8 Best Exterior Home Maintenance Tips for Fredericksburg Homeowners

Can you believe it? Fall is just around the corner here in Central Virginia. What a whirlwind year it has been! We have endured numerous upheavals in our daily lives and continually work to adjust to the “new normal”--as we know it, right? All that aside, the real estate market in the Fredericksburg and surrounding areas remained strong throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, and I believe it will remain healthy through the fall. That is the good news for buyers and sellers. The less exciting news is that it is time for fall home maintenance! I know, I know… but, like it or not, it is critical to periodically maintain your home because you want to prevent costly repairs down the road—and, you also want to preserve the value of your property. The list of fall home maintenance tips out there is extensive and many are fairy intuitive but, in my opinion, exterior maintenance is critical this time of year because you need to prepare your home for the damp and snowy winter. As a homeowner myself, I (well, err, my husband) focuses a good deal on exterior maintenance this time of year. Here are my 8 best exterior home maintenance tips for Fredericksburg area homeowners.

1. Now is a good time to inspect your foundation for cracks, and plug up any gaps with caulk. Pay particular attention to areas where the foundation meets the siding or brick, around pipes and wires as well as windows and door frames. The goal here is to fill any gaps to prevent water seepage in and heat from escaping out.

2. Give your weather stripping a look. Check the status of your weather stripping around window and doors to ensure the seal is tight. Additionally, also check the weather stripping around your garage door. Most people forget this! Your main goal in checking the weather stripping is to make sure it is sturdy. If you feel seepage or a draft, it is time for new stripping.

3. If you have not yet installed gutter guards, this may be your least favorite fall job. Your gutters have likely collected a lot of debris from any recent spring and summer rain storms and need to be cleared. Once you have cleared out the debris, install those guards—you will thank me next fall!

4. Give any exterior wood trim a closer inspection. Use a tool (or your gloved finger) to test the integrity of the wood trim around your doors, windows, railings, deck, pergola, and any other areas around your home exterior. Ideally you can seal up any weak spots with caulk, but if the wood is in bad shape, best to replace it sooner rather than later.

5. Get out the paintbrush and touch up any exterior trim paint that is cracked or peeling. Paint is a great wood preservative! Keeping exterior wood touched up will not only help your home look fresh and clean, but also extend the life of the wood.

6. If you cannot remember the last time you looked at the roof, better get it inspected. Similar to the HVAC, oversight of roof care usually presents itself at the least optimal time--like during a rain or snow storm. The last thing you need is a roof leak in the middle of winter or critters burrowing into weak spots in the roof in search of a warm refuge from the cold (and a place to have their babies).

7. Sometime before the temperatures get to below freezing, you will need to make sure your hoses and sprinklers are drained for the winter. Also be sure to drain and wrap any exterior pipes and wrap with heating tape to prevent them from freezing over.

8. Finally, yes, you will have leaf cleanup to contend with later in the fall, but early fall is the best time to aerate your lawn as well as spread fertilizer and grass seed. You will want to do this as early as possible in the fall otherwise you will just end up raking up your new grass seed later. Later in the fall is the best time to do leaf cleanup, and is also the best time to prune your trees making sure that any wild limbs and branches are at least 3 feet from your house.

To learn more about Liz Dubrule Real Estate visit my About Me page. For more tips and information feel free to Contact Me and follow me on social media on Facebook @ldubrulehere4you.