Spring maintenance tips for the exterior of your home

Renovation and building expert Ryan Thompson has helpful tips for dealing with home damage caused during the harsh winter weather.

This year’s hard winter weather likely left significant damage for many homeowners coming into spring. Building and renovation expert Ryan Thompson spoke to CTV’s Your Morning about some of the biggest areas to focus on around the exterior of your home, to help prevent serious damage after the cold, long winter.

Hose bibs

Thompson said one of the biggest issues when it comes to spring home maintenance is not paying enough attention to exterior hose bibbs, the exterior tap that connects a garden hose to a home’s water supply. He said hose bibbs can explode during colder months, which then freeze over.

“One of the things that I always like to recommend is that people turn it on and take a look,” Thompson said.

He said that one of the problems that happens with traditional hose bibbs is that they’re not frost-free. That means they’re capable of freezing if there’s water buildup, even if they have been shut off.

He recommends checking and, if a new one is needed, investing in a frost-free hose bibb, which has a longer stem. While these pieces are more expensive, Thompson said it will last a lifetime.

Cracks in asphalt, concrete

When it comes to concrete and asphalt around a property’s exterior, Thompson recommends filling whatever cracks you have, because over time water gets in, freezes and thaws, making the cracks bigger.

Before filling them, make sure the cracks are cleared of debris by using an industrial-style vacuum.

You can then use a crack filler, a sand-like substance that is poured on the crack, levelled out and then sprayed with water. Cracks can also be filled using a caulking gun and smoothed over with a spackle tool.

Lifted shingles

Lifted shingles after a winter thaw are another area worth focusing on in the springtime.

“When you have lifted shingles, water can get underneath it and create problems (like) leaks into your home,” Thompson explained. “Especially this time of year, sometimes shingles actually blow off.”

Once shingles lift, even slightly, they will rarely go back down, he added. Thompson recommends sending up a drone or doing a visual inspection from the ground to get a sense if any shingles were lifted over the winter.

Preventing leaks

Spring is an ideal time to check on downspouts, the vertical pipe that links to a roof’s gutter system to filter rainwater from the roof to the ground.

Thompson said the most important thing with downspouts is to make sure they’re extended six feet away from your home.

“You don’t want it right up against your home,” he said. “When the water comes out, it’s the path of least resistance.”

Along with having a downspout extend further from your home’s foundation, he recommends building up soil so that it slopes away from the home, and not towards it.

“That’s actually one of the No. 1 causes of basement leaks,” Thompson said, adding that it’s known as “improper grading.”