A Seasonal Maintenance Checklist for Ontario Homes

Most expensive findings in a home inspection began as a cheap maintenance item that nobody did. Ontario's freeze-thaw cycle is unusually hard on buildings, and almost everything on this list is about one thing: keeping water away from the house.

Autumn — before the freeze

• Clear gutters and check that downspouts discharge well away from the foundation, not against it
• Check grading around the house: the ground should fall away from the wall in the first two metres
• Have heating equipment serviced before you need it, and replace the furnace filter
• Shut off and drain exterior hose bibs
• Check that attic insulation is not blocking soffit ventilation
• Look at the roof from the ground for lifted or missing shingles and damaged flashing
• Seal gaps where pipes and wires enter the building

Spring — after the thaw

• Walk the basement after the first heavy rain and look for staining, efflorescence or damp at the base of walls
• Check exterior masonry and caulking for winter damage
• Clear gutters again and check for ice-damage at the roof edge
• Test the sump pump, if there is one, by lifting the float
• Service or check cooling equipment before the first hot week
• Check window wells for drainage and debris
• Look for insect and rodent entry points opened up over winter

Twice a year, whatever the season

• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and replace batteries
• Exercise the main water shut-off so it does not seize
• Check under sinks for slow leaks — the cheapest repair in the house if caught early

The winter items nobody thinks about

Two things are worth doing in the coldest part of the year, because they can only be observed then. Look at your roof edge after a heavy snowfall: a thick ridge of ice at the eaves, or icicles forming in quantity, is telling you that heat is escaping into the attic and melting snow from below. That is an insulation and air-sealing problem, and January is when it announces itself.

The other is condensation. Water running down the inside of windows, damp at the corners of exterior walls, or a musty smell in closets on outside walls all point to humidity and ventilation rather than a leak. In a tightly built house, running the bathroom fan properly is often the whole fix.

Keeping a record

Write down what you do and when, even roughly — the date the furnace was serviced, when the roof was done, which contractor cleared the drains. It takes minutes and it pays back twice: you stop guessing whether something is due, and when you sell, you can show a buyer that the house has been looked after. Maintenance you cannot evidence is maintenance a buyer will assume did not happen.

What is worth paying someone for

Most of this list is homeowner work. A few things are not, and attempting them is a poor trade. Anything on a steep or high roof, anything inside an electrical panel, and gas appliance servicing all belong to trades — the cost of the work is far lower than the cost of the accident.

Chimney and fireplace work is the other one. If a fireplace is used regularly, it needs periodic inspection by someone qualified, and that is not a visual check from the ground.

What this is worth

Attic ventilation, drainage and the roof edge account for a disproportionate share of the findings that cost real money later. None of the work above is difficult, and almost none of it requires a trade. It is simply the maintenance that buildings in this climate need and often do not get.

If you are not sure what condition your systems are actually in — particularly in a house you have owned for a long time — that is what an inspection is for, and it does not have to be attached to a sale.