Funny, my neighbor’s the type who’s up there with a flashlight every time the wind picks up, and honestly, his roof still ended up leaking last year—turns out, you can’t spot everything from the outside anyway. I’m more of a “wait for an obvious sign” guy. Maybe that’s lazy, but after a couple decades in this house, I’ve learned most stuff gives you a heads-up before it becomes a disaster... unless you get one of those freak hailstorms. Then it’s all bets off. I’ll stick to checking after big storms and leave the rest to luck and gravity.
I’m more of a “wait for an obvious sign” guy. Maybe that’s lazy, but after a couple decades in this house, I’ve learned most stuff gives you a heads-up before it becomes a disaster... unless you get one of those freak hailstorms.
That’s pretty much how I handle things too. I used to be all about the “preventative maintenance” routine—calendar reminders, the whole deal. But honestly, after patching up a bunch of stuff that probably would’ve lasted another year or two, I started easing up. My wallet thanked me for it.
I do keep an eye out after storms, especially since we had that one last spring where half the neighborhood lost shingles. But crawling around on the roof every month? Not happening. I figure if there’s a leak or something starts making weird noises, that’s my cue.
One thing I will say—gutters are the exception for me. If I let those go, it’s a mess and way more expensive to fix later. Everything else? I’ll take my chances and save the cash for when something actually breaks. Maybe not everyone’s style, but it’s worked out alright so far.
I hear you on the gutters—those are the one thing I never skip either. Letting them clog up is just asking for trouble. I learned that the hard way when water started pouring over the edge and soaked my basement wall... not fun, and definitely not cheap to fix.
I’m a little more cautious with the furnace and AC, though. Maybe it’s just because ours is ancient, but I do a quick filter swap and vacuum out the vents every couple months. The one year I skipped it, the thing quit on us in January—of course, right during that cold snap. Lesson learned.
But yeah, I’ve stopped obsessing over every little creak or drip. If it’s not making weird noises or leaking, I figure it can wait. Some stuff really does give you warning signs before going kaput. The only exception for me is anything involving water—leaks seem to multiply if you ignore them.
I guess it’s all about picking your battles. There’s always something that could use attention, but if I tried to keep up with every “recommended” schedule, I’d never have time (or money) for anything else.
I get where you’re coming from, but I’d push back a bit on waiting until something makes noise or leaks before checking it out. In my experience, a lot of issues—especially with older appliances—don’t give much warning at all. I skipped a boiler check once thinking I’d notice if something was off, and it failed right before a family gathering. Ended up paying more for emergency service than I would’ve for a routine tune-up. I try to stick to the manufacturer’s bare minimum schedule now, just to avoid those surprises. It’s not perfect, but it’s saved me some headaches.
- Been there with the “wait for the weird noise” plan… my washing machine once skipped the warning signs and went straight to flooding the laundry room.
- Now I just do a quick check every few months—nothing fancy, but it’s saved me from mopping up at 2am.
- Honestly, I’d rather spend ten minutes with a flashlight than another night with a wet sock army.
