Bought a house wtf are gutters
September 30, 2024 4:03 PM Subscribe
After 3.5 years of saving my $$$$$$ and living in studio apartments with my young son, I bought a house for us (!!!!) and I close on Friday. It's 900 sq feet, on <0.25 acres, and in great shape. BUT I don't know what I don't know. Can you tell me what I don't know?
I have set aside $30,000 for emergency big repairs and all of this extra shit
What big tools will I need beside a mower?
Am I supposed to pressure wash the siding every so often?
I live in Maine if it matters.
I am no stranger to shoveling snow so no snow blower.
It has an attached garage, I've never had a garage in my life, is there maintenance there?
I am handy and cheap and my standards are very low, so all of the maintenance I can do myself I will.
(I feel dumb for not knowing this stuff and still buying A HOUSE!! But I did it for my son and my heart is on fire)
I have set aside $30,000 for emergency big repairs and all of this extra shit
What big tools will I need beside a mower?
Am I supposed to pressure wash the siding every so often?
I live in Maine if it matters.
I am no stranger to shoveling snow so no snow blower.
It has an attached garage, I've never had a garage in my life, is there maintenance there?
I am handy and cheap and my standards are very low, so all of the maintenance I can do myself I will.
(I feel dumb for not knowing this stuff and still buying A HOUSE!! But I did it for my son and my heart is on fire)
When you had the survey done, what did the surveyor say?
How old is the current roof?
How old is the wiring?
If there are deciduous trees nearby, the roof gutters will likely need to be cleaned every year.
Congratulations on your house!
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:32 PM on September 30 [1 favorite]
How old is the current roof?
How old is the wiring?
If there are deciduous trees nearby, the roof gutters will likely need to be cleaned every year.
Congratulations on your house!
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:32 PM on September 30 [1 favorite]
Yay! Congrats! Some home repairs and maintenance tasks are local. Reach out to your new neighbors and let them know you’re already a Mainah, but you’re a first time homeowner and if they have any advice on home maintenance. This will cover more microclimate specific stuff and also is a good way of meeting your neighbors.
Learn how to use window plastic kits. Get your boiler serviced annually. Check your cellar wall for cracks when it’s the big melt in the spring. Only garage maintenance is to check it for opportunistic mice now and again. Clean out your dryer vent. Make sure your window screens are in good condition by the summer so you get fewer mosquitoes and black flies when you open the windows.
posted by donut_princess at 5:11 PM on September 30 [3 favorites]
Learn how to use window plastic kits. Get your boiler serviced annually. Check your cellar wall for cracks when it’s the big melt in the spring. Only garage maintenance is to check it for opportunistic mice now and again. Clean out your dryer vent. Make sure your window screens are in good condition by the summer so you get fewer mosquitoes and black flies when you open the windows.
posted by donut_princess at 5:11 PM on September 30 [3 favorites]
Know how to shut off the water to your house.
posted by HotToddy at 5:11 PM on September 30 [35 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 5:11 PM on September 30 [35 favorites]
Seconding what donut princess above said: get to know your neighbors and your neighborhood, especially if it's new to you. Go for walks around the neighborhood with your kid and say good morning or whatever to everyone you come across. Go to the public library and ask the librarian for a good general homeowners' guide to upkeep and minor repairs.
And congratulations!
posted by mareli at 5:20 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
And congratulations!
posted by mareli at 5:20 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
There’s too much to put in a comment.
Look online for home maintenance lists.
Here’s one I found
posted by artdrectr at 5:22 PM on September 30 [3 favorites]
Look online for home maintenance lists.
Here’s one I found
posted by artdrectr at 5:22 PM on September 30 [3 favorites]
Find out who your neighbors use for a plumber, an electrician and a handy person. Get a couple of names for each! When you need them, you need them.
And congratulations! I grew up in apartments and bought a house with my husband at 32. 14 years later I have no idea what I’m doing but it’s mostly ok.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:27 PM on September 30 [9 favorites]
And congratulations! I grew up in apartments and bought a house with my husband at 32. 14 years later I have no idea what I’m doing but it’s mostly ok.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:27 PM on September 30 [9 favorites]
Youtube tutorials are invaluable for figuring out how to do almost anything. Two channels I particularly like are Home Renovision DIY (here's a video showing three ways to hang a door; his videos are full of multiple ways to do a thing, little time-saving tricks, explanations for why some things are done certain ways, etc.) and Essential Craftsman (here's a captivating 20 minute video on how to use string; always full of a ton of useful information and tips that will help you develop a familiarity with tools and situations you might encounter).
The subreddits /r/HomeImprovement and /r/Homeowners are great for reading about others' experiences and making you think about your own house.
posted by msbrauer at 6:05 PM on September 30 [5 favorites]
The subreddits /r/HomeImprovement and /r/Homeowners are great for reading about others' experiences and making you think about your own house.
posted by msbrauer at 6:05 PM on September 30 [5 favorites]
Go to Home Depot and buy their "Home Improvement 1-2-3" book and read it cover-to-cover at your own pace. Put it in the bathroom and read while you're sitting on the toilet. For example.
Anyway, the idea is you don't have to do any of the shit in the book yourself, but learning how it's done will help you understand your house's systems, and understand what can go wrong, and get an idea for what things look like and sound like before they completely fail.
Which is the key point. You don't want to be unaware that crumbling drywall in a corner in the bathroom means there is a slow leak in a pipe in a wall that will soon enough become a $20K flood damage repair job -- if you caught it early, it would be half a day with a plumber and some drywall replacement. That's a real world example, btw.
Anyway, just read and absorb the big picture from a book that tells you how to fix your house when it breaks. And also tells you how to paint, or put some tile down, or replace a ceiling fan. Etc. It's like an owner's manual.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:13 PM on September 30 [10 favorites]
Anyway, the idea is you don't have to do any of the shit in the book yourself, but learning how it's done will help you understand your house's systems, and understand what can go wrong, and get an idea for what things look like and sound like before they completely fail.
Which is the key point. You don't want to be unaware that crumbling drywall in a corner in the bathroom means there is a slow leak in a pipe in a wall that will soon enough become a $20K flood damage repair job -- if you caught it early, it would be half a day with a plumber and some drywall replacement. That's a real world example, btw.
Anyway, just read and absorb the big picture from a book that tells you how to fix your house when it breaks. And also tells you how to paint, or put some tile down, or replace a ceiling fan. Etc. It's like an owner's manual.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:13 PM on September 30 [10 favorites]
Know how to shut off the water to your house.
