20 articles
Seasonal checklists and repair-or-replace calls.
What to check before hurricane season, the first cold night or a long summer, and how to decide whether an aging appliance, water heater, AC system or roof is worth another repair.
Seasonal checklists
- Hurricane Season Home Checklist: Roof to GeneratorA pre-season checklist for Gulf and Atlantic coast homes: roof and gutters, garage door bracing, generator safety, and appliances after an outage.
- AC Tune-Up Before Summer: What to Do and What a Pro DoesWhy a spring air conditioner tune-up matters, the simple checks you can make yourself, what a technician actually does on the visit, and when to book it.
- Heating Check Before the First Cold Night: What to DoHow to get a furnace or heat pump ready for cold weather, what you can check safely, what a fall tune-up includes, and the warning signs that mean call now.
- Fall Gutter Cleaning: Why It Matters and Who Should Do ItWhat clogged gutters do to a roof, foundation and fascia, how to check yours from the ground, when to schedule cleaning, and why ladder work belongs to a pro.
- Spring Pest Prevention: Seal, Dry Out and Clean Up EarlyHow to keep ants, roaches, rodents, termites and mosquitoes out as the weather warms: sealing entry points, fixing moisture, and when to call a pro.
- Dryer Vent Cleaning and Fire Safety: A Yearly ChecklistWhy lint in the dryer duct is a fire risk, the signs a vent is blocked, what you can clean yourself, what a professional vent cleaning includes, and how often.
- Water Heater Flush and Anode Rod Check: Why and WhenWhat sediment and a used-up anode rod do to a tank water heater, the signs at the tap, what a plumber does during a flush, and how often to book it.
- When to Paint a House Exterior: Temperature and HumidityThe weather conditions exterior paint needs to cure well, how temperature, humidity, dew and sun affect the job, and when to book a painter in your region.
- Garage Door Seasonal Check: Balance, Seal and Safety TestsA twice-a-year garage door check from the floor: the balance test, the reversal and photo-eye tests, the weather seal, and what to leave to a technician.
- After a Power Outage: Appliance and HVAC ChecklistWhat to do when the power comes back: which appliances to unplug during an outage, how to restart the AC and water heater safely, food safety, and when to call.
Repair or replace
- Refrigerator Repair or Replace: How to Decide HonestlyWhether a failing refrigerator is worth repairing: typical service life, repairs that pay off, sealed-system failures and what the estimate should say.
- Washer Repair or Replace: Age, Repair Cost and SignsWhen a washing machine is worth repairing and when it is not: common failures, the ones that cost too much, the fifty-percent rule and what to ask.
- Dryer Repair or Replace: What Is Worth Fixing and WhenWhich clothes dryer failures are cheap to repair, which are not, how age and safety factor in, the fifty-percent rule and what the estimate should include.
- Dishwasher Repair or Replace: A Practical Decision GuideRepair or replace a dishwasher: typical ten-year life, common cheap fixes, the failures that are not worth it and what the estimate should say.
- Oven or Range Repair or Replace: How to Make the CallRepair or replace an oven, range or cooktop: the repairs that are usually cheap, safety issues, the fifty-percent rule and estimate questions.
- Water Heater Repair or Replace: Age, Leaks and the MathRepairing versus replacing a water heater: typical tank life, repairs that make sense, why a leaking tank is replaced, efficiency options and the estimate.
- AC System Repair or Replace: Compressors, Age and CostRepair or replace a central air conditioner: the ten-year mark, cheap fixes, compressor and refrigerant failures, efficiency and what the estimate must show.
- Furnace or Heat Pump Repair or Replace: How to DecideRepair or replace a furnace or heat pump: age guidelines, cracked heat exchangers, failed compressors, efficiency and what the estimate should cover.
- Garage Door Opener Repair or Replace: Safety and CostWhen a garage door opener is worth repairing and when to replace it: the 1993 safety rule, cheap fixes, failures that are not worth it and the estimate.
- Roof Repair or Replace: Leaks, Age and What Roofers CheckRepair or replace a roof: shingle age, isolated versus widespread damage, layers and decking, insurance, and what a roofer’s estimate should include.