I recently moved back into my childhood home with my mom. In the last few years, the house has fallen into disarray a bit. Cleaning and organization I can handle no problem, but I have no knowledge or experience in the structural side of things- electricity, plumbing, etc.
When my mom was here alone, it seemed to me that any problems that arose in the house would go neglected for a while, until they really became unignorable. I can't help but wonder if this pattern of neglect has inflicted additional damage to the house that is maybe not easily detected by someone without experience.
For example, one of the first issues I tackled was the refrigerator had been leaking, which went neglected for a long time- even seeping through the floor and dripping into the laundry room in the basement below, I mean for months probably. I got someone to fix the leaky fridge, but how do we know there isn't mold/structural damage as part of the aftermath of this? Is this even a legitimate concern or is it just stemming from my ignorance?
Another example, the roof was redone a few years ago, after a bunch of water had leaked through the ceilings in the second floor. The roof is fine now, but the ceilings in the upstairs of the house look a little worse for wear (stains, peeling paint, etc). Maybe they just need a new coat of paint, or maybe they ought to be ripped out entirely and redone, I really would not know the difference.
What are some initial steps to take to kind of make sure the house is in good shape plumbing/electric/construction-wise? Do I ask for a checkup of sorts, if there is no immediate or obvious problem at hand? I have concerns that there are issues I simply cannot recognize, stemming from the aftermath of older problems and from the house just being old. I have zero experience with this kind of thing and just want to help get the house in good shape for my mom.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Submitted September 11, 2015 at 09:06PM by slightly_off_beat http://ift.tt/1F1QPa2 Home
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