Annual Home Maintenance Guide: Prepare your home all year round & discover the Brother-in-Law Club for rent
Home maintenance doesn't stop with one season: to preserve the value, safety, and comfort of your home, you need a annual residential maintenance planThis guide offers you a complete roadmap for taking care of your home over the months — and introduces you to the Brother-in-Law Club for rent, the smart subscription to easily delegate and track your maintenance.
Why is an annual residential maintenance plan essential?
Occasional or seasonal residential maintenance can help, but a annual residential maintenance structure allows for:
- detecting the small warning signs of major work to come;
- spread out the costs and avoid emergencies;
- Preserve the value of your property over the years. Quebec, with its significant climate variations, poses challenges to your home — a year-round maintenance plan gives you peace of mind.
Subscribe to peace of mind
A flexible residential maintenance plan accessible in one click!
There is no better time of year to perform home inspections and repairs.
The Brother-in-Law Club for Rent – your year-round maintenance support
To lighten the workload and ensure efficient residential maintenance, the Brother-in-law club for rent is the solution. As a member, you benefit from:
by free annual preventative inspection,
a preferential rate on our handyman services,
by priority regarding your requests for intervention,
monitoring of your residential maintenance plan via our portal/tool.
This club fits naturally into an annual residential maintenance strategy, so you no longer have to chase after tasks.
The costly consequences of not having a maintenance plan
Don't have home maintenance plan àIt's letting small problems turn into major damage which weigh heavily on your wallet and the value of your property. An uncorrected clogged gutter can cause water infiltration — leading to mold, rot, or even foundation subsidence. Poor insulation or poorly maintained windows increase your energy bills, while premature wear and tear on equipment forces costly replacements. And when it comes time to sell, a house that has been "let go" can lose up to 10% or more of its perceived value — not counting emergency or major repair costs that could have been avoided. In summary: ignoring maintenance today risks a much higher bill tomorrow.
Where to start when preparing your annual residential maintenance checklist – by period
Spring (March to June)
Clean or empty the gutters and downspouts.
Inspect the roof, replace or repair any missing or damaged shingles.
Check the condition of the doors, windows and weatherstripping, lubricate the hinges.
Inspect the exterior cladding, fill cracks, tighten fasteners.
Check that the air conditioning or heat pump is working properly before summer.
Summer (June to September)
Check the ground around the foundations, ensure proper drainage.
Inspect the attic or loft for signs of dampness or leaks.
Maintain or clean the ventilation system, check the smoke/carbon monoxide detectors.
Wash windows and frames to enjoy the summer light.
Autumn (October to December)
Clean the chimney and inspect the anchoring, the cap and the metal.
Close the pools/spas, empty and store the outdoor equipment.
Prepare winter tools (rakes, shovels, snow brushes) and check their condition.
Check the insulation of doors and windows, replace weatherstripping.
Disconnect or drain outdoor pipes to prevent freezing.
(This section revisits part of the previous article, but within an annual context.)
Winter (January to February)
Monitor for accumulations of snow or ice on the roof, cornices and downspouts.
Operate the heating systems and check for proper draft.
Check that the alarms (smoke/carbon monoxide) are working, change the batteries if necessary.
Inspect access points to the house and areas at risk of slipping (stairs, sidewalks).
Make a to-do list
Make a list of all the tasks that need to be done. This will help you stay organized and make sure you don't miss anything important.
Create a calendar
Create a schedule for yourself and try to stick to it as closely as possible. That way, you'll be able to get your house ready on time and avoid any last-minute rush.
Divide tasks into categories
Divide tasks into categories (outdoors, indoors, etc.) and work on them one category at a time. This will help you stay focused and efficient.
Ask for help
Use this article of course, but you should ask for help from family members, friends, specialists and Team handymen with the right tools if necessary. This can make the job easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved.
Finally, your plan must allow you to take time to relax and enjoy your work!
The Brother-in-law Club
Maintenance - Renovation - Maintenance plan
Join for free*
- Set up an automatic savings plan
- Save $10/hour on hourly billed services*
- Save 5% on services billed upon submission
- Priority on Requests
- Free annual preventive inspection
- Implementation of an annual maintenance plan
*With prepayment of $65/month of service, applicable on all our banners
Who can you count on to help you as an owner follow your fall maintenance plan?
Obviously the whole family can get involved to combine business with pleasure. But in addition to this, there are a number of organizations and companies that can support homeowners in maintaining and inspecting their home. Home improvement stores, for example, sell a variety of products that can be used for repairs.
In addition, many cities and towns offer tasks such as garbage collection and leaf removal.
Finally, there are a number of private companies that offer services for clean your windows, decluttering and handyman services for your more manual tasks
The Brother-in-Law's Autumn Maintenance Guide: The best tips and reminders gathered for you in a single PDF document
Our fall home maintenance guide is the perfect way to prepare for the colder months ahead.
This guide includes everything you need to do to keep your home in pristine condition, from cleaning to inspecting and decluttering. Plus, we've included a handy checklist so you can easily track your progress.
Subscribe to peace of mind
A flexible residential maintenance plan accessible in one click!
The brother-in-law's reminders for rent
A few minutes walk around your property may reveal cracks, fractures or damage to the exterior. Pay particular attention to the foundations and exterior siding. Repairing cracks helps prevent water penetration during heavy rains and thaw periods.
The rakes, shovels, snow or ice brooms and bags of ice melters and abrasives (salt, stone) that you hastily abandoned at the bottom of the basement, shed or garage last spring must find their place near from the entrance. You'll be glad to find them easily the first morning you open your door and find your steps are icy.
In order to be ready for next year when the warm weather returns, put away your outdoor furniture, your flower boxes, your barbecue and everything you take out for the summer. Drain the garden hose and turn off all outside faucets. If you choose to store your barbecue indoors, remember that the propane cylinder should be kept outside in a safe place. By doing this end-of-season cleaning now, everything will be clean and ready to go come spring.
Conclusion
People who have a maintenance plan in place for their home usually find that they save money in the long run. Indeed, many problems can be avoided with regular checks and repairs, instead of waiting for something to fail completely and require a more expensive repair. Additionally, it may be useful to ask someone else to perform these checks.
Looking for someone to take care of your home this fall? We offer a wide range of tasks to face the Quebec climate, from deep cleaning to handyman services. If you need a helping hand preparing your home, look no further than Brother-in-law for rent. We have everything you need.
So what are you waiting for? Start maintaining your home today.
Looking for a company to help you with fall preparations?
Looking for someone to take care of your home annually? We offer a wide range of services to tackle Quebec's climate, from deep cleaning to handyman services. If you need a hand getting your house ready, look no further than Beau-frère à louer. We have everything you need.
So what are you waiting for?
Start maintaining your home with your brother-in-law today… for rent.
