The Most Important Home Maintenance Tool you will Ever Own

As a homeowner what do you consider the most important home maintenance tool? We’ve heard a wide range of answers:

“Screwdriver.”

“Hammer.”

“Draino.”

“Wrench.”

“Measuring tape.”

“Duct tape.”

“Paintbrush.”

“Hedge trimmer.”

It’s true, trim hedges and fresh paint are all good for a home, but non of the tools listed above compare to this one:

The #1 Tool for Homeowners:

Caulking Gun

#1 Tool: Caulking Gun

The caulking gun is by far, the most important tool you will ever own as a homeowner.

Why?

Water is your worst enemy.

A caulking gun is the only tool that helps seal up the gaps that will allow water to infiltrate your home, causing severe damage. Water causes more damage than any other element.

A report by Aviva Canada Insurance showed that the insurance company paid out $180 million in water damage claims in 2014, a 189% increase versus 2004.

Homeowners are failing to keep their homes safe from water damage, and it’s only going to become more important.

By ignoring the water infiltration problem,Canadians are neglecting to invest where it counts, and paying out big in the long term as insurance rates are sure to rise.

Caulking is becoming increasingly important, as water infiltration issues are on the rise.

Why are water damage issues increasing?

• More frequent severe weather events.
• An aging sewer system that is unable to deal with large amounts of water within a short time period
• Average yearly rainfall in Canada has increased by 12% in the past 60 years, with 20 more days of rain a year than the 1950s.
• Catastrophes like overland flooding are on the increase.
• According to Environment Canada, severe weather events that used to happen every 40 years can now be expected to happen every six years.

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Where does caulking need to be applied?

In addition to  all the obvious places indoors ( windows, bathtub, sinks, shower), caulking on the outside of your building is even more important, to help keep the weather and moisture out.

Wherever two surfaces come together to form a joint, apply caulking:

• Corners where brick, stucco or fieldstone meet siding or shingles
• Where brick and metal frames or supporting beams join up
• When wood or metal posts sit on a concrete floor
• Look for gaps along foundation walls, if caulking is insufficient, use spray foam.
• Around air conditioners, attic vents, chimneys and other vents that come through the roof
• Around dryer vents, kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans and similar openings in the outside walls or under overhanging eaves.
• Around pipes, downspouts and electric cables
• Around door frames and window frames and rusty lintels.

Find any source of infiltration and seal up your home tight, to avoid causing damage from water, ice and snow.

The $$$ cost $$$ of the most important tool you will ever own as a homeowner?

About $5.

Make sure you don’t cheap out on this one – it could save you a whole lot of money.