Every man's home is his weekend project

August 18, 2008 3:31 PM

Every 3,000 miles, I change the motor oil. But what about the house? I need a home repair and maintenance schedule? I'm looking for the best books and online resources that describe optimum home repair schedules and practices.

What I'm looking for is a generalized checklist of Good Things to Do around the house, in the same way your car's owner's manual describes regular maintenance activities (e.g. change the oil, change the brake pads, etc).

As in, every January, change the furnace filter; in February, change the smoke detector batteries.

posted by Cool Papa Bell to home & garden (9 answers total)

Have someone check the AC before it gets hot. They often need a fluid refill and a once-over. Doing this prevents your having to hire someone to repair it when it's boiling hot and everyone's unit is on the blink.
posted by Doctor Suarez at 4:09 PM on August 18, 2008

Thanks, but what I'm looking for is a generalized schedule I can follow throughout the year, not just one-off tips.

For example, in your description, this item on the schedule would be "Winter -- Check AC function and refill fluid as needed."

You know, like a car. "15,000 miles -- tune-up, change spark plugs, etc..."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:16 PM on August 18, 2008

I recently received this book as a gift. It has a list of about 4 or 5 pages in the back that sounds like what you are describing. It is also just a handy book to have around in general.
posted by rebel_rebel at 4:16 PM on August 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hey, what about something like this??
posted by Hellafiles at 4:26 PM on August 18, 2008 [3 favorites]

The PDF on this page, from the people at Real Simple, lists cleaning and maintenance tasks you should do every day, week, month, and year. More focused on cleaning and preventative maintenance, but still useful.

And here's a good maintenance-focused one broken out into seasons from Hometime, the PBS show.
posted by peachfuzz at 4:36 PM on August 18, 2008 [4 favorites]

When I first bought the house, I didn't know much at all about house things, but you are forced to learn things quickl. Each time I came across something, I simply added it to an essay book. It only took about six months to have a decent checklist and about a year to have a really good list. Keep the essay book in an easy to find place, like next to the phone in the kitchen and just look at it every weekened as part of your Saturday chores. Very low tech, but it worked for me.
posted by monkeydluffy at 4:40 PM on August 18, 2008

Inspired by the PDF linked to by peachfuzz, I asked a similar question a little while ago.
posted by bove at 4:59 PM on August 18, 2008

Here's one (PDF Warning) I found a while ago, though, it's geared more towards outside maintenance.
posted by PixelatorOfTime at 6:09 PM on August 18, 2008

The House Builders Bible is something of a cult book in the UK. It is about the practicalities and economics of building a home primarily - but it is a great reference for the non specialist who wants to know how to tackle projects like extensions, re-wiring, etc. (or work out whether it would be a good idea to get somebody else to do so).
posted by rongorongo at 11:53 PM on August 19, 2008