Chapter 1 of 17
The maintenance calendar
What to check and when, so maintenance is a schedule rather than a reaction to a symptom.
1 min read
The single most useful thing an owner can do is convert maintenance from something that happens when a problem appears into something that happens on a date. Manufactured homes punish deferral more sharply than houses, because the failure modes compound: a small roof leak wets insulation, wet insulation stops working and stays wet, and wet framing eventually becomes a floor repair.
Twice a year, at the change of seasons: walk the exterior looking at the roof, the seals around every roof penetration, the skirting panels and vents, and the ground slope around the home. Go into the crawl space with a torch and look for water, torn belly wrap, and daylight where there should not be any.
Annually: service the HVAC, test smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms, check the water heater and its pressure-relief valve, clean the dryer vent along its whole run, and check that doors and windows still operate smoothly.
Every few years: have the home checked for level and the anchoring inspected. Re-coat the roof on whatever cycle its material requires.
Keep a record. A dated log of what was done, by whom, with receipts, is worth real money when you sell and is often what an insurer asks for after a claim.
Key points
- Twice yearly: roof, seals, skirting, vents, ground slope, crawl space.
- Annually: HVAC, alarms, water heater, dryer vent, doors and windows.
- Every few years: level check, anchoring inspection, roof coating.
- Keep a dated log with receipts, it pays back at resale and at claim time.
Watch out
Sticking doors and windows are usually the first symptom of the home going out of level, not a door problem. Planing the door treats the symptom and lets the real cause continue.