Spring Exterior Checks Homeowners Often Miss

As spring arrives, homeowners should check their properties for damage that has occurred during the winter months. Winter can bring cold temperatures, snow, and rain, leading to issues that can often be missed. From missing or cracked tiles on your roof to blocked gutters, problems can easily be overlooked. Here are the key checks homeowners should carry out in spring.

Check for Blocked Gutters

Checking your gutters for blockages is essential to ensure that rainwater can continue to drain properly, without overflowing. Check for signs that they’re blocked with debris, for example, water overflowing, sagging, or moss or weeds growing from the gutters. You don’t always need a ladder to do this – simply walk along the ground and look for signs they’re overflowing or damp patches on the walls below the gutters.

Blocked gutters are often missed simply due to them being out of sight - high up on the roofline, where homeowners rarely look. Unfortunately, this means that you may only notice them once a major problem occurs. To prevent significant issues with your home’s gutters, it’s a good idea to check them for blockages in spring, before heavier rainfall in late spring causes water to overflow.

Inspect Roof Tiles

Inspecting your roof tiles can help prevent leaks from occurring, safeguarding your property. Like with your guttering, you can often check this part of your property from the ground. Alternatively, access your loft during the day and turn off the lights – if you can see daylight from the roof, it’s a good sign you have cracked or missing tiles.

Issues with your roof tiles can easily be overlooked due to their height, with homeowners rarely inspecting this part of their property. However, missing or cracked tiles can let water in during heavy rain, causing damage to both the roof and the interior of your home. Inspecting your roof tiles in spring can help you avoid more expensive repairs later in the year.

Assess Exterior Brickwork

Your home’s brickwork can be impacted by the winter weather, with freezing temperatures, wind, and rain causing damage such as cracks and crumbling mortar. You can check for issues by walking around your property and inspecting walls, paying close attention to areas around windows, doors, and corners where cracks often appear.

Assessing your home’s brickwork in spring can help catch any damage before it gets worse, allowing you to arrange repairs that prevent leaks, damp, or more costly structural problems down the line. Regularly checking brickwork also allows you to maintain your home’s kerb appeal, enhancing its appearance and overall value.

Inspect Fences, Gates, and Walls

Winter can cause major damage to boundaries like fences, gates, and walls, with heavy rain and strong winds weakening them significantly. Inspect these structures carefully, checking for loose panels, leaning posts, and gaps in garden walls. Carrying out regular maintenance can help prevent small problems from becoming more serious over time.

Issues with fences, gates and walls are often missed simply because they exist in the background, receiving little attention from property owners until something goes wrong with them. Checking these structures in spring can help prevent more costly damage from occurring, whilst helping keep your garden safe and secure.

Check External Paintwork

Winter weather can cause your home’s exterior paintwork to crack and flake, leaving the material underneath exposed to rot or rust. This makes it essential to check paintwork once spring arrives, looking out for areas that are bubbling or peeling away. As well as inspecting it visually, you can also run your hand along the surface to check for soft or spongy spots.

Since damage to paintwork often develops gradually, it’s not always spotted right away. Checking for issues during spring means you can repair the paintwork early, protecting your home and preventing more costly damage in the future. Carrying out regular checks can extend your paintwork’s lifespan, helping maintain its visual appeal throughout the year.

Conclusion

Carrying out these key exterior checks in spring can allow you to identify small issues before they turn into bigger, costlier problems. From gutters and roof tiles to brickwork, fences, and paintwork, inspecting the outside of your home now helps protect both its structure and appearance.

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