Spring is the most important home maintenance season of the year. Winter is hard on homes -- it stresses roofing, freezes pipe sections, blocks gutters, and strains HVAC systems. A thorough spring walkthrough catches winter damage early, before it gets worse through spring rain and summer heat.
Roof and gutters
Start outside and work up. Walk the perimeter and look for: missing or curled shingles, damaged flashing around the chimney and vents, sagging sections, and granule loss visible in gutters or on the ground. Then clean the gutters -- spring is one of the two annual cleanings that protects your foundation and fascia.
HVAC: get it serviced before it gets hot
The worst time to discover your AC doesn't work is July when every HVAC company has a two-week wait. Schedule a spring tune-up in March or April -- it's cheaper (not emergency season), faster, and ensures you're not running your AC all summer with a low refrigerant charge that's slowly damaging the compressor. Change the air filter while you're at it.
Plumbing
If you shut off exterior hose bibs for winter, turn them back on and check for leaks -- a cracked bib from a freeze might not be obvious until it's running. Check under all sinks for slow drips that may have started over winter. Flush the water heater if it hasn't been done in over a year.
Exterior: caulking and sealing
Winter freeze-thaw cycles degrade exterior caulking and sealants. Walk around the house and check all seams -- around windows, doors, siding penetrations, and where different materials meet. Recaulk any gaps you find. This is cheap, takes a weekend afternoon, and prevents water intrusion and energy loss.
Safety devices
Spring is a good trigger to test all smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors -- push the test button and replace batteries if needed. The NFPA recommends replacing smoke detectors every 10 years regardless of whether they test fine.
Bottom line
A spring maintenance walkthrough takes a few hours and catches problems when they're cheap to fix. Anything on this list you'd rather not DIY -- roof inspection, HVAC service, plumbing checks -- Novum handles all of it.
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