Home Exterior Maintenance Checklist for First-Time Ontario Homeowners

Buying your first home in Ontario is one of the most significant milestones of your life. It is also the beginning of a new responsibility that nobody fully briefed you on: maintaining the exterior of a structure that represents your largest financial asset. Most first-time buyers know they need to mow the lawn and shovel the driveway. What many do not know is everything else — the gutters, the caulking, the weep holes, the driveway sealing windows — that determines whether small issues stay small or compound into expensive repairs. This guide covers what you need to know, when you need to do it, and how to find the right people to help.

Welcome to Homeownership: What Nobody Tells You

When you moved from renting to owning, a critical shift happened that most new homeowners underestimate: every problem is now your problem, and the longer you wait to address it, the more expensive it becomes. In a rental, a blocked gutter was your landlord's concern. In your home, a blocked gutter is your foundation's concern — and by the time you notice foundation issues, you are already looking at repair bills that can exceed $10,000 to $30,000.

The exterior of your home is its first line of defense against Ontario's weather — and Ontario's weather is genuinely demanding. The Kitchener-Waterloo region experiences an average of 60 or more freeze-thaw cycles per winter. Each cycle expands water trapped in small cracks, enlarging them. Rain events in spring and fall send water searching for paths into your structure. Summer UV exposure degrades sealants, caulking, and protective coatings. Left unaddressed, these forces cause cumulative damage that accelerates over time.

The good news: exterior maintenance is not expensive relative to the repairs it prevents. A $150-200 gutter cleaning prevents the $1,500-4,000 fascia board replacement that follows years of water overflow. A $75 caulking job around a window prevents the $2,000-8,000 window frame and interior wall repair that follows years of water infiltration. The cost-benefit of regular maintenance is not subtle — it is overwhelming.

The other good news: you do not need to understand everything immediately. What you need is a prioritized list of what to check and when, a basic budget, and a short list of reliable tradespeople to call. This guide gives you all three.

Your First-Year Priorities: Assess Before You Act

In your first year in a new home, your most important task is establishing a clear picture of the current condition of your exterior. Previous owners may have maintained the home meticulously, or they may have deferred maintenance for years. You will not know which situation you are in until you look.

Gutters and Eavestroughs

Start here. Gutters are the component most commonly neglected by previous owners, and the consequences of blocked or damaged gutters are serious. Professional gutter cleaning in your first year serves two purposes: it removes any debris that has accumulated, and the technician can identify any sections that are sagging, pulling away from the fascia, leaking at joints, or otherwise damaged.

What to look for from the ground: gutters that sag in the middle of a run (poor slope), gaps between the gutter back and fascia board, rust stains on the siding below downspout brackets, and any plants growing from gutter sections. Any of these indicates a problem that needs attention.

Also inspect downspout extensions. Every downspout should have an extension that carries water at least 1.8 metres (6 feet) from the foundation. Missing extensions are one of the most common causes of foundation water problems in Ontario homes. Plastic extensions cost $10-15 at any hardware store and take five minutes to attach.

If your home has gutter guards installed, assess their condition and coverage. Damaged or missing guards need replacement. Homes without guards should have gutters cleaned at minimum twice per year — in late October/early November after leaf drop, and again in April after spring seed and debris fall.

Window Seals and Caulking

Walk the perimeter of your home and inspect the caulking around every window and door frame. Look for caulk that is cracked, pulling away from the surface, missing in sections, or has turned a very dark colour (indicating mildew growth through the caulk). Any of these conditions means water has been or is currently entering the wall assembly at that point.

Also look for evidence of past water infiltration on the interior: staining on walls or ceilings near windows, paint bubbling near window frames, or a musty smell in rooms adjacent to exterior walls. These indicate water has already been entering — a more urgent situation requiring immediate attention.

For double-pane windows, look for fogging or haze between the panes. This indicates the sealed unit has failed and the insulating gas has escaped. Failed sealed units significantly reduce energy efficiency and cannot be repaired — the sealed unit must be replaced. Your first-year inspection should count how many windows have failed seals, as this affects your heating costs and long-term window replacement budget.

Driveway and Walkway Condition

Inspect your driveway and walkways for cracks, crumbling edges, and surface deterioration. For asphalt driveways, surface oxidation (fading to grey from black) indicates the protective binders are depleting and the surface needs sealing. Cracks wider than about 6mm (1/4 inch) need crack filling before sealing. Cracks that run across the full width of the driveway may indicate heaving from frost or tree root intrusion — worth a professional assessment.

For concrete driveways and walkways, look for spalling (surface flaking), scaling from salt application, and cracks. Concrete is less easily repaired than asphalt and more expensive — understanding the current condition helps you plan accordingly.