If you're in a more urban environment, there might be a water shutoff near the curb as well as one in your house. Know how to shut that off too. Often it's under a metal plate.
If you have natural gas, know how to shut that off, too. There are specialized tools for both water and gas valves, and I bought a combo one pretty inexpensively.
If your roof gets a lot of shade, you may need to scrape moss off the shingles one or more times a year. It's good to stay on top of that (get it??).
See if your community has a tool library. My local has saved me so, so much money not having to buy specialized tools for one-time projects. And the folks who run them are super knowledgeable. I can't stress enough how great a tool library can be. Some public library systems have tools to check out as well.
posted by moonmoth at 6:32 PM on September 30 [3 favorites]
If you're in a more urban environment, there might be a water shutoff near the curb as well as one in your house. Know how to shut that off too. Often it's under a metal plate.
If you have natural gas, know how to shut that off, too. There are specialized tools for both water and gas valves, and I bought a combo one pretty inexpensively.
If your roof gets a lot of shade, you may need to scrape moss off the shingles one or more times a year. It's good to stay on top of that (get it??).
See if your community has a tool library. My local has saved me so, so much money not having to buy specialized tools for one-time projects. And the folks who run them are super knowledgeable. I can't stress enough how great a tool library can be. Some public library systems have tools to check out as well.
posted by moonmoth at 6:32 PM on September 30 [3 favorites]
What sort of heat & or AC do you have? If forced air, you'll need to (at a bare minimum) change furnace air filters periodically. If you have hot water radiators, there's less to do, if you have steam heat radiators there are plenty of things you'll need to keep an eye on. What's your fuel source? Natural gas? Propane? Fuel oil? Electric/solar/geothermal/ heat pump? All of those are going to require different degrees / forms of homeowner interaction and maintenance.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 6:42 PM on September 30 [1 favorite]
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 6:42 PM on September 30 [1 favorite]
Before you start doing any kind of renovations, ANY KIND, make sure that you know how much it's going to cost and then plan on spending more on it. Don't do renovations if you're not financially prepared. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't get a loan of some sort to do what you need to do because sometimes you might have to.
As in most things, you get what you pay for so don't buy services or goods because they're a good deal. A few years down the road you might find yourself paying for the same repairs again. As mentioned above, finding out where your neighbors go for services is a great idea.
If your roof is shingle, consider getting a metal roof when those shingles are done. You'll never have to think about your roof again. You're not only paying for a roof, you're paying for peace of mind.
Do you have a wooden deck or porch? Maintain it each year, without fail. Seal the wood, paint the wood, do whatever it is that you need to do to put off the eventual softening and rotting of those boards. Seriously, every year you need to take a good look at what needs to be done; it might not be much and you want to keep it that way.
In my opinion, unless you become a craftsman at home repairs, the pricy tools aren't necessary. Neither are the cheap tools. Go medium price range on these: drill, jigsaw, circular and/or miter saw, table saw if you're going to start doing some more intricate things. You probably won't need the electric tools right a way but you should have the basic tools when you move in: a hammer, socket set, screw driver set, hex key set, tape measure, vice grip (I can't tell you how important these have been over the years), wrenches, pliers.
Actually, something like this would be perfect as a starter kit and should be on hand when you move in.
+1 on that Home Depot book. Maybe hint around to your friends and family that it would be a good housewarming gift.
Include your son in everything that you do so that he has some experience when he has his own house.
Congratulations to you both and have fun learning it all together!
posted by ashbury at 6:50 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
As in most things, you get what you pay for so don't buy services or goods because they're a good deal. A few years down the road you might find yourself paying for the same repairs again. As mentioned above, finding out where your neighbors go for services is a great idea.
If your roof is shingle, consider getting a metal roof when those shingles are done. You'll never have to think about your roof again. You're not only paying for a roof, you're paying for peace of mind.
Do you have a wooden deck or porch? Maintain it each year, without fail. Seal the wood, paint the wood, do whatever it is that you need to do to put off the eventual softening and rotting of those boards. Seriously, every year you need to take a good look at what needs to be done; it might not be much and you want to keep it that way.
In my opinion, unless you become a craftsman at home repairs, the pricy tools aren't necessary. Neither are the cheap tools. Go medium price range on these: drill, jigsaw, circular and/or miter saw, table saw if you're going to start doing some more intricate things. You probably won't need the electric tools right a way but you should have the basic tools when you move in: a hammer, socket set, screw driver set, hex key set, tape measure, vice grip (I can't tell you how important these have been over the years), wrenches, pliers.
Actually, something like this would be perfect as a starter kit and should be on hand when you move in.
+1 on that Home Depot book. Maybe hint around to your friends and family that it would be a good housewarming gift.
Include your son in everything that you do so that he has some experience when he has his own house.
Congratulations to you both and have fun learning it all together!
posted by ashbury at 6:50 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/ is a pretty good resource.
posted by AlSweigart at 7:07 PM on September 30 [1 favorite]
posted by AlSweigart at 7:07 PM on September 30 [1 favorite]
If you live in a place that could flood, it's useful to own a shop-vac for emergency flood situations. You can get a secondhand one, as long as it works. And you don't need a filter (they're pricey) if it's just to chuck into the garage for flood emergencies.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:30 PM on September 30
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:30 PM on September 30
Congrats on the house! It's exciting and overwhelming at the same time, isn't it? Co-sign everyone above who said that neighbors are a great resource, especially older ones. What you want is a person in a men's shirt and very high rise pants, looking like they'd get knocked over by a stiff breeze, but still out raking their own leaves. Pure neighbor gold.
What big tools will I need beside a mower?
Wet/dry vac! So handy to have around, a little one is fine if you're space or budget conscious. Wait to buy most big tools until you need them; very likely you can borrow from a neighbor in a pinch if necessary. Consider an electric mower, they're much more pleasant to use than gas. If you do go with a gas engine, get good hearing protectors and wear them every time, even in summer.
For small tools, you should have a 7-in-one ratcheting screwdriver, a normal hammer, a rubber mallet, a pair of pliers, an adjustable wrench and a tape measure. A power drill is a nice-to-have: battery powered tools discussed previously on AskMe. Pick up a non contact voltage tester; absolutely a must for any small electrical work like replacing light fixtures. An infrared temperature gun is very useful for hunting down drafts and leaks.
Am I supposed to pressure wash the siding every so often?
