BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — From interior to exterior, a homeowner's job is never done, but a little maintenance done now could save you a lot of money down the road.
Pat Hurst, the Vice President of Hurst Design Build Remodel sees firsthand how the transition between winter and spring can damage your home.
"Sometimes it just happens over winter with the freeze-thaw, things kind of shift a little bit,” Hurst said.
Spring is the time to give it a good once over.
"Really, what you want to do is inspect thoroughly, so kind of go through the house, look for anything unusual, walk around the house."
Homeowners should focus on anything that sticks out like faucets and cord of air conditioning units that run through the outdoor wall.
"Right there, you can get critters going in there and insects and you name it,” Hurst said.
Windows should be properly inspected as well, because those small details can lead to some pretty big problems.
"Too many people look past the fact that there's the caulking can peel, it can expand, you can get cracks in it,” Hurst said.
"There's slow damage that can be done over time, and those are really the things you want to prevent."
But prevention is simple, like cleaning out gutters and looking inside air conditioners to make sure they're free from debris.
"It always happens on that really hot day where its 90 degrees and very humid that this things are not going to work effectively."
There are other ways to save energy as well, like swapping out winter-proof items.
Storm doors protect your home from harsh weather in the winter, but when the weather turns warmer, they can trap heat if they're in direct sunlight. So installing a screen door can keep things cooler, and air flowing throughout your home.
"A lot of people don't look at the seals on their doors, they just open and close them every day."
Hurst says acting sooner rather than later can make a huge difference.
"You might have a small window casing or even just caulking a home might cost you $250, $500 something like that up front. Just do that type of regular maintenance. But you could prevent having that cost of thousands of dollars down the road."
