SBAOR President: End of Summer To Do List

By Brian Johnson President of the Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS®

End of Summer To Do List

As we enjoy the dog days of summer it’s easy to forget about pressing maintenance issues on our homes that were on our minds last winter but now seem so distant and forgotten. Our ongoing drought seems to dominate the local news, but people forget that we had almost 20” of rain in December 2011 causing Lake Cachuma to spill, and who really knows what next winter has in store for us? Remember the old adages that “the roof only leaks when it’s raining” and “out of sight out of mind”? The last weeks of summer are a good time to deal with problems with your home that may become urgent when the seasons predictably change, and the weather is no longer so hot and balmy.

If your roof had any leaks last winter that were not repaired, now is the time to start making a few calls to line up an estimate or two to get the repairs done or a new roof installed. Roof leaks don’t magically heal themselves; they just about always get worse and even a small leak can cause expensive interior damage to walls, ceilings, electrical fixtures and more. If you wait until the first sign of storm clouds to start calling roofing contractors, you will be trying to reach them during their busiest time of year and you may have to stand in line to get any work done or to even have your call returned. Working on roofs is one of the most injury prone building trades and be sure to get proof of license and workers compensation insurance before a ladder is taken off the truck much less work done on your roof. If your home needs a new roof ask your contractor for homes in town where he has recently installed the same roofing that you are considering so you can drive by to see what it looks like from the street, which can sometimes be a lot different than the marketing brochures printed by the roofing shingle manufacturer.

One of the easiest home maintenance projects to postpone is painting and once the fascia, siding or exterior doors on your home get past a certain point of weathering it can become a very expensive project to return them to proper sealing. Painting adds color and design to your home, but we forget that the big reason for paint is to seal and protect exterior wood and masonry from constant erosion by Mother Nature via wind, rain, fog and sun. If you are starting to see any splitting or cracking running along the wood grain then the time is now to start lining up a painter to pressure wash, scrape and sand away any chipping or splitting, and then apply the proper primer and color topcoat of paint. It’s a good idea in our foggy coastal environment to have the painter mix a mildewcide additive to the paint to control the growth of mildew, especially if you live in a shaded area prone to mildew or are lucky enough to live next to the beach. It is easy to spot mildew-streaked homes throughout Santa Barbara and Goleta even on homes that were recently painted, and the right mix of paint will give you a beautiful mildew free paint job that will look nice for years. If your home already has extensive weather damage and has needed paint for quite awhile, the preparation work needed before the first bucket of paint is opened may be a much bigger job than the actual painting. Think of the prep work and priming as the foundation of the job and any corner cutting will just make the splitting and peeling go away only temporarily maybe to reappear the next spring.

Rainwater should ideally never pool or puddle near the side of your home and ideally all paving and landscaping work should slope away from the house to naturally channel surface moisture away without the assistance of drains or sump pumps. Water pooling near the house can work its way under the foundation or through the wall base to cause all sorts of expensive damage to floors and walls and if water is pooling under a house with a perimeter style raised foundation, the increased humidity under the house can promote dry rot and mold growth. Many homes are built on relatively flat lots with little natural slope and these homes can be problematic when trying to establish good drainage. French drains are often the solution, and the installation of a cistern and sump pump is sometimes the last resort, but both can be a complete waste of money if not planned and installed properly. I have seen French drain installations with insufficient slope that made the original problem worse by creating a new area for water to pool and sit. Any concrete porches, decks or walkways that drain toward the house will eventually cause water damage problems, and a paving or concrete contractor should be consulted with to try to create a slope away from the house. Continuous rain gutters are a very effective way to move rainwater away from your foundation. If your gutters are showing their age by pulling away from the house and sagging, they can be repaired by replacing the original aluminum spikes with long threaded screws that fasten into new wood on the rafter tails or fascia.

Trees and shrubbery add much to the appearance and livability of a home but should never be in contact with the house and tree branches should not be over hanging any part of the roof. Even the best roof and rain gutters will not keep rain out of your house if filled with leaves and dirt. Tree branches that are in contact with the house are subtlety and patiently scraping the paint off your siding and scouring away the top coating off asphaltic roof shingles as the trees constantly move and sway with the wind. Late summer and fall are a good time for cleaning and repairing rain gutters and trimming trees that are too close to the house. On a personal note, I finally stopped trying to trim my own trees when I realized how much nicer they looked after being shaped and trimmed by a professional tree trimmer who climbs throughout the tree giving it a skilled cut rather than the rough trim that I attempted from the ground. Tree trimming is not an easy thing to do safely so don’t let anyone start climbing your trees with carabineers and chain saws swinging from their work belt until you have proof of license and insurance.

So be prepared and get your home ready for winter!