My paint guy says every two years or so for wood shingle/clapboards to maximize the lifespan of the paint job. Definitely get it done if you're got lichen, moss, or mold growth.
I live in Maine if it matters.
The way life should be.
I am no stranger to shoveling snow so no snow blower.
This isn't a question, but the best snow shovel is the SnoFighter by Mt Waldo, Reny's carries them.
It has an attached garage, I've never had a garage in my life, is there maintenance there?
Check that the door between the house and garage is well seated and preferably weather-sealed to prevent exhaust fumes from penetrating the house.
Locate your electrical panel; check that the breakers are decently mapped. Make sure you know where your main water shutoff valve is; if you have exterior spigots, check if there are shutoffs on those pipes inside (ideally you'll close these and drain the spigot before winter).
If you have a wood chimney, start calling around for chimney cleaners now to get on their lists for spring. When was the furnace last serviced? (Should be either in inspector's report or on the furnace itself.) If more than a year ago, get someone out to look at it asap. If you have forced hot air, change the furnace air filter every couple months during the heating season.
If you think you might want to put in a garden next year, fall is a great time to use some of your moving boxes as sheet mulch.
posted by radiogreentea at 7:42 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
What big tools will I need beside a mower?
Wet/dry vac! So handy to have around, a little one is fine if you're space or budget conscious. Wait to buy most big tools until you need them; very likely you can borrow from a neighbor in a pinch if necessary. Consider an electric mower, they're much more pleasant to use than gas. If you do go with a gas engine, get good hearing protectors and wear them every time, even in summer.
For small tools, you should have a 7-in-one ratcheting screwdriver, a normal hammer, a rubber mallet, a pair of pliers, an adjustable wrench and a tape measure. A power drill is a nice-to-have: battery powered tools discussed previously on AskMe. Pick up a non contact voltage tester; absolutely a must for any small electrical work like replacing light fixtures. An infrared temperature gun is very useful for hunting down drafts and leaks.
Am I supposed to pressure wash the siding every so often?
My paint guy says every two years or so for wood shingle/clapboards to maximize the lifespan of the paint job. Definitely get it done if you're got lichen, moss, or mold growth.
I live in Maine if it matters.
The way life should be.
I am no stranger to shoveling snow so no snow blower.
This isn't a question, but the best snow shovel is the SnoFighter by Mt Waldo, Reny's carries them.
It has an attached garage, I've never had a garage in my life, is there maintenance there?
Check that the door between the house and garage is well seated and preferably weather-sealed to prevent exhaust fumes from penetrating the house.
Locate your electrical panel; check that the breakers are decently mapped. Make sure you know where your main water shutoff valve is; if you have exterior spigots, check if there are shutoffs on those pipes inside (ideally you'll close these and drain the spigot before winter).
If you have a wood chimney, start calling around for chimney cleaners now to get on their lists for spring. When was the furnace last serviced? (Should be either in inspector's report or on the furnace itself.) If more than a year ago, get someone out to look at it asap. If you have forced hot air, change the furnace air filter every couple months during the heating season.
If you think you might want to put in a garden next year, fall is a great time to use some of your moving boxes as sheet mulch.
posted by radiogreentea at 7:42 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
I am handy and cheap and my standards are very low
You’re headed for trouble with that last bit. It’s worth your time to take classes at Home Depot or a community college to get acquainted with best practices for woodworking, plumbing, electrical, etc. You’re likely never going to match what a pro can do, but you should definitely be thinking of doing the highest quality work you’re capable of.
Houses basically just sit there falling apart and if you don’t do good repairs I guarantee you it will catch up with you. You can save yourself a lot of pain by investing in training upfront.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:15 PM on September 30 [8 favorites]
You’re headed for trouble with that last bit. It’s worth your time to take classes at Home Depot or a community college to get acquainted with best practices for woodworking, plumbing, electrical, etc. You’re likely never going to match what a pro can do, but you should definitely be thinking of doing the highest quality work you’re capable of.
Houses basically just sit there falling apart and if you don’t do good repairs I guarantee you it will catch up with you. You can save yourself a lot of pain by investing in training upfront.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:15 PM on September 30 [8 favorites]
Congratulations! The first thing you should do is just enjoy your new house. After that, definitely try and get to know the neighbours a bit and harvest recommendations for tradespeople just in case you need them in a hurry, but also ask them about your house, because they may know a surprising amount about its history.
Unless the house already has faults (the building inspection you had done as part of your due diligence pre-purchase should tell you if it does), you don't need to rush into anything, but start learning about the most important kind of house maintenance - the preventive kind. Keep your house in good shape and you dramatically reduce your risk of being woken up by a waterfall going down the stairs.
If you can do maintenance and repairs yourself and know your limitations, you can do almost everything your house will need. Taking the time to learn how to do things properly will pay dividends down the track.
Have fun!
posted by dg at 8:59 PM on September 30
Unless the house already has faults (the building inspection you had done as part of your due diligence pre-purchase should tell you if it does), you don't need to rush into anything, but start learning about the most important kind of house maintenance - the preventive kind. Keep your house in good shape and you dramatically reduce your risk of being woken up by a waterfall going down the stairs.
If you can do maintenance and repairs yourself and know your limitations, you can do almost everything your house will need. Taking the time to learn how to do things properly will pay dividends down the track.
Have fun!
posted by dg at 8:59 PM on September 30
Congrats on now being your own landlord!
Having that much money set aside is good for the first couple years, but after that I'd set up a HELOC and draw on that. You pay it off by $xxx monthly, like your mortgage, so that the HELOC balance goes up in jumps with each project expense but then gradually goes down month by month. Our home improvement budget is about 40% of the mortgage payment.
If not already done, label all of the breakers in the electrical panel. It will probably take you two hours of going back and forth figuring out what is getting turned off each time, or half that time if you have someone to help. There may be some labeling already, and I have yet to encounter a house where this labeling didn't completely suck.
Don't pressure wash the siding, or if you must, use LOW pressure. If you do it wrong you'll blow water under the siding and create a whole new set of problems.
Take any water problems anywhere extremely seriously. Water drips from above, water flowing down an exterior wall because the roof edge / gutter* was installed wrong, water leaks from pipes. In Maine I guess you also have to worry about freezing but someone else here can advise you on those gotchas.
On that note, don't try to do plumbing work yourself. It's expensive as f*** but yeah you need a plumber to do it. (OK, you can replace a toilet valve, or maybe some faucet parts. But piping itself? Pay the money for the pro.)
