Conduct Your Own Annual ‘Home Inspection’ to Check for These Hidden Problems

Home maintenance is a marathon, not a sprint—there’s always something to fix, clean, or replace. If you’re going to keep your home in good shape for the duration of your occupancy, you quickly learn to perform maintenance regularly. But no matter how vigilant you are, some stuff will always go under the radar for a variety of reasons. If some part of your house is working as intended and causing you zero problems, it’s natural not to pay attention to it.

That kind of reactionary approach to home maintenance—waiting for disaster to strike before putting in the necessary work—is what leads to deploying buckets to catch leaks in your bedroom at 2am on a stormy night, though. An annual inspection of your house—especially the stuff you don’t think about every day—is a good way to stay on top of the overall condition of the property and get ahead of problems that might be brewing right under your nose. Fall is the ideal time to do this, too—the heat and humidity of summer has passed, the cold and snow of winter isn’t here yet, and there are still plenty of daylight hours to work with. Here’s a short list of what to check in your house during an annual DIY inspection.

Unseen spaces

It’s surprising, sometimes, to think about how much of our homes we don’t interact with. There are spare bedrooms we rarely enter; dark, dusty spaces we avoid and plenty of spaces that are difficult to access. But the spaces you don’t often put eyes on are where problems develop in secret before deciding to announce themselves at the worst possible moment—so this fall, check out some of the spaces you normally don’t see:

Attic

If you don’t get into the attic much, look for the following:

• Stains on the underside of the roof that could indicate a slow leak

• Signs of mold

• Check that all vents are clear.

• Look for signs of animals or insects.

• Check your insulation for mold, water stains, animal damage, and depth—it should be at least a foot deep between the joists.

Basements and crawl spaces

Even if you use the basement for storage (and even if it’s finished), you should go down there and move stuff around:

• Check the sump pump, if you have one, by pouring a bucket of water into the pit to ensure it’s still running properly.

• Look for water stains on the floor or walls that could indicate water infiltration and damage.

• Inspect the walls—look for cracks, crumbling masonry, or bulges.

• Check the humidity; it should ideally be between 30 and 50%.

• Look for signs of rodents or insects.

Roof

You’re not a roofer, but you can look for obvious signs of trouble to come:

• Loose shingles

• Cracks in a flat rubber roof

• Loose or weathered flashing around vents and chimneys

• Ponding

• Inspect the gutters to make sure they’re not clogged with debris and aren’t pulling away from the roof.

You can do all this from the ground, but you can also use an inspection camera or a camera drone to get a better look.

Unused spaces

Finally, you might not think the spare bedroom you never use can be a problem, but you should pop in to look for:

• Dampness or high humidity that might indicate water intrusion

• Stains that could mean a water or roof leak

• Anything unusual (smell, temperature, sound) that you might not notice unless you’re in the room

Test moving parts

Next, test all the moving parts of your house: Make sure all the doors and windows in all the rooms open and shut properly, without strenuous effort. Windows should lock easily, and you shouldn’t have to body-check a door to get it to close. If you find windows or doors that don’t work well, a little lubricant might be all that’s needed. But they might be swollen from water intrusion, or the house may have simply settled—but it might indicate it’s time to replace them.

Weather stripping on windows and doors can wear out over time and shrink or crack with heat and sun exposure. Take a look around the edges of your doors and windows at the flexible seal that keeps drafts out when they’re closed. If you notice any gaps or damage, you can remove the old seal and replace it with new weather stripping. Remove any damaged or peeling caulk and re-caulk using an exterior caulk marked for doors and windows.

Fill cracks

Outside the house, look at your exterior walls and hardscape surfaces and inspect for cracks. While cracks in a sidewalk might not be an immediate threat, any crack outside your house will let water collect, and when it freezes it will widen the crack and further weaken the material, so it’s a good idea to fill those cracks. Using a patching compound, you can fill and seal cracks in driveways, sidewalks, and other flat surfaces relatively easily. Cracked siding can be temporarily repaired using some spare siding pieces and caulk, and you can also caulk small cracks in stucco exteriors or use a pre-mixed stucco patch. A few minutes with a caulk gun can avoid water intrusion, and could save you a lot of trouble later.

