Some home maintenance projects are actually home improvement projects in disguise. Let’s take our maple tree for example. It is dead. We thought we had another year or two of enjoyment from it, but some plumbing issues and a colder than usual winter seem to have killed it off for good. It started to bud out, but it finally gave up the ghost.
Maple trees are like that – they are good trees for beauty and shade, and they are also one that you will live to see come to maturity which appeals to a lot of people. Of course, there is something to be said for planting something that will be here long after you’re gone, but that doesn’t seem to be a value for many people today.
In any event, promptly cutting down the tree is a home improvement project, not merely a household chore. Consider this: we live in Hurricane Central. Should there be a storm, even a small one, that tree could be a missile which could destroy a great deal of property which, in turn, would cause us to be forced to perform a great deal more home “improvements” than we previously had anticipated.
Sure, I know what you’re thinking: you’re thinking that since you don’t live in an area with hurricanes that none of this applies to me…well, if you’re thinking that, I hope you never have a tornado, hailstorm, mudslide, or any other kind of natural disaster that might shake that dead tree up a bit.
FACT: Dead trees are more likely to break apart.
FACT: Trees that break apart drop branches.
FACT: Falling branches must fall somewhere – it is a little thing called gravity.
Another little home maintenance project which we farm out twice a year is that we have our heating and air systems checked by a professional. We have a contract with a local company, and I am ever so glad we do. This contract puts us at the top of the list in case of an emergency. That really came in handy last 4th of July weekend when our air conditioning unit went out. I have an adrenal condition and can’t be in the heat, so it is imperative that I have air conditioning. We also get 15% off all parts. But the best part of all this is that we find out about problems before they happen. One thing we were recently told is that our chimney was leaking water into our system. If we didn’t have this maintenance plan, we would never have known to get a roofer out to fix our chimney cap. Failure to fix this timely could have cost us thousands in repairs.
Old Ben Franklin had it right when he said a penny saved is a penny earned. Consider your home maintenance projects as inexpensive ways of keeping your home up to date. Otherwise, you’ll be spending a lot more to make major repairs.