* LOL at the first comment that defined "gutter". Uh, what? No.
posted by intermod at 9:20 PM on September 30 [4 favorites]
Having that much money set aside is good for the first couple years, but after that I'd set up a HELOC and draw on that. You pay it off by $xxx monthly, like your mortgage, so that the HELOC balance goes up in jumps with each project expense but then gradually goes down month by month. Our home improvement budget is about 40% of the mortgage payment.
If not already done, label all of the breakers in the electrical panel. It will probably take you two hours of going back and forth figuring out what is getting turned off each time, or half that time if you have someone to help. There may be some labeling already, and I have yet to encounter a house where this labeling didn't completely suck.
Don't pressure wash the siding, or if you must, use LOW pressure. If you do it wrong you'll blow water under the siding and create a whole new set of problems.
Take any water problems anywhere extremely seriously. Water drips from above, water flowing down an exterior wall because the roof edge / gutter* was installed wrong, water leaks from pipes. In Maine I guess you also have to worry about freezing but someone else here can advise you on those gotchas.
On that note, don't try to do plumbing work yourself. It's expensive as f*** but yeah you need a plumber to do it. (OK, you can replace a toilet valve, or maybe some faucet parts. But piping itself? Pay the money for the pro.)
* LOL at the first comment that defined "gutter". Uh, what? No.
posted by intermod at 9:20 PM on September 30 [4 favorites]
Welcome to the call-a-contractor-and-say-fuck-this-lets-go-to-the-hardware-store club. You're going to do great.
I think I heard this first from metafilter's own Adam Savage, but when it comes to tools; buy the cheapest tool you need. If it proves useful, and you end up using it until the cheap one breaks. Then you buy the Good One (and at that point, remember that the Good One is not always the most expensive one...but it is usually never the cheap one).
Point of use tool boxes. I stumbled upon this far later than I would have liked to admit in home-ownership: Each room (that has utilities in it) gets a toolbox. Yeah, you have your 'whole house' tools and shit for bigger projects, but each zone that something can go wrong, gets its own kit. This does not need to be fancy; the kit itself part of the tool. They're not durable. You're not a tradesperson; it's okay for these point-of-service toolboxes to be kind of insane in the best way.
For example- The bathroom? Under the sink I keep a small tupperware container with a $4 screwdriver, an adjustable wrench, a specific hex wrench that fits the casing on my shower handle, a length of replacement hose twice that matches the compression fittings on my water supply lines, and an assortment of gaskets, a replacement cartridge for my shower, and a replacement lightbulb for that one weird fixture. I also keep a 3x5 notecard with the size of all the fittings that stick out of every wall. When it comes to things like gaskets or other consumables (filters, duct tape for actual ducts, etc) one is zero. If you use it, make sure you get a replacement to keep down in that box.
This type of kit does two things; it provides you the emergency setup to to put a bandaid on a problem immediately on like a fucking Wednesday, and makes you research all of the stuff that you actually need to know on that Wednesday at like 9pm when you literally spring a leak.
We keep these kits under most sinks, one in with the hot water heater, down near the furnace, etc. Anywhere something could kind of break, we keep the consumables and a few key tools for that zone right there. It's great. It's fucking great.
You will measure projects in swears and the number of trips to said hardware store. And if you're the type that's okay with that, it's very rewarding to fix your shit...and then help your neighbors fix their shit.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:58 PM on September 30 [9 favorites]
I think I heard this first from metafilter's own Adam Savage, but when it comes to tools; buy the cheapest tool you need. If it proves useful, and you end up using it until the cheap one breaks. Then you buy the Good One (and at that point, remember that the Good One is not always the most expensive one...but it is usually never the cheap one).
Point of use tool boxes. I stumbled upon this far later than I would have liked to admit in home-ownership: Each room (that has utilities in it) gets a toolbox. Yeah, you have your 'whole house' tools and shit for bigger projects, but each zone that something can go wrong, gets its own kit. This does not need to be fancy; the kit itself part of the tool. They're not durable. You're not a tradesperson; it's okay for these point-of-service toolboxes to be kind of insane in the best way.
For example- The bathroom? Under the sink I keep a small tupperware container with a $4 screwdriver, an adjustable wrench, a specific hex wrench that fits the casing on my shower handle, a length of replacement hose twice that matches the compression fittings on my water supply lines, and an assortment of gaskets, a replacement cartridge for my shower, and a replacement lightbulb for that one weird fixture. I also keep a 3x5 notecard with the size of all the fittings that stick out of every wall. When it comes to things like gaskets or other consumables (filters, duct tape for actual ducts, etc) one is zero. If you use it, make sure you get a replacement to keep down in that box.
This type of kit does two things; it provides you the emergency setup to to put a bandaid on a problem immediately on like a fucking Wednesday, and makes you research all of the stuff that you actually need to know on that Wednesday at like 9pm when you literally spring a leak.
We keep these kits under most sinks, one in with the hot water heater, down near the furnace, etc. Anywhere something could kind of break, we keep the consumables and a few key tools for that zone right there. It's great. It's fucking great.
You will measure projects in swears and the number of trips to said hardware store. And if you're the type that's okay with that, it's very rewarding to fix your shit...and then help your neighbors fix their shit.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:58 PM on September 30 [9 favorites]
If you’ve never been your own handy person before, you may really benefit from doing a few projects with a handyman at first. It may give you ideas and confidence in your approach. That and YouTube.
My advice is to meet your neighbors and ask them about your house - but do it in a sneaky way designed to get them talking by asking them about THEIR house. “I noticed our light switches are still from like, the 70s. Are yours older too? Did you switch them out yourself or get an electrician?” Or, “I love the dormer windows you have there. Do you seal them up in the winter or are they double panes?” Etc etc.
posted by samthemander at 11:58 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
My advice is to meet your neighbors and ask them about your house - but do it in a sneaky way designed to get them talking by asking them about THEIR house. “I noticed our light switches are still from like, the 70s. Are yours older too? Did you switch them out yourself or get an electrician?” Or, “I love the dormer windows you have there. Do you seal them up in the winter or are they double panes?” Etc etc.
posted by samthemander at 11:58 PM on September 30 [2 favorites]
1. Essentially anything that goes wrong with a toilet can be fixed by the homeowner.
2. If a job looks diifficult, ask yourself whether there is a tool that makes it easier. Or ask the guy at the hardware store.
