Keep your home in great shape for many years to come

Life is busy. In between working at the office, taking the kids to school, making dinner, planning that next vacation, and trying to get some sleep in between the baby crying every 20 minutes, there’s a lot that falls to the wayside for hectic homeowners. Too often, home maintenance ends up being one of those things, and the results can often be costly and headache-inducing.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. By focusing on the essentials of home upkeep and setting an effective budget, even the busiest of homeowners can keep their home running right and eliminate many surprise expenses. In this article, we’ll review how to do just that, and how the team at Wagner can help. Contact us for all your home service needs here in Albuquerque.

Set a home maintenance budget

Every homeowner should save money for their home’s maintenance. But, just how much should you save?

As a general rule of thumb, most home experts recommend that you set aside 1-2% of your home’s value every single year to cover the cost of ongoing, anticipated maintenance and upkeep. If your home here in Albuquerque is worth $200,000, that means you should put between $2000 and $4000 in a separate savings fund to cover your home’s needs.

However, this “general rule of thumb” measurement is far from perfect. After all, there’s no actual relationship between your home’s value and its upkeep needs. Depending on how large or old your home is, it may need additional care. Here in Albuquerque, we’re no strangers to cold nights, snow, and ice, which means we also need to spend money preparing our homes for winter.

We recommend treating the “1-2%” number as a starting point and then adjusting your actual rate of savings based on what you spent on your home last year. Remember: if possible, you want to save more than you need. As the years go by, this extra savings will “snowball” into money set aside for larger projects or needed improvements, such as a roof replacement, basement repairs, or a new HVAC system.

Build your maintenance checklist

Your final home maintenance checklist may be pretty extensive, depending on the individual needs of your home. However, here are the three core areas that every homeowner—no matter how new, old, small, or large their home is—should focus on first when it comes to maintenance.

HVAC

At Wagner, we recommend that you schedule two annual maintenance appointments with our team: one in the spring for your cooling system, and another in the fall to have us care for your heating system (if you have a heat pump, have us out twice per-year to look at the system). Regular professional tune-ups can help prevent costly breakdowns and lower your energy bills.

When your HVAC systems do need repairs, only hire a professional and do not put off making their recommended fixes. Doing so could dramatically shorten the life of your system, meaning you’ll need to replace your air conditioner, heat pump, or furnace that much sooner.

Plumbing

Your pipes, faucets, and fixtures may not seem like they need much maintenance or care, but looks can be deceiving. As a homeowner here in Albuquerque, you’ll want to make sure you treat your water heater, pipes, and drains right. Flush your water heater at least once every year and check its pressure and temperature. Consult with the plumbing professionals at Wagner to see if your anode rod needs to be replaced. When it comes to your pipes, have our team insulate any of them that are at risk of freezing during the winter, and take proactive steps to protect your drains by watching what you put down them.

We also recommend that homeowners here in New Mexico consider having our team install a whole-home water softener. These systems protect your pipes and appliances from the effects of hard water exposure, which includes scale buildup.

Roofing

Have your roof professionally inspected every year, and quickly make any recommended repairs to your tile, shingle, or foam roof. If your home has roof gutters, clean them out in the fall before we get our first snow. In the event that you have a roof-mounted HVAC or evaporative cooler, talk to the team at Wagner about our seasonal shutdown service and preparing your roof system for snow and ice.

Trust the professionals at Wagner

At Wagner, we’ve been Albuquerque’s trusted name in home services for decades. Our team of dedicated professionals is here to help make your home maintenance and upkeep easier, with our convenient HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services. For fast, friendly service here in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, call us today.

‍