Maintaining your home. - Placemakers

HOW TO
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Maintaining
your home.
www.placemakers.co.nz

Maintaining your Home
Regular maintenance keeps your house looking good,
maintains its value and maximises the life of the building
materials.
Regular checks of your home
• Identify immediate problems.
• Allow planning for major maintenance.
• Enable early planning of renewal projects.
Annual routine
Keep track of both checks and maintenance with an annual
routine. Checks take only 2 or 3 hours every 6 or 12
months.
Roofs & Spouting
Roof inspections must be approached carefully to ensure
that the risk of falling or slipping is minimised. Ensure that
the roof is dry and that the ladder is secure (preferably
tied to a solid object) and at the correct angle (1M out from
the wall for every 4M of height). Other roof inspection
requirements are:
• be careful when adjacent to electrical wires, particularly
with aluminium ladders on steep roofs, use a roof ladder.
• for PVC guttering, installing a timber block within the
gutter immediately behind the ladder and after the ladder
is erected protects the gutter from being crushed.
• for profiled steel roofing, walk only along the fixing
lines.
• for tiled roofs, step only on the front edge of the tile -
for full inspections lay a plank over the tiles and use it
as a walk way.
Check for;
Generally - valleys blocked with leaves and dirt.
Metal roofs - loose fixings, ridging and flashings, rust,
flaking or cracked paint.
Clay and concrete tiles - cracked or loose tiles, cracked
mortar.
Spouting - leaks (holes or leaking joints) rust in steel
guttering, broken brackets, blockages or outlets. Water
should drain completely from the gutter.
Action
1. Replace loose roofing fixings with spiral shanked roofing
nails or screws that have sealing washers.
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2. Have cracked tiles replaced.
3. Clean out blocked valleys.
4. Seal gaps and holes with appropriate sealant (may be
temporary).
5. Clean out spouting: especially before winter. WARNING
-For corrugated steel roofs, wear leather gloves.
6. Clear all downpipe outlets. Consider fitting plastic
spouting mesh where close to trees.
7. Wash down roof. Recommended 6 monthly for uncoated
metals and 3 monthly if near the sea.
Exterior walls (Best done in spring)
Paintwork
Check for;
Peeling or flaking paint, particularly on corners, edges
and joints where paint fails first. North and west walls
receive more destructive UV rays than south facing walls,
which are usually damper.
Action
1. Sand or scrape off existing paint, prime or seal bare
cladding material and repaint.
Timber and sheet claddings
Check for;
Any damaged cladding: impact damage to fibre cement
board, EIFS and Stucco, broken or rotten battens.
Vertical board damage: especially where bottom edges
touch soil, roof, deck or flashing.
Rot: especially at joints between different materials and
where water can be trapped.
Gaps or opening of joints: often on mitred corners.
Uncoated weatherboards: particularly cracking.
Loose fixings or cladding.
Cracked or split sealant filled joints.
Sealing around pipes or other items penetrating the
cladding.
Cracking of monolithic claddings (cracks need to be
repaired as soon as possible).
Coating deterioration on monolithic claddings (look
particularly at any horizontal surfaces and anywhere
water can lie on the surface).
Action
1. Wash down exterior at least annually. Washing off
abrasive dirt, salt, mould and dust, extends the material
life.
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2. Clean every surface: paintwork, windows (both glass and
frame), brick and blockwork.
3. Use a soft brush and low-pressure hose. Concentrate on
areas rain doesn't reach, like soffits and walls sheltered by
eaves.
4. Rinse off any detergent residue with clean water.
Bricks, blocks, plaster and concrete
Check for;
Cracks.
Crumbling mortar between bricks.
Drumming sounds from solid plaster.
Action
1. Wash down annually.
2. Repair cracked or loose mortar or drummy plaster.
Also check for;
Evidence of movement or subsidence, via planks or boards
that seem out of line or level, or for walls or chimneys out
of plumb.
Overflowing toilet cisterns or hot water cylinder drain pipes.
Loose window putties.
Corrosion of deck and post fittings. For subsidence obtain
specialist advice before carrying out repairs.
Action
1. Wash down exterior at least annually. Washing off abrasive
dirt, salt, mould and dust, extends the material life.
2. Clean every surface: paintwork, windows (both glass and
frame), brick and blockwork.
3. Use a soft brush and low-pressure hose. Concentrate on
areas rain doesn't reach, like soffits and walls sheltered by
eaves.
4. Rinse off any detergent residue with clean water.
5. Remove any soil piled up against walls. Unblock or create
sub floor vents or brick veneer drainage slots.
6. Lubricate hinges and locks.
Underfloor
Take a strong torch and get into the sub floor space if possible.
Dig a crawl space if necessary. Buildings with a concrete
perimeter foundation should have a trap door or hatch in the
floor, usually in the laundry. Cut a hatch if not.
Check for;
Damp soil, wet building surfaces, leaks, and rot.
Look for possible causes:
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- Disconnected waste pipe.
- Leaking pipe.
- Blocked drain or gully traps.
- Inadequate underfloor ventilation.
- Leaking bath or shower.
- Surface run-off going under house.
- High water table.