3. Tools come in different levels of cost and quality. Avoid the cheapest unless its for a one-time use and you are positive it's good enough. On the other hand, you don't need the durability of the professional grade.
4. Painters spend more time preping the surface than painting. Lawn guys spend more time preping the dirt than sowing seed or installing sod. There is something to learn about life in that.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:29 AM on October 1 [3 favorites]
2. If a job looks diifficult, ask yourself whether there is a tool that makes it easier. Or ask the guy at the hardware store.
3. Tools come in different levels of cost and quality. Avoid the cheapest unless its for a one-time use and you are positive it's good enough. On the other hand, you don't need the durability of the professional grade.
4. Painters spend more time preping the surface than painting. Lawn guys spend more time preping the dirt than sowing seed or installing sod. There is something to learn about life in that.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:29 AM on October 1 [3 favorites]
Did you like the guy who did the home inspection? If so, maybe contact him and see if you can hire him for a few hours to walk through the house to point out what you will have to watch out for, what needs maintenance, etc.
posted by Sophont at 5:42 AM on October 1 [3 favorites]
posted by Sophont at 5:42 AM on October 1 [3 favorites]
I am not nearly as handy or proactive as some of the above commenters, I own for fewer tools than they do, and I’ve lived in houses I’ve owned for decades, and they haven’t fallen down around me. So if some of the above is overwhelming, reassure yourself that you may be getting some selection bias in who is responding to this kind of question.
That said, a lot of the stuff that comes with a house has a user’s manual, and preventative maintenance suggestions are in those manuals. Things like the garage door opener you mentioned, and your water heater, furnace, washing machine, bathroom fan — all that kind of stuff. If the seller has those manuals and can leave them for you, great. Otherwise, they are googleable online. I went through and made a consolidated list of what’s supposed to be done and when/how often. In most cases, the suggested maintenance schedules are way more than is actually needed. But I’ll at least take a look at the thing that it’s telling me to clean out or replace or whatever and make my own judgment about whether that task needs doing.
posted by daisyace at 6:15 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
That said, a lot of the stuff that comes with a house has a user’s manual, and preventative maintenance suggestions are in those manuals. Things like the garage door opener you mentioned, and your water heater, furnace, washing machine, bathroom fan — all that kind of stuff. If the seller has those manuals and can leave them for you, great. Otherwise, they are googleable online. I went through and made a consolidated list of what’s supposed to be done and when/how often. In most cases, the suggested maintenance schedules are way more than is actually needed. But I’ll at least take a look at the thing that it’s telling me to clean out or replace or whatever and make my own judgment about whether that task needs doing.
posted by daisyace at 6:15 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
If you like and trust them, your realtor can be a great resource for contractor/handyman recommendations.
Congrats, and enjoy your new home!
posted by Sparky Buttons at 6:51 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
Congrats, and enjoy your new home!
posted by Sparky Buttons at 6:51 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
I am handy and cheap and my standards are very low, so all of the maintenance I can do myself I will.
From the square footage I'm guessing it's a single story house, but depending on the roof height/pitch I'd seriously consider leaving any roof-related tasks to professionals. Life's too short to worry about falling and breaking something to save a few bucks.
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:53 AM on October 1
From the square footage I'm guessing it's a single story house, but depending on the roof height/pitch I'd seriously consider leaving any roof-related tasks to professionals. Life's too short to worry about falling and breaking something to save a few bucks.
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:53 AM on October 1
Newish homeowner here (and remote - my mom lives in the house I bought). A lot of this will depend on how old your house is. Keeping gutters (the things on the roof, not the things in the street) clear and immediately addressing any water where it shouldn't be are universally good. But if you're in an old place (mine is ~100 years old) have someone come out and take a look at your electrical. Your inspector would have noted anything that is an active problem but it is good to know what type of wiring you have in which parts of your house, and where maintenance/replacement might come in. When electric goes bad you're either in the dark or on fire so don't be caught by surprise!
The garage doesn't need active maintenance the way the house does but it's good to keep it clean, clear of too much stuff, and free of animals. Also whatever electric it has, same deal -- make sure someone looks at that.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 6:53 AM on October 1
The garage doesn't need active maintenance the way the house does but it's good to keep it clean, clear of too much stuff, and free of animals. Also whatever electric it has, same deal -- make sure someone looks at that.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 6:53 AM on October 1
Check that the door between the house and garage is well seated and preferably weather-sealed to prevent exhaust fumes from penetrating the house.
Whether you have such a door or not, you absolutely need to have a carbon monoxide detector in the house, probably more than one and you need to replace them every ten years. You should have this even if you don't have an attached garage, but with an attached garage it's extra important.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:03 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
Whether you have such a door or not, you absolutely need to have a carbon monoxide detector in the house, probably more than one and you need to replace them every ten years. You should have this even if you don't have an attached garage, but with an attached garage it's extra important.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:03 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
Recently celebrated my 25th anniversary in the same house. (Minnesota, but more urban.)
Plenty of good advice upthread. Living in Minnesota, you get a lot of "you MUST do X or else BAD THINGS, ya know" advice that's blown way out of proportion, the suggestions here are much more reasonable.
$30k is a good homeowner emergency fund to have--pat yourself on the back for that. Suggestion to augment it with a HELOC is also a good idea.
What have I hired people to do in 25 years? New roof, new windows upstairs, new garage roof-soffits-fascia, new dining room floor, new carpet, new front door, cabinet refacing in the kitchen, appliance replacement (including a couple of water heaters), new furnace and added air conditioning. Various small to medium plumbing jobs, plus bathtub refinishing. What do I need to do? Probably electrical and deck replacement (I do work on the deck every couple of years).
Oh, and the city condemned a giant tree in my back yard, so I entertained the neighborhood by bringing in a 35-ton crane and having it removed chunk by chunk.
That sounds like a lot, but it's a summary of 25 years of stuff, so it didn't hit all at once. Being ready for medium-sized things that cost a few hundred dollars is important ("why is there no hot water")--the bigger stuff you can typically catch and plan around.
Point being, your $30k fund, if you replenish it after dipping into it, should have you covered well, if your situation ends up being similar to mine. Again, the HELOC for flexibility is good to have in your back pocket, too.