If you find a larger problem with a walkway, like shifting concrete or larger gaps or holes, you might need to get some help from a pro to address it. September is also a good time to rake gravel pathways and check stepping stone and paver paths to make sure that they’re not shifting.

Check your steps

Stair treads can get creaky and worn, especially outdoor staircases, so take a look at your steps to check for damage or loose treads. If you spot any stair treads that are moving or creaky, you can try adding a wood screw through the top of the tread into the runner underneath it to tighten it up. If there are treads that are very worn, you might want to have a professional repair them to keep your steps safe. You can also apply some non-slip tape to help prevent falls during wet or icy weather.

Check electrical

You don’t need to be an electrician to do a basic home inspection of your electrical infrastructure:

• Visually inspect your electrical panel. Look for scorch marks or discolorations around the breakers, and call an electrician if you see anything.

• Check that all the outlets in your house work. You can buy a voltage tester to do this, or just carry a small lamp around the house.

• Check that all light switches in the house work. Look for flickering lights and call an electrician if you see any.

• Outside, make sure no tree branches are interfering with electrical wires (or any wires, for that matter), and consider having your trees trimmed if they are—those branches could rip the wires free during a storm.

Check plumbing

Similarly to your electrical system, you can do a lot of common sense inspection with just your eyeballs:

• Make sure all faucets, spigots, and toilets work properly, especially in basement or guest baths that don’t see a lot of use.

• Check that the water pressure is robust in every fixture.

• Test all drains to make sure they drain quickly and don’t overflow.

• Look at the base of toilets and under cabinets to make sure there are no signs of leaks.

• Look at your water heater—any signs of rust or leaks, no matter how minor, might indicate it’s time for a new one. Consider draining it to check for sediment.

• Inspect the caulking around tubs, showers, sinks, and toilets. Replace any that has degraded.

• Out in your backyard, patio, or deck, check your exterior water spigots for leaks. Disconnect and drain hoses and turn off the exterior water supply if possible.

Clean all the filters

Your house relies on a lot of air filters to keep the interior air clean, and this is a great time to check and clean them all, including all air conditioners (even window units) and vents, your furnace, and even your vacuum cleaner.

Look for rot and bugs

Finally, look for dry rot and insect damage around the exterior of the house, especially window and door trim, wood decks, and the fascia under the roof. Bubbling paint, soft spots (if you can push a screwdriver into the wood with little effort, it’s rotted), or visually warped areas are all signs of potential rot. Rot can be repaired if it’s not too pervasive or serious, but you may need to call in a professional if you find a lot of it.

You should also check for signs of invasive insects like termites, carpenter bees, and carpenter ants, which often nest under window trim or in any area where wood is covered by something, forming a snug little spot for them to settle in and gnaw away at your home. Catching these infestations before they turn your home into something resembling Swiss cheese can save you a lot of headaches.

What you shouldn’t DIY

Fire extinguishers

If your fire extinguisher hasn’t been checked or charged in a year or more, September is a good time to have it checked. This is one area you shouldn’t do yourself: You should find a certified fire safety dealer to check your extinguisher. If you’re not sure who is available in your area, you can always ask your local fire department for tips. If you don’t have a fire extinguisher, now is a great time to get one—it’s the best $35-$50 you’ll ever spend on home safety.

Chimneys

If you have a wood stove or fireplace, the end of September is often the beginning of fireplace weather. Making sure that your chimney is clear of creosote build-up and is in good working order before you light your first fire can help prevent chimney fires as well as make your wood burning unit more efficient for heating your home. While creosote logs can help prevent build-up, an annual inspection and cleaning are recommended for safety.