Don’t Make This Mistake When Doing a Home Repair

Your home is like the human body. When it's born (built), everything is shiny, new, and in perfect working order. The only problem is, people are hard on homes, so it doesn't take long before your home starts to feel like you did (or will...don't worry, you will) in your mid-late thirties: creaky and in need of a lot more upkeep to keep everything in tiptop shape.

And just like your body, if you don't take care of your home, problems will come.

Big problems.

Let's take an example from the body. You're on a run one morning, step off a curb, and feel some pain in your knee. You don't think much of it, but the pain doesn't go away for the next couple of days, and when you run, it gets worse. Clearly, something is wrong. When you go to the doctor, you're not going there to ask them to get down the swelling. You're asking them to diagnose and fix the problem.

You have two options for every home repair.

When you need a repair done, there are typically two ways to do it: fix it for now or fix it for good. Fixing it for now will handle the problem in the short term, but like the knee pain example, it doesn't even acknowledge that there could be a more serious root problem that needs to be addressed.

So the next time you're getting a repair done, ask, "Are you confident this will fix my problem for good?"

Let's take a common home repair as an example: a leaky window. The "fix it for now" option would be to slap as much caulk as possible to every seam you see. Problem solved, right? Wrong. Fixing a problem for good goes beyond addressing the visible problem to examine every possible angle to find the root problem. So, yes, we'll check the window seal. We'll also need to look outside the window. Is there a problem with the installation? With the flashing? Is the roof near the window in good working order? What about the gutters? All these things need to be considered because here's the thing: if you caulk up that window without addressing the core issue, you could be trapping water in the window. This means that what could've been a relatively inexpensive one-time repair could now be replacing a window and the surrounding framing that's now rotten from water damage and mold.

Again, always ask the question: is this fixing it for good?

Is fixing a repair for good more expensive?

Good news! Fixing a repair for good has nothing to do with being more or less expensive. A great example of this we often encounter is the "well, it's broken; you need a whole new one" scenario.

For example, we recently had someone ask us to come out and take a look at a roof leak. They'd already had a contractor come out and told them the whole thing needed to be replaced because of the age of the roof (20 years old, which is old). Now, yes, a 20-year-old roof is near the end of its life, but we looked and found that the roof looked fine. However, the roof vents were attached incorrectly, and this was what was causing the leak. It's easy at times to say, "Just tear it off and start over," but in this instance, solving the issue required a caulk tube rather than a whole new roof.

To be sure, there are times when the repair diagnosis comes and the bill is higher than you want (anyone ever had a shower leak leading to replacing the whole shower?), but again, a short-term fix, when it comes to repairs, is no fix.

Conclusion:

There are always two ways to fix a needed repair in your home, for now, or for good. Any guy in a truck can fix a problem that's staring them in the face. It takes an expert to look past the issue and diagnose the root problem. Ensure that your contractor is doing everything in their power to take care of your problem for good. Your home will thank you.