Tools? Reciprocating saw gets a lot of use. A drill, of course. Mitre saw comes in handy, but I lived a long time without it. Other power tools may be useful, depends on how much remodeling you want to do on your own. Some really basic electrical safety stuff like a voltage checker and heavy rubber gloves are good to have on hand. Fiskars trimmer for plants that get out of hand. Yeah, if you do a specific project like re-tiling your bathroom, you'll accumulate a lot of stuff for that set of use cases....but otherwise, you don't need all that much. And if you do need something else, Home Depot/Lowe's/Menards/Ace is a drive away.
posted by gimonca at 7:14 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
Plenty of good advice upthread. Living in Minnesota, you get a lot of "you MUST do X or else BAD THINGS, ya know" advice that's blown way out of proportion, the suggestions here are much more reasonable.
$30k is a good homeowner emergency fund to have--pat yourself on the back for that. Suggestion to augment it with a HELOC is also a good idea.
What have I hired people to do in 25 years? New roof, new windows upstairs, new garage roof-soffits-fascia, new dining room floor, new carpet, new front door, cabinet refacing in the kitchen, appliance replacement (including a couple of water heaters), new furnace and added air conditioning. Various small to medium plumbing jobs, plus bathtub refinishing. What do I need to do? Probably electrical and deck replacement (I do work on the deck every couple of years).
Oh, and the city condemned a giant tree in my back yard, so I entertained the neighborhood by bringing in a 35-ton crane and having it removed chunk by chunk.
That sounds like a lot, but it's a summary of 25 years of stuff, so it didn't hit all at once. Being ready for medium-sized things that cost a few hundred dollars is important ("why is there no hot water")--the bigger stuff you can typically catch and plan around.
Point being, your $30k fund, if you replenish it after dipping into it, should have you covered well, if your situation ends up being similar to mine. Again, the HELOC for flexibility is good to have in your back pocket, too.
Tools? Reciprocating saw gets a lot of use. A drill, of course. Mitre saw comes in handy, but I lived a long time without it. Other power tools may be useful, depends on how much remodeling you want to do on your own. Some really basic electrical safety stuff like a voltage checker and heavy rubber gloves are good to have on hand. Fiskars trimmer for plants that get out of hand. Yeah, if you do a specific project like re-tiling your bathroom, you'll accumulate a lot of stuff for that set of use cases....but otherwise, you don't need all that much. And if you do need something else, Home Depot/Lowe's/Menards/Ace is a drive away.
posted by gimonca at 7:14 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
Wow, lots of responses but no one has mentioned ice dams! Ice dams in the gutter will mess up your house in an expensive way due to water damage. Here is some information about how to prevent them.
As they say, "the best defense is a good offense." Find maintenance people and get maintenance done on a regular cycle. Get your heat checked every fall and your air conditioning (if you have it) checked every spring. Get your gutters cleared of leaves once a year. (You may be able to do this yourself, but if your house is two stories it might be worth hiring a professional just because of the whole falling-off-a-ladder concern.) You live in Maine, where there are two types of houses: ones that have termites and ones that have not had termites yet. If your house has not been inspected for termites, get a pest company to do so and get it checked at least once every couple of years. Make sure that there is no soil ever, ever, ever touching the wood siding of your house.
Things to watch out for:
- if you have sewer service, the pipe that connects your sewer to the street rupturing. This will leave you without toilets for days and is an expensive repair. Sometimes they decay, sometimes a tree root grows through, sometimes other things happen. If you didn't get a drain service to inspect your sewer line, do it now. If it has problems, better to fix it now than when it falls apart.
- If you have a septic tank: is there a part of your lawn that is spectacularly green, much more than the rest of it? Congratulations, you have found the location of your leaking septic tank and you need to get it repaired.
- Many older homes (pre-1970) have oil tanks buried under the yard that were used for heat. Many of these oil tanks leak. Do you know if you have one? Find out.
posted by rednikki at 7:43 AM on October 1
As they say, "the best defense is a good offense." Find maintenance people and get maintenance done on a regular cycle. Get your heat checked every fall and your air conditioning (if you have it) checked every spring. Get your gutters cleared of leaves once a year. (You may be able to do this yourself, but if your house is two stories it might be worth hiring a professional just because of the whole falling-off-a-ladder concern.) You live in Maine, where there are two types of houses: ones that have termites and ones that have not had termites yet. If your house has not been inspected for termites, get a pest company to do so and get it checked at least once every couple of years. Make sure that there is no soil ever, ever, ever touching the wood siding of your house.
Things to watch out for:
- if you have sewer service, the pipe that connects your sewer to the street rupturing. This will leave you without toilets for days and is an expensive repair. Sometimes they decay, sometimes a tree root grows through, sometimes other things happen. If you didn't get a drain service to inspect your sewer line, do it now. If it has problems, better to fix it now than when it falls apart.
- If you have a septic tank: is there a part of your lawn that is spectacularly green, much more than the rest of it? Congratulations, you have found the location of your leaking septic tank and you need to get it repaired.
- Many older homes (pre-1970) have oil tanks buried under the yard that were used for heat. Many of these oil tanks leak. Do you know if you have one? Find out.
posted by rednikki at 7:43 AM on October 1
Know how to shut off the water to your house.
posted by HotToddy at 5:11 PM on September 30
YES. You might have to get this one tool that is a little maybe three-foot iron pole, black, with a T at the top to turn it and a whatsit at the bottom, a wrench? A little curved fitting at the bottom that you fit over the raised bar thing on the water main at the street to turn the water off. You turn the bar 90 degrees, usually perpendicular to how the pipe runs into your house, to turn the water off. That way if a pipe breaks somewhere in a wall and water begins gushing into your vulnerable house, you resist the overpowering urge to try to handle the problem where you see it happening and instead run for the wrench, run for the watermain in the ground near the street probably, and turn the water off at the source. Then go back and mop up and call the emergency plumber.
You need that thing and a fire extinguisher, and these go in one easily accessible place as near as possible to where they would be used. They are never moved from that place unless they are in use.
Think about all the forces of nature that can take down your house. Water*. Fire**. Wind. Animals***.
*in all its forms including snow, ice, and what the British call "the damp," that leads to the black mold.
**Don't forget to worry about fire starting in appliances. Clothes dryer vents. Dishwashers bursting into flame. Wiring, see below.
***termites. Squirrels/rats in the attic nibbling wiring causing fires.
The fire department in our town occasionally does a thing where they'll give you a smoke/carbon monoxide detector for free. They like to demonstrate how to use fire extinguishers and they'll test your fire extinguisher to make sure it's operable.
