Why You Should Do a New Year Home Evaluation
As 2018 gets underway, when you’re getting all the other parts of your life in order (if you’re the resolution type), why not take a little extra time to make sure your home is in order, too? Doing a ‘new year’ home evaluation might seem like overkill, but you might be surprised at the things that are overlooked when we’re simply busy living our lives. In order to make sure everything is in tip top shape and working as it should, there’s a whole host of things you can be looking out for. Some are reasonably easy for you to check yourself, while others usually require the expertise of a professional.
What’s a Home Evaluation?
Evaluating your home can mean different things to different people. For some, it might mean making sure everything is safe and in good working order, and that structurally things are still sound. For others, it might mean learning what can be done to improve their quality of life, introduce more modern technology, or make the home more efficient. And for others, it might include going over the ‘honey do’ list that never gets done. Ideally, evaluations can help you address any of these perspectives.
For example, evaluations that we perform are aimed at some of the main systems in your home. We do three separate types of annual evaluations – a heating and/or cooling evaluation, an electrical evaluation, and a plumbing evaluation. There’s enough going on with each of those separate elements that to do them all in one fell swoop might do your home a disservice and increase the likelihood of missing something important. (Plus, no one wants even their favorite technician hanging out in their home for a whole day.)
What You Should Consider
So you’ve decided evaluating your home is a good idea and you’re wondering where to start. There are some things that you can do yourself. Checking for cracks in foundations or walls, loose plumbing fixtures or electrical outlets, flickering lights, water on the floor where it shouldn’t be, stains or mold on the walls or ceiling, and the status of filters and smoke detectors are examples of things that come to mind. If your inspection identifies anything that should be addressed, you can ‘do-it-yourself’ or call in hired help.
Other things requiring regular inspection can be more technical or require specialized equipment, making it a challenge for “Jane or Joe Homeowner.” A few examples are measuring the electrical draw on motors, checking gas appliances for carbon monoxide or gas leaks, testing the household water pressure, or inspecting your home’s main electrical panel. For those more specialized things, a professional in that field would be needed.
Benefits of an Annual Maintenance Plan
We offer annual evaluations to cover many of the key areas of your home. Our typical annual maintenance program provides separate, thorough reviews of your electrical and plumbing systems. It also includes a thorough review of your HVAC system, including an annual tune and clean of the furnace or boiler and the water heater. If you have a cooling system, we will also tune, clean and assess that system.
Our annual maintenance plans are offered at discounted rates, and are performed at a time of year when we’re not buried with ‘no-heat’ or ‘no-AC’ calls and are forced to juggle manpower. Your systems receive the personal, professional attention to detail that you deserve. Our annual plans also provide discounts on repairs and equipment replacements or upgrades.
Checking all the boxes with an expert eye makes it easier for you to let loose that sigh of relief knowing that your home is safe, efficient, comfortable, and all of the components that keep it that way are working as they should. If there are issues, we will work with you to address them in a way that meets your objectives. Or, if you’d like to discuss the latest technology or the little projects that you’ve been putting off for years, that’s part of the process too.
If you’re in the Denver/Boulder area and you’re struggling to remember the last time you checked any of the things on this list, give us a call. After all, why shouldn’t you start off your 2018 knowing your home is as safe and comfortable as you deserve?
