By Kevin Troyer. October 18, 2011. BLOWING ROCK – In his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (2004, Free Press, New York), author Stephen Covey lists as his #1 “habit”: Be Proactive.

Counsel to anticipate problems and to “be prepared” applies to all manner of life activities, from professional career to protecting our health and, yes, to home maintenance.

If one were to ask a stranger on the street an example of “home maintenance,” common responses might include “exterior paint,” “a new roof,” or “replace rotten siding.” While these answers are all correct, the question and the subject cover a much larger spectrum.

Home maintenance is one of those things frequently placed in the “out of sight – out of mind” category.  We tend to assume that if a roof is not leaking, then everything about the roof, including the interior ceiling and the attic, is fine.

While this may be true, in my 18 years of experience in the construction trades and as a contractor, I have seen many circumstance and situations.   Things looking good on the surface may actually be deceiving.

The intent of this article is not to alarm or cause unwarranted concern about anyone’s home or business.  Rather, the objective is to bring peace of mind by suggesting proactive, simple steps toward becoming a confident, engaged property owner.

The auto industry is effective in informing and educating the public on the importance of routine maintenance for our cars and trucks.  Most of us understand and participate in regular maintenance schedules.  Our parents taught us this principle at an early age, and practiced it themselves.

Imagine purchasing a new or used vehicle from your dealer and, as you are about to take your new purchase off the lot, you ask the sales agent “what is the recommended maintenance schedule?” How would you feel about the sales person, the dealership, and your purchase if they replied, “Don’t worry about it.  Just drive the car until something breaks – and then bring it in!”

You would probably find this irresponsible. At the very least, it is an unreasonable approach to managing your transportation budget and an unpredictable way to protect your auto investment.

As crazy as the aforementioned scenario may sound, this is the way many of our buildings are treated and managed. Most property owners would not intentionally choose this path to managing their real estate investments, yet it happens all too often because of misinformation and the busy lives we all lead.

The following are a few points to consider and some thoughts to accompany them:

Don’t underestimate what appears to be small and insignificant. Many – if not most – large problems were small at some point in the past and this is certainly the case with home maintenance issues. A small leak around a chimney could evolve into a large area of rot and decay a few years from now -- but the small leak might be repaired today in several hours at relatively small cost vs. the major rehabilitation project if left to “fester.”

In the mountains, proper drainage and storm water management are very, VERY important. The root cause of many foundation, moisture and indoor air quality problems lead back to drainage or the lack thereof. Its ok for your home to get wet during a rain or snow event, but the shingles, siding, foundation and other exterior parts of the structure should dry naturally after the rain has passed. Our homes are not intended or designed to have portions of them eroded, or to remain wet and damp for extendedperiods of time as a result of improper storm water drainage.

Work with nature – she is a great resource.  Nature is an endless resource of potential energy and benefit. The first thing that comes to mind is the sun. As mentioned in the previous point, the sun can and will dry our homes if we allow it access. Current and emerging technologies enable us to work with nature to more properly maintain and heat/cool our buildings.

See your home as one integrated network of systems not as a group of individual parts and products. A building is a collective assembly of many parts, systems and products. Even though we relate to and interact with the individual products (oven, shower, heater, windows, doors, ect….) it is a mistake to compartmentalize these items.

Example – Let’s say the oven fan is on in the kitchen and another member of the family turns on the bathroom fan.  This creates negative pressure in the home. In and of itself, it is not a problem as long as the gas water heater has been tested and properly maintained -- to be sure the negative pressure in the home is not causing gas fumes to be back-drafted into the structure. The oven fan and the bathroom fan components are directly related to the gas water heater -- because the building is an integrated system. Activity in one part of the house affects other parts of the building.

Have a professional -- someone who understands and is competent in all the products and parts of the building -- inspect your home at least once a year. As previously mentioned, it is much easier and more cost effective to diagnose and repair small problems today instead of letting them grow into potentially much larger and more costly problems over time. Put into an investment context: This could produce the single highest return in your investment portfolio!

A professional who understands that a building is an integrated network of systems should provide a minimum of three valuable services:

• Improve the quality of life and level of experience in the home for yourself, your family and guests.
• Help you – the homeowner – become more knowledgeable and empower you to make informed decisions about your home.
• Provide a detailed aging & depreciation schedule on items that are performing well today but will need to be replaced at some point in the future (shingles, furnace, windows, ect…) If you have a 1, 3, 5 & 7 year aging & depreciation schedule you can proactively budget and save towards these items rather than getting caught by surprise.

A properly maintained building brings peace of mind and confidence for its owner and occupants.

As we completed a maintenance project recently for a client near Blowing Rock, the homeowner commented, “This brings a whole new meaning to the old phrase ‘having your house in order’”. Later in the same conversation, the client said, “It’s so nice to look at the weather forecast and see rain -- and NOT have nagging thoughts in the back on my mind, wondering if my house is ok. It brings peace of mind to have that annual check-up and to have small issues taken care of.”

One final thought as an added benefit to the points mentioned above:  When and if you decide to sell your home, you will present a properly maintained building to prospective buyers with much more confidence. The building itself will help the buyer perceive value – and expedite the transaction!

Kevin Troyer, 4 Forty Four

Blowing Rock - North Carolina

www.4fortyfour.com

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