Obviously you don't want the house you bought for the kid to kill the kid, so in addition to thinking about all the things that could destroy the house, think about how the house could destroy the people living in it. Consider carbon monoxide, general air quality, trees that could fall on people, steep driveways with play areas at the base of them, dicey electrical, yadda yadda yadda. Chances are reasonably good that nothing will go catastrophically wrong, but you'll feel better if you keep monitoring for problems and decay, anyway, and pecking, pecking, pecking away, fixing things, fixing things, fixing things, always improving, starting with the next-most-likely to catastrophically fail thing, always with an eye to safety for both you and the house.
posted by Don Pepino at 8:05 AM on October 1
posted by HotToddy at 5:11 PM on September 30
YES. You might have to get this one tool that is a little maybe three-foot iron pole, black, with a T at the top to turn it and a whatsit at the bottom, a wrench? A little curved fitting at the bottom that you fit over the raised bar thing on the water main at the street to turn the water off. You turn the bar 90 degrees, usually perpendicular to how the pipe runs into your house, to turn the water off. That way if a pipe breaks somewhere in a wall and water begins gushing into your vulnerable house, you resist the overpowering urge to try to handle the problem where you see it happening and instead run for the wrench, run for the watermain in the ground near the street probably, and turn the water off at the source. Then go back and mop up and call the emergency plumber.
You need that thing and a fire extinguisher, and these go in one easily accessible place as near as possible to where they would be used. They are never moved from that place unless they are in use.
Think about all the forces of nature that can take down your house. Water*. Fire**. Wind. Animals***.
*in all its forms including snow, ice, and what the British call "the damp," that leads to the black mold.
**Don't forget to worry about fire starting in appliances. Clothes dryer vents. Dishwashers bursting into flame. Wiring, see below.
***termites. Squirrels/rats in the attic nibbling wiring causing fires.
The fire department in our town occasionally does a thing where they'll give you a smoke/carbon monoxide detector for free. They like to demonstrate how to use fire extinguishers and they'll test your fire extinguisher to make sure it's operable.
Obviously you don't want the house you bought for the kid to kill the kid, so in addition to thinking about all the things that could destroy the house, think about how the house could destroy the people living in it. Consider carbon monoxide, general air quality, trees that could fall on people, steep driveways with play areas at the base of them, dicey electrical, yadda yadda yadda. Chances are reasonably good that nothing will go catastrophically wrong, but you'll feel better if you keep monitoring for problems and decay, anyway, and pecking, pecking, pecking away, fixing things, fixing things, fixing things, always improving, starting with the next-most-likely to catastrophically fail thing, always with an eye to safety for both you and the house.
posted by Don Pepino at 8:05 AM on October 1
make sure that you know how much it's going to cost and then plan on spending more on it
Somewhere in The Gripping Hand I read this, so I call it Niven's Law:
posted by Rash at 9:39 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
Somewhere in The Gripping Hand I read this, so I call it Niven's Law:
It always takes longer. And costs more.Applicable to home repairs and improvements, among many other things.
posted by Rash at 9:39 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
We had the dryer vents vacuumed out first thing.
Similarly, put new batteries in fire detectors (or swap with fire + carbon monoxide detector — typically replace fire detectors every 10 years so previous owner may not have done this) and put a new filter in the furnace.
Test all the appliances - heat the oven, run dish washer, use oven fan, use washing machine, flush all toilets and run all showers etc. report any issues to your agent. Same if previous owners left a lot of junk in the house - agent should get it taken care of.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:52 PM on October 2
Similarly, put new batteries in fire detectors (or swap with fire + carbon monoxide detector — typically replace fire detectors every 10 years so previous owner may not have done this) and put a new filter in the furnace.
Test all the appliances - heat the oven, run dish washer, use oven fan, use washing machine, flush all toilets and run all showers etc. report any issues to your agent. Same if previous owners left a lot of junk in the house - agent should get it taken care of.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:52 PM on October 2
Mod note: [Congratulations on your new home, pintapicasso! This helpful thread has been added to the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 11:44 PM on October 5
posted by taz (staff) at 11:44 PM on October 5
Oiling things!
Your garage door may be an up-and-over (solid metal door, which slides up and into the garage space, and has got nice balance/doesn't take much lifting).
If you look directly over the door, inside the garage, there may be a loooong thick spring stretching from side to side. If there is, drench that spring it in 3-in-1 oil, once a year.
(That's what helps the door to lift smoothly. If unoiled, the coils start to chafe against one another, and can break, and replacing the spring is expensive.)
Also if you have PVC windows, oil the window hinges once a year.
These are two things I never knew myself (garage spring went unoiled for 15 years) - hope the new guidance isn't overwhelming, and enjoy the house!
posted by Socksmith at 4:45 AM on October 7 [1 favorite]
Your garage door may be an up-and-over (solid metal door, which slides up and into the garage space, and has got nice balance/doesn't take much lifting).
If you look directly over the door, inside the garage, there may be a loooong thick spring stretching from side to side. If there is, drench that spring it in 3-in-1 oil, once a year.
(That's what helps the door to lift smoothly. If unoiled, the coils start to chafe against one another, and can break, and replacing the spring is expensive.)
Also if you have PVC windows, oil the window hinges once a year.
These are two things I never knew myself (garage spring went unoiled for 15 years) - hope the new guidance isn't overwhelming, and enjoy the house!
posted by Socksmith at 4:45 AM on October 7 [1 favorite]
Congrats!
At any point, something is probably quietly going wrong with your house. You’ll eventually find out what it is — a roof tile slipped and letting in water that damages a ceiling, your drain clogging, a floor joist rotting, some mortar crumbling, mould growing behind appliances…
It’s been helpful for me to just get used to the idea, and choose not to panic because they’re all solvable. Many of them are even fun to fix, once you stop swearing about the problem!
As for how to spot them early: don’t ignore things that seem a bit odd. Investigate stains, creaks, things that move unexpectedly. This goes double for smells.
Also, while cheap-ish tools are generally great and my garage is full of them, sometimes a premium piece of kit will make the end result better and make the job easier - especially when it comes to hand tools. Eg., it’s much easier for a novice to patch plaster smoothly with a flex edge trowel, and a higher quality screwdriver (+screws) will strip and slip much less.
Oh, and buy a good ladder with more reach than you think you need.
posted by breakfast burrito at 4:22 PM on October 7
At any point, something is probably quietly going wrong with your house. You’ll eventually find out what it is — a roof tile slipped and letting in water that damages a ceiling, your drain clogging, a floor joist rotting, some mortar crumbling, mould growing behind appliances…
It’s been helpful for me to just get used to the idea, and choose not to panic because they’re all solvable. Many of them are even fun to fix, once you stop swearing about the problem!
