Enjoyment and Ongoing Maintenance

As nice as it would be, it never finishes here! There are always things to be done – touchups to work, things that didn’t get fitted into the original budget , changes to what was done originally, repairs to items that have broken in the meantime.

Ensure you maintain your house, now your home, regularly:

• Check and clear gutters regularly. The last thing you want to be doing is standing on a slippery aluminium ladder in a storm at 2am with buckets of water coming down while clearing out your overflowing gutter (you really don’t want to be doing this).
• Painting needs to be regularly done – timing is dependent on materials, colour, quality of paint and exposure to weather but get it done, even if you have to listen to the cricket while you paint.
• Decks and paths, especially where shaded, can grow moss and this can be slippery and dangerous. Clean regularly.
• Check drains to make sure they’re clear.
• Check filters in the water system to ensure steady pressure.
• Clean your septic tank regularly if you have one.
• Check your roof – it’s what keeps you dry – replace cracked or broken tiles or monitor condition of the steel.
• Ensure plenty of mulch or bark goes on your garden a couple of times a year – it’ll save a heap of time on weeding.
• Make sure little jobs around the place get dealt to – studies have shown that taking care of these can add three years to your life (it’s true!)
• Get your chimney cleaned regularly – some insurance policies won’t cover chimney fires unless you can prove it’s been cleaned.
• Clean the outside of windows – you’ll be surprised what a really wonderful difference it can make inside.

Finally, enjoy what you’ve achieved. The amount of time, effort and money you’ve spent on this project has been done so that you have something you’ll love. Take time to sit and look and enjoy what you’ve built. You’ve earned it!