Your Personal DIY Home Checklist

[caption id="attachment_3131" align="alignleft" width="247"] Your Personal DIY Home Inspection Checklist[/caption]

Want to make sure all aspects of your home are safe and secure? Worried that your water pipes and electrical system is out of date? Here is your personal DIY checklist for your home, courtesy of This Old House. Don't have time to get some of these tasks done yourself? Give your Cleveland Contractors and Home Mechanics a call today to setup an estimate.

Use this detailed checklist as a guide as you look around for leaks, cracks, breaks, wear, and every other conceivable problem that can develop over the year. Then make a repair list to keep up on maintenance in the coming months.

Electrical

- Check trees around the house to be sure they're not threatening wires.
- Open the panel and look for new scorch marks around breakers or fuses. Also check outlets for scorch marks, which could be a sign of loose and sparking wires.
- Look for loose outlet covers, receptacles, and loose boxes, which may have to be refastened to the studs while the power is turned off.
- Test all GFCI outlets by plugging in a lamp and then hitting the test and reset buttons to see if it turns the light off and then on again.
- Go around with a electrical tester (or lamp) to make sure all outlets work

Exterior
- Check for cracks in asphalt or concrete on driveway, sidewalks, and paths. These can be a tripping hazard, and can invite water that will do more damage during the colder months.
- Make sure retaining walls have no bulges or loose areas. One heavy rain or snowfall, and you could have a mud slide on your hands. Make sure the weep holes built into the wall are clear.
- Examine porches and decks for sagging ceilings, loose rails or boards, and damaged steps. Check to make sure the posts are still firmly in the ground and not loose, or worse yet, rotted completely out of the footing.
- Give fences and stone walls-and their gates-a once-over for leaning and loose parts, which could fall or blow off during a storm.
- Look for stains on the siding, which could be a sign of a water problem or a roof issue.
- Look for signs of insect or bird nests in soffits, eaves, or attic vents. If you see signs of animal waste in a certain area, look around for the possible nest or culprit.
- Take note of where paint is peeling, brick mortar is missing, or stucco is cracking on the house's siding.
- Look for leaning on the chimney. Check that the flashing is in good condition, and not peeling up or missing.

Read more at This Old House