3 Signs of A House In Need of Repair

As winter is approaching and as nights are growing longer, sometimes a house can seem just a tad spooky in the dark as strange noises come from the walls and certain doors seem to open by themselves. Before you go decide your house is haunted, consider the alternate possibilities for these occurrences that can usually be cured with a few small repairs.

1. Cold Spots

• When you walk through the house and feel a cold brush of air most likely it has to do with drafts and poor insulation. To fix the problem: on a windy day take a lighted candle and move it slowly around the window frames in your house; if the flame flutters, there is a draft. It is easy to install weather striping or heat-shrink plastic sheeting on the windows. Although if the draft is strong, it may be time to do some window repairs or replacement.
• If a wall in your home is very cold to the touch, consider adding more insulation inside the walls.

2. Strange Noises

• If you hear weird noises that you can’t explain such as moaning or strange scratching noises, it can usually be attributed to plumbing problems. The pipes might be rubbing against the wood frame of your home when they expand and contract. In order to fix the problem, figure out when and where the moaning occurs, then call a plumber.
• If you hear soft whispering noises, most likely it is rodents in the walls. For this problem, call a rodent control center and check thoroughly outside to see if there are any obvious places where small animals could be entering.
• Rattling is probably your heating system. Hot water systems bleed off the air and forced air systems often rattle if the furnace fan is out of balance or if the fan belt is loose. If you don’t think it’s the heating and aren’t sure about where it’s coming from, contact your home service professional.
• If you hear scraping sounds, check for branches rubbing against your room or siding; this problem can be easily fixed with a little pruning. 
• Creaking usually only happens in older homes since part of the structure can expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity. There is no real solution for this, but neither is it something you should be overly concerned about.

3. Doors Opening by Themselves

• If your cupboards or doors randomly open by themselves, it is almost always misalignment. The hinges on cupboard doors become worn through repeated use and should be checked and realigned annually. All you have to do is loosen the hinges and shift the door so it is square and level with the opening, then tighten the hinges again. If that doesn’t work, you may need to replace the hinges.
• Doors become misaligned when houses slowly shift with weather and humidity. Similarly as with cupboards, to fix this problem you simply adjust the hinges so the door is level.  

If you don’t know of a good contractor to call to fix these problems, we can direct you to a great company; call us at 301-831-3679. Also be sure to give us a contact us after you’ve re-insulated your walls or trimmed back those trees that have damaged your home exterior. We will be make those interior and exterior surfaces look as good as new.