Last Updated on January 22, 2025 by teamobn
Effective maintenance is a key aspect of home ownership. This applies to the appearance of your property as well as its safety and overall functionality. Regular, well-planned maintenance makes your home more enjoyable to live in, while increasing its appeal to future buyers.
With so many tasks to stay on top of, managing jobs around the home can become overwhelming. That’s why it helps to have a strategy in place to ensure maintenance tasks are taken care of in order of priority, within budget and (in case of seasonal tasks) on time. 
Contents
What Does a Home Maintenance Plan Include?
A plan for home maintenance should contain routine inspections and repairs required in order to keep your home running as it should, including preventative care of home systems such as:
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- Roofing
- HVAC
The plan should also account for the unique characteristics of your home, such as age, location and specific materials used in building it. This can then help tailor maintenance tasks to specific factors such as period features.
When to Call Professionals
While many tasks can be handled as DIY jobs, certain tasks may not be safe to do yourself. These include:
- Electrical work, which can be especially hazardous and should be done by a board-certified electrician who will also ensure your home meets safety regulations.
- Plumbing, especially major issues such as serious blockages or leaks.
- Roofing tasks such as structural repair or fixing leaks. This involves working at height, which can be dangerous and is best carried out by a professional contractor.
- HVAC maintenance should be conducted by a certified specialist in order to ensure compliance with safety regulations as well as optimal performance.
Benefits of Carrying Out Routine Home Maintenance
In addition to managing the upkeep of your home, regular home maintenance can also:
- Help save money: A structured plan allows you to budget resources and funds effectively, while saving for more expensive tasks in advance.
- Increase property value: Compared to neglected homes, regularly maintained properties tend to sell faster and at premium rates, since prospective buyers face fewer tasks to deal with once they move in.
- Keep tasks organized by allowing you to track and prioritise tasks effectively by date, level of urgency and impact.
- Prevent issues from worsening by enabling you to identify any problems that could worsen over time (such as water damage), and address them before they escalate.
An additional benefit is peace of mind. Keeping a record of tasks helps to reduce stress, making space for you to enjoy other areas of your life and enjoy living in your home.
How to Create a Home Maintenance Plan
Before making your plan, thoroughly inspect your home to assess for any tasks to be carried out. You can also gather resources from national home inspection boards so that you know what to check for.
It’s also a good idea to enlist a professional inspector to conduct an evaluation every few years. They may be able to offer additional insights to ensure that nothing is missed. Home maintenance apps can also help by setting reminders for tasks ahead of time.
Budgeting
Regularly review and update your plan monthly, annually and at the start of each season. Breaking down tasks by month and season also allows you to distribute the workload throughout the year, while managing costs.
You can also use your plan to budget for emergency and routine maintenance tasks as well by using the percentage rule (setting aside 1% to 4% of your home’s total value, or by calculating $1 to $5 per square foot of your home, although keep in mind this does not factor in your property’s age or location.
Tasks
Examples of general maintenance tasks refer to the following and should be checked at regular intervals throughout the year.
Home Safety
- Checking carbon monoxide and smoke detectors
- Checking expiration date and gauge on fire extinguishers.
- Getting an electrician to check all electrical cords and ground-fault circuit breakers.
- Pest control, if necessary
Ventilation and Air Quality
- Check exterior and interior vents for blockages
- Vacuum clean heat vents and registers
- Clean furnace filter
Plumbing and Water
- Remove any sediment from the water heater by flushing
- Clean the garbage disposal
- Check tubs and drainage for debris or clogs
- Check the water softener replacing salt if required.
- Clear shower drains of built up hair.
Seasonal Tasks
Some seasonal tasks such as cleaning gutters, HVAC inspection and deep-cleaning your home should be done biannually, once in the spring and once in fall. Other tasks may only need to be carried out once a year.
Effective scheduling also helps ensure that seasonal tasks are taken care of at the right time. Left unattended, home maintenance problems can worsen, especially during the colder months when they become more challenging to manage.
Spring
In addition to your annual spring-clean, check that everything is working as it should, especially systems and appliances that have gone unused over winter. This includes hiring contractors for roofing and HVAC maintenance in addition to cleaning windows, screens and yard work ahead of summer.
Summer
Summertime is primarily about keeping your home cool and running efficiently, so in addition to routine HVAC inspections check and clean any outdoor appliances such as fire pits and grills. It’s also a good time to check your decking or patio and make any repairs, in addition to lawn and landscaping maintenance.
Fall
In preparation for winter, ensure your downspouts and gutters are clear and seal and weatherproof windows and doors. It’s also a good idea to have your furnace serviced by a professional who can also change the filters and assess it for any potential problems.
Winter
In winter, inspect your gutters, roof and downspout for any damage after storms, but only if safe to do so (if in doubt, hire a contractor) and cover your air-con unit. Stock up on sidewalk salt and ice-melt, although be aware that many of these products are harmful to small children and pets. While no ice-melters are 100% safe, safer options are available, such as those containing urea, glycols or non-salt components.
Putting Your Plan Together
An effective home maintenance plan helps you to save money while enabling you to list, track and prioritize tasks. Keeping a written plan also helps to create added peace of mind, enabling you to regain a sense of control over your home.
While it’s possible to make a home maintenance plan yourself using a spreadsheet, you can free up mental space and reduce your workload even more by outsourcing it to a dedicated home maintenance plan company who can then create a structured plan for you to follow throughout the year.
