Maintenance of building is a topic which is for everyone. Do you own a house, a flat, an office or a farmhouse? If yes, look at the ceiling, rooms, walls, colour, furniture, floor and everything else visible to you. And consider this: Are all the things and spaces you saw in good condition, or do they need maintenance?
That silence is the answer. Every corner, every material and every element of your house or building needs regular and preventive maintenance. However, the question of how, when and why arises. Here, through Gharpedia, we are back to help you with your doubts regarding general building maintenance and will provide you with a home maintenance checklist.
But before jumping to the next level, let us first understand what maintenance of building refers to.
What is Maintenance of Building?
Clifford Rutherford (Author of the Building Maintenance and Construction: Tools and Maintenance Tasks) describes “the bundle of measures which should be taken for the structure to justify its utility and functionality throughout its life.” Whether it be cleaning, minor repairs, repainting or recoating, replacing parts, structural repairs or repairing electric appliances, every such measure is a part of building maintenance. In short, starting from your veranda to your terrace, each component demands periodical care and maintenance. However, certain activities like sweeping, washing, cleaning, mopping and dusting are not called maintenance in the true sense, they can be categorised under housekeeping.
Well, it won’t be wrong to say that the maintenance of a building or your property is not a piece of cake. It is an extensive area with a lot of work to be done. But the question arises: what should be maintained, and from where do you start?
Let me narrow your search and make it simpler. Here, we provide a short building maintenance checklist that will make it easier for you to make the correct marks on the list and to have a healthy and risk-free accommodation or workplace.
Building Maintenance Checklist
The easiest way to prepare a preventative maintenance checklist is to start from the bottom and work your way up.
Bottom Basement
The base of the building should be safe and strong to withstand the whole building. The maintenance checklist for the Basement includes the following:
- Moisture in the Basement
- Cracks and structural defects in concrete
- Condition of Carpets
- Leaks in the Basement
- Maintaining Sumps and Pumps
- Backwater Valves
Is your Flooring Well Maintained?
As a first step in general building maintenance, examine your flooring.
- Check flooring surface
- Squeaky floor
- Condition of Carpets
- Flooring material
- Cracks or dumps in the floor
- Scratch marks or dullness in flooring
- Termites through the floor
All these are major points which should be handled on a priority basis.
Are the Walls of your House in a Winning Position?
Have you ever looked at your walls?
- Cracks in the walls
- Colour of the wall – water patches or dirt marks
- Peeling of plaster or colour
- Dust on the wall
- Water leaks through walls
- Life and condition of the partition or artificial walls, the list goes on….
Notice your Ceiling and Interior Elements
The ceilings provide us with a roof over our heads. A healthy shelter is going to protect us from all the odds. Apart from this, the interior decor and other systems must be in good condition. Yvonne Jaffery[401] (Author of The Everything Fix–It Book), clearly mentions the methods and hacks for managing and caring for the ceiling. He suggests looking at the following list:
- Cracks in ceiling
- Colour of the ceiling
- Deteriorations in roof
- Leaking in roof
- Sagging in ceiling
- Defect in ceiling tiles
- Suspended ceiling
- Furniture
- Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets
- Removal of Pests
- Mattress
- Storage facility
- Key Room Space – Kitchen, Bedroom, Living area, Stairs, Water Closets
- Cleanliness of the house and many more to go…
Secure Doors and Windows
In order to have security, it is essential to have secure doors and windows.
- Handles and Locks
- Stuck Keys
- Doorbells
- Replacing Door Thresholds
- Hollow core doors
- Sliding in doors
- Dust and dirt in doors/Windows
- Condition of storm doors
- Stuck Windows
- Window Screens – Glass or other metals
- Window Films
- Fixtures in doors and windows – Hinges, screws, rods
Practicality of Plumbing
The water supply of our housing system should be accurate and free from flaws.
- Plumbing accessories – valves, pipes and all other necessary fixtures.
- Ensure no leakage or crack in gutters
- Ensure no leakage or crack in pipes
- Bathroom Accessories – Bathtub, tapes, faucets, traps, flush, etc.
- Drains
- Pumping System
- Water storage tanks and the number of parts to be taken care.
And the count doesn’t end here. If you are thinking of securing your plumbing system while covering your home maintenance checklist, then here are a few tips to ease your work.
Assuring Electric Appliances and Electricity Supply
The innovation of gadgets has elevated the human lifestyle. We frequently have an overabundance of electrical appliances in our homes. On the other hand, regular maintenance is required to avoid replacing the equipment or incurring repeated and high repair costs.
- Working on home appliances – Washing Machine, Refrigerator, Water heater, Television, vacuum cleaner and what not. All the equipment you use at home should be maintained and working well. Electric Boards, Switches, Wire, lamps & lightings, Plugs, Fuse
- Electric Outlets
- Leakages in Electricity Supply
- Electrical Circuits
- Effectiveness of Earthing and so on….
HVAC – Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
A building and property maintenance checklist can never leave out HVAC. The circulation of air and sunlight is essential to a healthy life. As a result, HVAC is important to provide and should be prioritised when creating your facility maintenance checklist.
- Air Furnaces Maintenance
- Furnaces filters
- Ductworks Maintenance
- Water Based Heating System – Heaters, Boilers, etc.
- Fireplace, Woodstove and Chimney
- Ventilation System Maintenance – Bathroom Exhaust Fan, Kitchen Exhaust Fan, Room Fans, etc.
- Air Conditioner
- Cooling System
Talking about the HVAC system, maintaining this requires a professional team. However, basic things should be kept in mind to avoid breaking service charges through the below article.
Home Outdoor or Building Exterior
The property maintenance checklist covers the home in it. Along with the indoor facilities and structure, special attention to outdoor space is also essential. It is rightly believed that the exterior of the building should be durable enough to protect the interior.
- Garden Area & Plants
- Parking facilities
- Ductworks Maintenance
- Outer Drainage lines and sewers
- Driveways and Sidewalk ways
- Patio
- Decks, Steps and Fences
- Septic System
- Cooling System
- Inspection of Rood and Terrace
- Trash Bins
- Basic Utility lines and Clothesline
- Outer walls and Chhajja.
Conclusion
To summarise, the house maintenance checklist outlines everything you can see in a building that needs special attention, from top to bottom and from left to right. To put it simply, everything in this world has an expiry date. However, how it is used and maintained will have a huge impact on how long it will last and how well it works. In order to increase the lifespan of your enclosed property, building maintenance must be done.
We have concentrated on the critical aspects of home care in this post, but the question immediately comes to mind: how much will it cost to complete this house maintenance checklist? Please read our article below to clear up any confusion.