Maintaining a new home can be a big job if you let your simple fixes pile up year over year. With a new custom home, most deficiencies and problems will fall on the builder. Maintenance requirements however are the responsibility of the homeowner.

Taking care of your house will ensure that the internal systems function at full efficiency and improve the performance of your home. Furthermore, the resale value will be held and the life of your build will last longer.

That is why it is important to have a clear and systematic home maintenance checklist on hand. This will ensure that nothing gets missed and prevent problems from happening down the road.

Home Maintenance Checklist

There should be monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual and long term maintenance items.

We will go over the some of the key maintenance items that we recommend to be completed as a custom home builder.

Monthly Home Maintenance Items

While monthly maintenance items may seem like a nuisance, they will evidently save you time and money down the road. Trust us, they are simple and very fast fixes that prevent bigger problems later. These tasks should only take 15 minutes each month (in total).

Below are the recommend items.

• Clean your range hood and its filter.
• Tighten any loose handles or opening knobs. This will ensure that no handles break.
• Clean your garburator by putting in lemon slices. This will prevent smell down the road.
• Clean that glass on your stove to prevent fast build up of grease.
• Verify home alarms are functional.
• Clean out dryer and laundry machine filters.

Quarterly Home Maintenance Items

As a custom home builder, quarterly maintenance items are probably the most important to do. Performing these tasks will ensure the longevity of your homes internal systems and maximize the safety for your family.

• Replace you HVAC filters in your furnace and HRV.
• Remove debris from your air conditioning unit.
• Verify that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are functional.
• Turn on taps and faucets in places not used for months on end. This will ensure the gaskets and seals don’t dry.
• Clean the inside of your fridge and stove to prevent smells.
• Clean calking around frequently used showers and tubs.
• Perform appliance maintenance checks on coffee makers for example.

Semi-Annual Home Maintenance Items

Semi-annual home maintenance tasks will further keep your home in a good working order. Performing the tasks to date will improve the longevity and resale value of your home. Below are some common semi annual tasks for how to maintain a custom home.

• Wipe down walls and baseboard. Clean the grout in between tiles.
• Remove debris from your clothes dryer exhaust duct.
• Clean out the dishwasher and its filter.
• Perform maintenance on boilers, furnaces, and air conditioners.

Annual Home Maintenance Items

There are a few more tasks that need to be completed on our home maintenance checklist. The items below should be completed on an annual basis.

Some of the maintenance tasks can be performed in winter. However, the bulk of the list should be finished in the spring and summer months.

• Verify that the grading around the house slopes away.
• Clean the eaves and downspouts in the spring.
• Make sure there are no loose shingles or shakes.
• Inspect the exterior siding, windows and weatherstripping.
• Make sure to blow out irrigation in the fall and start up in the spring.
• Inspect exterior grout and mortar. Fix any places where it eroded.
• Clean door and window screens.
• Clean windows.
• Verify the weatherstripping on the front doors seals
• If you have a wood burning fireplace, clean the chimney.
• Perform preventative maintenance on the electrical and HVAC systems
• Fix and repair any loose door hinges
• Repair any areas where calking is coming off. Especially showers and the kitchen sink.
• Clean P-Traps on sinks.
• Verify all GFI’s are in working order.
• Clean out your furnace ducts (hire a cleaning About Us)

Life Long Home Maintenance Items

Lastly, there are some larger tasks that need to be completed on occasion. These are usually competed once every few years. These maintenance items below are probably the most important. Finishing these tasks will save you costly repairs in the future.

• Clean and repaint window casings, soffits and exterior trim. This will help prevent moisture from seeping in and rotting the material.
• Inspect the parging and exterior foundation for large cracks. Make sure all exterior penetrations are still sealed and repair if necessary.
• Make sure the exterior siding is still intact and check storm openings where the downspouts tie in.

Home Maintenance Checklist – How To Maintain A Custom House.

Building a custom home is one of the biggest investments people make in their entire life. Since you’ve invested your own dollars creating your dream house, why not make sure that it is properly maintained throughout its life.

Having a checklist on hand and completing the tasks will safeguard your investment and extend the longevity of the home. You will increase the resale value of the house and prevent costly fixes down the road.

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