Sagging or broken structural timbers: caused by borer,
too much notching through timber to run services, or
too large a span.
Tears or gaps in insulation.
Damaged or loose wiring and unsupported pipes.
Corroded metal fixings: tie wires, staples, nail plates,
bolts.
Loose structural bolts.
Gaps between pile and bearer or loose wedges.
Rotten timber piles; test by thrusting heavy screwdriver
Into the pile just below ground level.
Cracks in concrete walls: N.B. New or worsening cracks
should be checked by a builder or engineer.
Action
1. Remove all rubbish, rubble and building debris.
2. Repair or tighten leaking pipes and wastes.
3. Clear drains and gulley traps.
4. Have soil drains dug.
5. Treat or replace corroded metal fittings.
6. Tighten pile wedges.
7. Unblock or create sub floor vents.
8. Support insulation, wiring and pipes.
9. To replace piles, bearers, rotten timber or badly cracked
walls, or deal with subsidence, consult a qualified builder.
Roof space
Check for;
Condensation on underside of roofing paper or roofing
material which can be caused by lack of ventilation or
roofing paper.
Wet insulation. Look for possible causes:
- Leaks in roof or pipes.
- Extractor fan venting into roof space.
- Condensation (see above).
Leaks or water stains.
Corrosion of metal fittings or roofing.
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Displaced insulation.
Obvious active borer infestation.
Sagging beams or rafters.
Insecure, worn or rubber sheathed wiring.
Evidence of rats, mice or birds.
Insecure header tank or hot water cylinder: (earthquake
risk).
Action
1. Repair leaks in roofing or pipes.
2. Redistribute or add insulation to achieve total coverage.
3. Replace badly borer ridden structural timbers.
4. Have sagging beams strengit1ened (consult reputable
builder).
5. Remove rats/mice/birds nest.
6. Secure loose pipes or tanks.
Interior
Check for;
Evidence of dampness: mildew, water stains or residual
dampness, bubbling floor vinyl, failing paint or clear
finishes, buckled hardboard, sagging ceilings, mouldy or
lifting wallpaper, rot in window frames.
Failing paint and timber finishes.
Springy flooring.
Squeaky flooring.
Jammed windows.
Sticking doors.
Sticking locks.
Action:
1. Dampness: improve ventilation, insulation and heating.
Vent clothes driers outside. Reduce the use of kerosene
and LPG heaters.
2. Prepare and repaint where necessary.
3. For squeaky floors:
Screw and glue a batten to underside of each of a line of
floorboards.
Screw and glue a batten onto floor joists, pushed hard up
under the flooring.
Paint the floor with flooring oil, or sprinkle with talcum
powder.
4. For jammed windows:
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Wait until dry spell before forcing open. Replace worn
hinges and/or strip too thick paint on edges.
5. For sticking doors:
Ensure door is dry, plane top or bottom (whichever is
sticking) or the hinge side, until 2mm gap all round.
Repaint or varnish edge. Where the hinge side is planed,
reset the hinges and rehang the door.
6. Lubricate sticking locks with graphite powder.
Bathrooms & Kitchens
Check for;
Lifting or loose tiles.
Cracked tiles or grout.
Rot in wet wall linings: especially around tap or shower
mixer/rose and along bottom edge.
Degraded sealant around baths, tubs and basins.
Dripping taps.
Action:
1. Reglue or replace tiles.
2. Replace tile grout with waterproof grout or suitable
silicone sealant.
3. Replace rotten wet wall linings.
4. Strip out old sealants, clean gap and reseal.
5. Replace tap washers.
Getting professional help
In some cases, you may not be confident about taking
remedial or maintenance action yourself. You may not even
be sure what the problem is. In those cases, seek professional
advice and diagnosis from a builder, plumber, electrician,
engineer or building consultant. Do that sooner rather than
later. The consultation will cost the same whenever it's done,
but the cost of dealing with a problem will only increase,
if left unattended.
Common Tasks
Finding a roof leak
1. With a soft flow head, gently hose over one small area
of the roof at a time.
2. Start at the bottom and work up.
3. Have someone Inside the roof space checking for leaks
as you go.
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Replacing rotten timber
1. Cut away a further 600mm on each side of rot if possible.
2. Cut square so new piece of timber is easy to fit.
3. Paint exposed timber with timber preservative.
4. Cut replacement piece from H3 treated timber.
5. Prime all round with two coats.
6. Fix in place: nail or screw with glue.
7. Fill joint with flexible paintable sealant .
Easing a binding door
1. Check for loose hinges.
2. Remove loose screws.
3. Replace with larger ones, or fill screw holes with glued
in dowel, then redrill and screw as before.
4. Check the thickness of paint on the door edge. Strip and
repaint if necessary.
If binding is caused by building movement or subsidence,
that must be rectified before repairing the door or it will
probably recur.
TIP - With loose pin hinges, the door can be removed
without taking the hinges off.
Produced in association with
The Building Research Association of New Zealand
Please Note:
Whilst the advice and recommendations contained in this brochure
have been produced with proper care, they are offered only with
the objective of assisting those interested in home improvement projects
and PlaceMakers does not accept responsibility for the advice,
recommendations, etc. contained herein.
Information correct at time of printing: December 2002
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