning. 

Being a homeowner requires a lot of maintenance, but the investment is worth it to keep you and your family comfortable all year round. Plus, with today’s hot real estate market, any of these updates will help you to get a better price if a sale is in your future. 

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Five Ways to Protect Your Home From Moisture

This month’s intense rainfall has made for some messy clean-up in homes all around our state. From basement flooding to leaky roofs, lots of rain can cause serious issues if your house isn’t properly maintained. As summer continues and our weather becomes more unpredictable, it’s worth being prepared. Here are five key things to think about to protect your home from damaging moisture and the mold and mildew that come with it. 

Inspect Your Roof

Everything might seem ok with your roof but shingle damage or a chimney that’s not properly flashed could be allowing water to come into your home. These issues can be hard to spot from the outside, but leaks are a lot more obvious from the attic. A leaking roof is a problem to be taken seriously because water that’s entering the attic can easily penetrate into the walls and ceiling of the rest of the home. It’s also an easy place for mold to grow without being detected since we don’t spend time in our attics as we do in the rest of the house.

Clean Your Gutters

Gutters are a key part of proper home water removal. Most people think it’s enough to keep their gutters free from debris, yet few actually do it since it’s a messy job. I recommend installing gutter guards to cut down on maintenance and to ensure that gutters are clear so water can move freely away from the roof. I also highly recommend downspout extensions to homeowners who have suboptimal drainage conditions. A downspout extender allows water to drain an extra few feet from the house, ensuring nothing collects around the foundation. 

Change Your Landscape Grade

Whenever I walk around the perimeter of a house, I always make a mental note of the way the landscape meets the foundation. You always want soil to slope away from the home, ensuring that rainwater is draining away from the house instead of sitting at the foundation. Many homeowners actually have less soil at the foundation line, leaving the home susceptible to basement flooding. 

Use a Basement Dehumidifier

In these humid summer months, I find myself dumping my basement dehumidifier at least twice a day. You always want to have the humidity level in your home at around 50% and that goes for the basement too. Even a finished basement tends to be higher in moisture since the space is below ground so if you don’t have a dehumidifier, it’s time to get one. An appropriate unit will pull excess water from the air and reduce your exposure to mold which thrives on dark, damp places to grow.

Don’t Forget the Exhaust Fans

Finally, make sure you’re using your exhaust fans during showers and while using the stove. Exhaust fans help to pull water from the air in highly used areas such as the bathrooms and kitchens. Not using them will allow mold to spore, which can cause health problems such as allergies and asthma. Just make sure all fans are directed outside and not into the attic. The same goes for your dryer vent. 

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Do You Need Your Roof Cleaned?

Do you see black, streaky stains on your roof? Is mold or moss starting to spread across your shingles? If these issues are creeping up on you, a roof cleaning might be just what you need to maintain the health and aesthetic of your home. 

Stains on a roof are generally algae, which gets carried by wind or birds from roof to roof, and may not be visible until there is enough moisture, heat, and humidity for it to grow and spread. Homes that aren’t properly insulated and ventilated are also susceptible to the problem because they retain moisture a lot more than houses with proper airflow.  

If you’re worried that your stained or moss-covered roof is doomed, don’t panic just yet. While too much moisture is a major problem that needs to be dealt with, algae that is deposited externally from the elements can be removed with a simple cleaning. That being said, the first thing you want to do is find out if your issue is cosmetic or something more serious. 

Ideally, I recommend that a homeowner gets a roof inspection at least once a year and the late spring is one of the best times to do it. During an inspection, a roofing professional will check the entire surface area for shingle deterioration or damage, cracking around the flashing, and will also ensure that water is draining properly through the gutters and downspouts. Something as simple as debris build-up can void the warranty of a roof, so it’s well worth having an expert come and take a look. They will be able to tell you if your stains are something that can be taken care of with simple cleaning or if there is a bigger picture issue.

To get rid of discoloration, mold, and mildew, we use a professional roof cleaner that adheres to the growth but doesn’t harm the roof or any vegetation below it. A roof cleaning takes a few hours depending on the size of the area and one application does the job without the need for pressure washing which can damage the shingles. 

Working on a roof is a very dangerous job and I never recommend for a homeowner to do a task like this themselves unless they are very comfortable on a ladder and with heights. No home maintenance task is worth a trip to the emergency room. 

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.