Ongoing Home Maintenance
Article provided by Fred Merchant with Honey Do List Services LLC. For more information on services offered by Honey Do List Services LLC please see contact info below this article.
There are a variety of things that come with being a homeowner. Keeping up with ongoing maintenance of one’s home is an ongoing priority.
Recently, Fred Merchant with Honey Do List Services LLC., one of our referred contractors relayed this story.
“A fellow Houstonian, Mary, had reached out to him for an estimate. She was concerned about a few cracks in an interior wall of her home. Ideally, she was wanting a repair done before placing her home on the market in the upcoming weeks. After reviewing the pictures, I found it odd that the cracks were from anything other than something physically hitting the wall. Thus, I scheduled an onsite visit and review of Mary’s home.
Mary, did express concern, and pointed out that she was on a budget and a controlled cost repair was her main focus. After all, she was planning to list the home. I assured her that my estimate visit was free of charge, as this is something we offer.
Upon arrival, I inspected the cracks. The wall was trimmed in paneling over drywall. I soon realized there was moisture involved and thus a leak somewhere behind the wall covering. Moisture and leaks are never fun to point out to a homeowner. Mary wisely chose to move forward and get to the source of the problem inside the wall. I pulled out some of the damaged paneling and found a lot of mold in the materials of the wall. We decided to move forward and remove the material with mold immediately. I removed everything in a 3×8 foot area from the home. All the demo and cleaning out only took two hours. I treated the wall with a mold control product, then sealed the area and planned on coming back to finish the repair.
The actual source of the leak and moisture issue was found to be an exterior light fixture on the exterior side of this wall. This wall and fixture had not been sealed and allowed water inside during heavy rains. Had the light fixture housing been sealed with silicone caulk no water would have gotten behind the fixture and into the wall.
All in all, we were able to remove the damage and mold effectively. The cost to repair and rebuild was kept to a minimum. I also suggested a follow up air quality environment test. This is always recommended when dealing with moisture in a home. “
This is a great story. However, it happens to homeowners more often than you would think. Make a point in the next few weeks to check on the sealing of all your exterior walls as well as interior bathrooms. Ongoing property maintenance and upkeep can end up saving you costly repairs in the long run.
