15 Things to Check Around Your House Before Summer Ends

Every year about this time, I start looking at houses a little differently.

Summer is winding down. The days are getting shorter. Pretty soon the leaves will start falling, the heat will come on, and then we’re into another Cincinnati winter.

And there are certain things I’d much rather find now than in November, December or January.

After spending most of my life working on houses, I’ve learned that homes usually give you some warning before something becomes a big problem. A little peeling paint. A soft piece of trim. A gutter that overflows. A window that’s suddenly harder to close.

None of those things necessarily means you have a major problem.

But they’re worth looking at.

So before summer completely gets away from us, here are 15 things I’d take a look at around your house.

1. Walk Around the House After a Good Rain

This is probably one of the simplest inspections you can do.

Where does the water go?

Look at the gutters and downspouts. Look for water overflowing behind the gutters or dumping next to the foundation.

Then look at the ground itself.

Ideally, water should be moving away from your house, not toward it.

A surprising number of basement and foundation moisture problems aren’t really basement problems at all. They’re water-management problems outside the house.

2. Look Up at Your Gutters

You don’t necessarily need to climb onto the roof.

Stand back and look.

Are the gutters sagging?

Are they pulling away from the fascia?

Do you see staining where they’ve been overflowing?

And once the leaves start coming down, make sure they’re cleaned out.

A clogged gutter can send a tremendous amount of water somewhere it was never intended to go.

3. Take a Good Look at Your Roof

Again, I’m not suggesting everybody climb onto their roof.

From the ground, look for shingles that appear missing, lifted or damaged. Pay particular attention around chimneys, valleys and roof transitions.

If something doesn’t look right, that’s when you have somebody take a closer look.

Finding a roof problem before winter is considerably better than finding it because there’s a brown spot on the ceiling.

4. Check the Wood Around Windows and Doors

This is a big one on older homes.

Take a screwdriver and gently press suspicious areas around exterior window trim, door trim, porch components and lower corners.

Wood should feel like wood.

If the screwdriver sinks into it, you’ve probably found deterioration.

Sometimes that’s a relatively simple carpentry repair. Leave it alone long enough, though, and water can make its way much farther into the structure.

5. Look at Your Exterior Caulking

Caulk doesn’t last forever.

Look around windows, doors and places where different materials meet.

You’re looking for gaps, cracks or caulk that’s pulling away.

A quarter-inch opening doesn’t look particularly dramatic, but water doesn’t need much of an invitation.

6. Inspect Your Deck and Porch

Walk around and actually put your hands on things.

Shake the railing.

Walk the stairs.

Look underneath if you can.

Pay attention to loose boards, deteriorating wood, rusty fasteners and areas where the deck connects to the house.

A loose deck board is annoying.

A deteriorated structural connection is something entirely different.

7. Look at Your Siding, Brick and Exterior Trim

You’re looking for changes.

Loose siding. Cracked mortar. Peeling paint. Separations around penetrations. Areas that stay damp longer than everything around them.

You don’t need to know exactly what’s causing it.

You’re simply looking for something that wasn’t there before.

8. Look for Signs of Insects

Termites and other wood-destroying insects don’t always announce themselves.

Look around the foundation, basement, crawlspace, porch and anywhere wood gets close to the ground.

Pay attention to unusual damage, little piles of debris, mud tubes, soft wood or flooring and trim that suddenly looks different.

And don’t assume winter makes termites irrelevant.

If you’re suspicious, have it inspected.

9. Check Your Chimney and Fireplace

If you have a wood-burning fireplace, now is the time to think about it—not the first cold Saturday when you decide to build a fire.

Have the chimney cleaned and inspected when appropriate.

From outside, look at the chimney cap, masonry and flashing.

Water getting into a chimney can create some surprisingly expensive repairs.

10. Check Exterior Faucets and Hoses

That hose you’ve had connected all summer needs to come off before freezing weather.

While you’re there, check the faucet.

Does it drip?

Does it shut off completely?

Is the piping properly protected?

These are inexpensive problems in September and potentially very inconvenient problems in January.

11. Take a Look in the Attic

Most homeowners rarely go into their attic.

That’s exactly why problems can live there for quite a while.

Look for signs of roof leakage, damp insulation, staining, pests or unusual condensation.

Also look at bathroom exhaust ducts.

I’ve opened plenty of houses where somebody discovered the bathroom fan was exhausting directly into the attic.

That’s not where we want warm, moist bathroom air going.

12. Check the Basement or Crawlspace

Use your nose as much as your eyes.

Does it smell musty?

Do you see white powdery deposits on masonry?

Any staining?

Any damp areas?

How about cracks that appear to have changed?

If you have a sump pump, test it.

A sump pump isn’t something you want to discover isn’t working during a major storm.

13. Give Your Furnace Some Attention

Everybody remembers the air conditioner in July.

The furnace tends to get forgotten until the first cold night.

Change the filter and consider having the system serviced before heating season.

It’s much easier to deal with a furnace problem when it’s 65 degrees outside than when it’s 20.

14. Check Your Windows and Doors

Open them.

Close them.

Lock them.

Feel around them for obvious drafts.

Look at the weatherstripping.

Sometimes a window simply needs an adjustment or repair. Sometimes it’s telling you that replacement should probably be somewhere in your future plans.

Either way, now is a good time to find out.

15. Walk Through Your House Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

This may be the most important one.

We’re amazingly good at not seeing things in our own homes.

That little crack has been there so long we don’t notice it anymore.

The door has rubbed for three years.

The gutter always spills over in that corner.

There’s been a soft spot on the porch forever.

Take 20 minutes and walk around your house like you’re considering buying it.

Look up.

Look down.

Open things.

Touch things.

Ask yourself:

“Was that always like that?”

That’s often how you find problems early.

You Don’t Have to Fix Everything

I think this is important.

The point of inspecting your house isn’t to create a giant list of projects that all need to happen immediately.

Most houses have things that could be repaired, improved or updated.

The real question is what needs attention now, what should be planned for, and what can simply be watched.

That’s something we’ve helped homeowners figure out for generations.

Sometimes the answer is, “We ought to fix that.”

Sometimes it’s, “Let’s keep an eye on it.”

And sometimes it’s, “That’s perfectly normal. Don’t worry about it.”

Knowing the difference can save you a lot of money.

So sometime before summer officially disappears, grab a cup of coffee and take a walk around your house.

You might find nothing.

And that’s a pretty good outcome too.

Birch Bishop

Mariemont Remodeling Co.

Serving Mariemont and the surrounding villages