As for how to spot them early: don’t ignore things that seem a bit odd. Investigate stains, creaks, things that move unexpectedly. This goes double for smells.
Also, while cheap-ish tools are generally great and my garage is full of them, sometimes a premium piece of kit will make the end result better and make the job easier - especially when it comes to hand tools. Eg., it’s much easier for a novice to patch plaster smoothly with a flex edge trowel, and a higher quality screwdriver (+screws) will strip and slip much less.
Oh, and buy a good ladder with more reach than you think you need.
posted by breakfast burrito at 4:22 PM on October 7
Was waiting for the mention of a decent ladder. I have found that a good step ladder for indoors as well as a long ladder for outdoors is very useful.
My comment on home ownership is, "The first twelve months are the WORST twelve months." You always seem to be putting your hand in your pocket for YET ANOTHER bill or ANOTHER visit to the hardware shop.
Get a list of what your household bills are going to be - utilities, insurance, council/local rates, etc - and make sure that they are being paid and that the correct details are on all of the accounts. Remember, you may have set some of these up before you moved and your old address may be on the account.
Print out three or four sheets of sticky labels with your new address on them and go back to your old place with a box of chocolates or bunch of flowers and give them to the new occupants, and explain you were the former tenant and that while you have done mail redirection, there may be some letters which miss the redirection, so all they need to do is peel off a label and drop the letter back into a mailbox, and to let you know if they need more labels.
Don't do any major renovations until you have been in the house for a full year. You need to know how different seasons affect the different parts of the house, where the light is, where the wind sneaks in, etc.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 7:21 PM on October 7
My comment on home ownership is, "The first twelve months are the WORST twelve months." You always seem to be putting your hand in your pocket for YET ANOTHER bill or ANOTHER visit to the hardware shop.
Get a list of what your household bills are going to be - utilities, insurance, council/local rates, etc - and make sure that they are being paid and that the correct details are on all of the accounts. Remember, you may have set some of these up before you moved and your old address may be on the account.
Print out three or four sheets of sticky labels with your new address on them and go back to your old place with a box of chocolates or bunch of flowers and give them to the new occupants, and explain you were the former tenant and that while you have done mail redirection, there may be some letters which miss the redirection, so all they need to do is peel off a label and drop the letter back into a mailbox, and to let you know if they need more labels.
Don't do any major renovations until you have been in the house for a full year. You need to know how different seasons affect the different parts of the house, where the light is, where the wind sneaks in, etc.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 7:21 PM on October 7
Don't do any major renovations until you have been in the house for a full year.
Good advice. This may however make you less likely to ever do them due to the disruption (looks guiltily around…). If you might have big systemic jobs done - we had our house rewired and a new heating system - they can be a notable exception to that rule, as they make such a catastrophic mess it probably makes sense to rip that bandaid off.
posted by breakfast burrito at 5:39 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]
Good advice. This may however make you less likely to ever do them due to the disruption (looks guiltily around…). If you might have big systemic jobs done - we had our house rewired and a new heating system - they can be a notable exception to that rule, as they make such a catastrophic mess it probably makes sense to rip that bandaid off.
posted by breakfast burrito at 5:39 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]
gutters (the things on the roof, not the things in the street)
Yeah the top-level aspect of this Ask wasn't really addressed. Gutters are narrow troughs which collect rainwater, either in the street, running along the curb; or at the bottom edge of slanted roof-tops, or roofs (which I always want to pronounce rooves but that's another issue). If it rains a lot, gutters are an amenity which only the most basic of houses lack. Trouble is autumn leaves clog their downspouts* up. There's also a pair of gutters along each side of a bowling alley - it's where my ball usually winds up, if I'm ever made to play that sport.
Plus there's a verbal aspect of gutter: in Cats Grizabella sings of streetlamps guttering, in "Memory" but my dictionary says it's actually about candles, when the bowl of candle-wax isn't uniform and a hole appears in the side.
*another word I didn't know until I became a homeowner
posted by Rash at 9:56 AM on October 18
Yeah the top-level aspect of this Ask wasn't really addressed. Gutters are narrow troughs which collect rainwater, either in the street, running along the curb; or at the bottom edge of slanted roof-tops, or roofs (which I always want to pronounce rooves but that's another issue). If it rains a lot, gutters are an amenity which only the most basic of houses lack. Trouble is autumn leaves clog their downspouts* up. There's also a pair of gutters along each side of a bowling alley - it's where my ball usually winds up, if I'm ever made to play that sport.
Plus there's a verbal aspect of gutter: in Cats Grizabella sings of streetlamps guttering, in "Memory" but my dictionary says it's actually about candles, when the bowl of candle-wax isn't uniform and a hole appears in the side.
*another word I didn't know until I became a homeowner
posted by Rash at 9:56 AM on October 18
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You should do whatever is necessary to keep water from pooling around the edges of your house. So make sure your downspouts are pointed away from your house. Make sure the general landscape (like the dirt and any pavement immediately adjacent to your house) slopes away from your house not towards it, if possible, like not dramatically so, but just the way the tile in your shower slopes towards the drain. This is something that you kind of pay attention to from time to time especially when it rains just to make sure you don't end up with water coming in when the snow melts or if you get a bad storm.
If you have an under-the-house area, like under a porch or some such, you might get animals living or dying there at some point.
If you have an over-the-house area, like an attic, you might get animals living, or dying, there at some point. Squirrels can destroy your roof, easily. And they can do it over and over again.
Be aware of trees near your house. How likely are they to fall in a bad storm and where would they land. On your house? Where are their roots? Are they going to damage your basement/foundation? Be aware of saplings. Saplings become trees. You can cut down a sapling. But around here once a tree reaches a certain size you cannot cut it down with permission from the city and then you have to get a permit from the Office of the Tree Advocate. Your tree has a free lawyer once it gets big enough, so unless you want to get a lawyer, think about whether you want to let it get big enough in a given location. (I have no idea if Maine provides lawyers for trees....also I have no idea if the Office of the Tree Advocate actually provides lawyers for trees, but it is actually called that and they will come put a fence with a sign that says "Tree Protection Zone" around your tree if you are doing construction anywhere near it).
Don't feed bears. There was a book posted about that on the Blue. I think it was in Maine.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:30 PM on September 30 [5 favorites]