Spring Home Maintenance: Exterior

Spring Home Maintenance: Exterior Checklist

Spring is finally here in metro Atlanta, and the weather is just starting to warm up! With all the nice weather and sunshine we’re having, its time to start on your spring home maintenance checklist. Today we’re going to talk about the home maintenance tasks you should be doing each spring on the exterior of your home. Don’t forget that keeping up with your home maintenance can save you thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs. 

spring home maintenanceTo keep things simple for you, we’ve come up with a simple exterior spring home maintenance checklist:

  • Check on your lawn tools (lawn mowers, weed eaters, blowers, etc.) to make sure they’re in working condition. Many lawn tools can be repaired instead of replaced if they’re not working properly.
  • Look at your roof for loose, missing, or damaged vents or shingles and have them repaired and replaced as necessary so you don’t find yourself with a leak.
  • Check all your siding and trim for loose or damaged spots and have these places repaired as necessary.
  • Check for damaged windows or screens.
  • Make sure your gutters and downspouts are clear and don’t have any damaged or broken places. Spring time can bring lots of rain and if the rain isn’t diverted properly, it can cause damage to your home.
  • Look around your homes foundation and/or basement for any obvious cracked or damaged spots. Any cracks (even small ones) can seriously compromise the integrity and safety of your home.
  • Inspect any exposed wood for signs of damage, rot, or bug infestation. Compromised wood can present structural and safety issues for your home.
  • Make sure all tree branches are trimmed back and away from your home. This will prevent them from falling on your home in case of a storm.
  • Check your yard for any particularly wet or lush patches that seem to stand out. This could be a sign of a pipe leak under your yard.

For help with any plumbing maintenance or repairs call the local professionals you can trust at Masterflo Plumbing! (678) 822-7095

 

Rainwater Collection 101

Rainwater Collection 101

You may have seen our photos before on Facebook of a rain water collection system we helped install for one of our clients. Rainwater collection can be a great option for many homeowners, so today we’re going to talk about some rainwater collection basics so you can decide if its a good option for you and your family. We’re getting lots of rain so far this spring, so it may be time to make all that extra rain work for you!

Rainwater Collection Basics

Rainwater can be a renewable, sustainable, and high quality water source for you, your family, and your home if you know how to properly harvest it. Rainwater collection is a technique for collecting, storing, and using rainwater for landscaping needs and other things. Generally, when it rains, the water simply runs off your roof, through your gutters, and into the street. With rainwater collection, the rainwater is collected in some type of water storage tank and saved for later. Though this may seem like a new idea, its a process that has been in use for thousands of years! It can be implemented for individual homes or on a larger scale for parks, schools, or other commercial buildings.

Rainwater Collection Benefits

There are several benefits of collecting rainwater. You’ll have less flooding and erosion on your property by reducing rainwater runoff during a storm. You can also reduce your water bills because you won’t have to pay to use water to water your lawn. You can also use the collected rainwater to flush your toilets, wash your clothes, and wash your cars. If using the collected rainwater to water your lawn and garden, you may notice better growth. Stored rainwater doesn’t have any pollutants or man made contaminants in it, making it much better for your lawn and plants.

How It Works

The basic idea of a rainwater collection system is to divert rainwater from a catchment surface (such as your roof) through a distribution system (your gutters and downspouts) and into a storage tank. Your tank can be above ground or under ground and can be made from a variety of materials including plastic and metal. Your storage tank should be completely covered to avoid mosquito breeding and to reduce evaporation and contamination. Rainwater collection systems do require basic maintenance and cleaning to keep the system clean and safe.

Rainwater collection can be a great option for you to reduce your utility bills and your carbon footprint! After reading our rainwater collection basics, if you have more questions or if you’d like to implement a rainwater collection system in your home call the professionals at Masterflo Plumbing today at (678) 822-7095. We can also help revamp an old system or maintain your current one!