HouseMaster

The secret of HouseMastery, as indicated in our previous columns, is to develop manageable, preventive maintenance routines that keep you in command of that complex engine and your most valuable asset – your home.  No amount of maintenance, of course, can postpone such requirements as a new roof or a painting project.  But, there are ways, in the meantime, to keep structural and operating parts at peak performance.

Insects, in some areas, cause even more damage than moisture problems we outlined in a previous column.  But in a one-hour-or-less inspection tour, tied-in with the moisture-damage inspection, you can detect and repel the invaders.  The most feared insects in most parts of North America are termites.

Contrary to a common misconception, these cellulose-seekers do not live in your floors or framing.  They nest in soil adjoining prospective feeding grounds such as wooden porches, barns and other relatively accessible lumber.  They're ingenious at avoiding light, as well as obtaining their cellulose supplies from the insides of beams and boards without penetrating to the outside areas.  Termites are sophisticated engineers, building shelter tubes in the unlikeliest of areas.

This cleverness at concealment makes termites so fearsome to homeowners.  But a HouseMaster can outsmart them with periodic surveillance.  Prevention is possible, to the extent that you can keep the areas surrounding your home free from moisture-holding conditions.  You must also keep wood relatively inaccessible.  In most cases, the need for detection outweighs the opportunities for prevention.

One means of detection is a periodic look around the outside of your home's foundation, above the soil, for termite tubes.  These are lines of mud leading from the soil to the sill plate or to other wooden portions of the structure.  They may be spotted sometimes indoors, especially if there are areas of moist soil beneath the house or attached elements such as stairs.

The second detection method is to take an opportunity to poke with a probe screwdriver whatever wood termites might conceivably reach from the soil.  Bear in mind that in the foundations of unfilled concrete block, termites often manage to use the hollow interiors as built-in tunnels, eliminating the most visible sign of their presence.  Periodic probing of basement beams and other low-lying wood components in homes with such foundations is especially important.

If you detect termites you have to destroy the next, not just the invaders feeding on your woodwork at that moment.  A homeowner with "HouseMastery" skills will hire a professional exterminator to carry out your counter-attack.

Take time to smell the roses!  That’s always good advice.  But anyone in full command of his or her home will also take time to inspect all of the trees and shrubbery surrounding the home while visiting the fragrant flowerbeds…

The secret of HouseMastery is to head off major repair or replacement projects with periodic preventive maintenance inspection tours, with each tour focusing on an easily managed subject.  This way you can enjoy a sense of accomplishment, as well as the smell of roses, by recognizing some of the potential problems that may develop on the grounds adjoining your home.

Take a pair of pruning shears along.  It’s a snap to cut back any plant growth that could serve as a bridge for insects to reach your home, or thicken into abrasive paint scrapers.  You might want to drag out the ladder if you spot tree branches that could abrade roof shingles, scrape screens, or threaten other parts of your home.   In judging safe distances for tree branches keep in mind that while branches may provide temperature-moderating shade in hot weather, they may become bent and broken (or even the entire tree may be uprooted) during storms and hurricanes.  In addition, trees can attract lightning during electrical storms, and if your home is within the same electro magnetic field any potential lightning strike would be dangerous to your home and your family.

Look down on your tour, as well as up.  It’s best to have a slight slope on the ground adjacent to the foundation of yourhome to drain surface water away from the walls.  Check for low spots in your lawn that may need filling with soil.  But don’t build mulch up to close to the siding.  This can present an opportunity for insects to enter the foundation of your home.

Be sure to keep an eye out for cracks in the foundation, brickwork or even the driveway.  If you find any cracks, chisel them wider and fill them while they’re still a minor inconvenience.

If you find nothing that needs your attention on this particular exterior tour of your home, the flowers will smell even sweeter and you’ll be entitled to the wonderful feeling of accomplishment and “HouseMastery!”

One of the little realized satisfactions of homeownership is enjoying the essence of the “mastery” that goes with the routine inspection and maintenance of your property.  Your home, in operation, is a great engine that performs many functions for you and your family.  If you keep it in good working order, you can enjoy the same sense of command that locomotive engineers project when climbing into their cab after a thorough inspection of their locomotive – knowing every wheel and driver, every pipe and seam will perform as expected.

If you haven’t acquired the habits of a housemaster yet, Spring is an excellent season in which to start!

By now - whether you take care of your own outdoor chores or hire others to perform the work for you - you may be bored, or even “had it up to here” with the annual routine of caring for your lawn; garden; pool; patio furniture and other areas of your home that require constant maintenance and upkeep.

Before you settle down to watching the weeds emerge or the insects take over your trees and shrubbery, take an hour-or-so break to inspect any and all woodwork on and around the outside of your home.  Take a large screwdriver, a flashlight (if you have any crawlspaces or deeply shadowed overhangs), and a ladder for reaching high spots. 

The object of a systematic close-up inspection is to find out if there is any decay developing, and to address it before the damage level becomes significant.  The most vulnerable areas are wooden surfaces subject to frequent moisture exposure, or which do not drain quickly.  These may include lower reaches of wood siding in contact with soil; improperly designed window and door ledges; porches and patios on which rain accumulates; pillars and posts resting directly on bare ground or on bases that collect puddles; wooden rain gutters; or fascia boards or siding exposed to raingutter overflows and leaks.

Perimeter walls without a vapor barrier facing inward to keep moisture from passing to the outer surface, and metal facings which can collect condensation and transmit it to adjoining wood also stimulate decay.  In areas not obviously affected by rain, a telltale sign of chronic moisture invasion is blistering paint.  

If you probe suspect areas with a screwdriver and find spongy or crumbly wood you will know immediately that you’ve hit a trouble spot.  True HouseMastery then requires not just the repair, replacement or re-painting of the area, but the correction of the condition that caused the moisture to settle in or on the affected area.