Summer Home Maintenance Checklist for the Lower Mainland

On a coast this wet, the dry months are worth planning around. July and August bring a run of warm, dry days the rest of the year does not offer, and almost every outdoor job on a house depends on them. Stain, paint, caulk and sealant all need dry surfaces and dry air to set up properly. Try any of them in October and you fight the weather the whole time.

So spend the dry window on the work that cannot happen any other time of year, and save the indoor jobs for when the rain keeps you inside anyway. My spring home maintenance checklist comes before this one, and my fall home maintenance checklist takes over when the weather turns. I have grouped this checklist that way: what the warm, dry air lets you finish, what protects the house before the wet season, and a quick safety round while you are already working through the place.

Jobs that need the dry, warm air to cure

These are the reason summer is on a maintenance calendar at all. Every item here needs a dry surface going on and dry weather to set, so they get first claim on your good days.

• Inspect the deck, then wash and re-stain it while the boards are bone dry. Wet wood will not take finish.
• Walk the fence, replace any failed boards or wobbling posts, and re-stain exposed wood before the next wet season greys it out.
• Touch up exterior paint on trim, doors and siding. Coatings bond and cure best in dry warmth, and a July touch-up outlasts a damp-weather patch.
• Re-caulk and re-seal exterior joints: around window and door frames, trim transitions, and any gap where the last bead has cracked or pulled away. Sealant needs a dry joint to grab.

A worn deck may want a full refresh, and my guide on when to stain or refinish a deck covers the timing and dry times. Deck and fence work falls under my fence and deck services, including fence and deck repair in Surrey. Larger paint jobs are exterior painting work.

Clean and clear before the rain returns

The Lower Mainland grows a lot of green over a wet year, and the dry season is your chance to get ahead of it. This is also the round that decides how well your house sheds water once the rain comes back.

• Pressure wash the driveway, walkways, patio and siding to clear the moss, algae and grime from a damp year. Siding gets a soft wash, never full pressure.
• Seal small cracks in the driveway and walkways while the concrete is dry. Water that gets in and freezes in a cold snap makes them wider.
• Clear the gutters and downspouts, and make sure every run drains well away from the foundation before the first heavy rain.
• Check the outdoor taps and hose bibs for drips or a weak stream, and make sure each shut-off holds. A small fix now beats a split bib in a winter cold snap.
• Redo worn weather stripping on windows and exterior doors while the adhesive sets fast in warm air. It keeps out bugs now and drafts later.

Timing and technique both matter for washing, and how often to pressure wash covers both. If you would rather hand it off, I book pressure washing in Langley and the rest of my area into dry stretches.

The safety round

While you are moving through the house with tools out, close the loop on the things that protect the people in it. These take minutes and never feel urgent until the one night they matter.

• Test every smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm. Swap the batteries on any unit that hesitates, replace any smoke alarm that is 10 years old, and replace any CO alarm past the date on its label.
• Make sure there are alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas, and vacuum the dust out of each one.