Siding and Exterior Walls

Walk the perimeter and look at every section of siding from multiple angles. You are looking for: sections with dark staining or green/black discolouration (algae or mildew growth), areas where siding panels have cracked or warped, gaps in the vertical joints between panels, missing or damaged trim boards, and any spots where the siding appears to bow outward (potentially indicating moisture in the wall assembly behind it).

If your home has vinyl siding, look for impact cracks — often from lawn equipment or hail — which allow water infiltration at that point. Vinyl cracks are not always obvious from a distance and require a closer inspection.

If your home has brick cladding, inspect the mortar joints. Crumbling or missing mortar — called spalling — allows water into the wall cavity and needs tuckpointing (mortar repair). Also inspect the weep holes at the bottom course of brick: these small gaps between bricks must remain open to allow moisture to drain from the wall cavity. They should never be filled or caulked.

Roof Condition

A thorough roof inspection requires a professional, but you can do a preliminary assessment from the ground with binoculars. Look for: shingles that are curling at the edges, missing shingles, granule loss (creating bare spots on shingles), and areas where the roof plane appears to dip or sag. On the interior, inspect your attic in daylight for any points of light coming through the roof deck, which indicate gaps or damage.

If your home is more than 15 years old and has not had a recent roof assessment, having a licensed roofer inspect it in your first year is worthwhile. Understanding the remaining life expectancy of the roof allows you to budget appropriately for its eventual replacement.

Annual Exterior Maintenance Calendar

Once you have established your home's baseline condition, the key to protecting your investment is consistent annual maintenance. The following calendar is based on Ontario's seasonal rhythm and the specific maintenance tasks that protect homes in the Kitchener-Waterloo climate.

This calendar represents the minimum annual maintenance cycle for a typical detached home in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. Homes on heavily treed lots, older homes (20+ years), or homes with known issues in specific areas will need more frequent attention in those areas.

Building Your Maintenance Budget

One of the most common financial surprises for first-time homeowners is the annual cost of maintaining a home. Many buyers factor in mortgage, property tax, and utilities, but underestimate or completely omit the maintenance budget. Financial advisors typically recommend budgeting 1-3% of your home's value annually for all maintenance and repairs. For exterior maintenance specifically, a realistic annual budget for a typical two-storey detached home in the Kitchener-Waterloo region looks like this:

These figures are for regular, preventive maintenance on a home in good condition. Homes that have had maintenance deferred for several years — which many homes do before changing ownership — may require a higher first-year investment to bring systems up to baseline condition.

A practical approach for first-time buyers: in your first year, budget an additional $500-1,000 above normal annual maintenance as a "catch-up" fund for anything the previous owner let slip. After year one, you will have a clear picture of your home's actual maintenance needs and can budget more precisely.

For major capital replacements — roof, eavestroughs, windows — budget separately. A new asphalt shingle roof on a typical two-storey in Ontario costs $8,000-18,000 depending on size and materials. Eavestroughs for a full house run $1,500-4,000. Full window replacement is $500-1,200 per window for quality units. These are not annual expenses, but knowing the remaining life of each system lets you plan rather than scramble.

Finding Reliable Service Providers in Kitchener-Waterloo

One of the most common challenges for first-time homeowners is building a roster of reliable trades. In the absence of experience, it is difficult to know who to trust. The following framework applies to exterior cleaning and maintenance contractors specifically, though many principles apply broadly.

The Non-Negotiable Credentials

Any exterior cleaning or maintenance contractor working on your home must carry two forms of insurance as a minimum baseline: commercial general liability (CGL) insurance and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage for their workers.

CGL insurance protects your property if the contractor damages it during the course of work. A minimum of $2 million in CGL coverage is the industry standard for residential work. Ask for a certificate of insurance naming you as an additional insured for the duration of the work.

WSIB coverage protects you from liability if a worker is injured on your property. In Ontario, if a contractor does not have WSIB coverage and is injured on your property, you as the property owner may bear liability. You can verify a contractor's WSIB coverage directly at clearance.wsib.on.ca using the contractor's business name or WSIB account number. This verification takes about 30 seconds and is worth doing for any contractor doing significant work at your home.

Where to Find Good Contractors

The most reliable referrals come from neighbours, local community groups, and long-term residents of your neighbourhood. In the KW area, online neighbourhood groups and local Facebook communities are valuable resources for asking "who does your gutters?" or "who do you use for window cleaning?" — and filtering out the one-off complaints from the consistent praise.

Google reviews are useful but require some critical reading. Look for contractors with a significant number of reviews (50+) rather than just a high rating — a 5.0 average from 8 reviews is less meaningful than a 4.7 from 200 reviews. Read the negative reviews specifically: how did the contractor respond? A professional, courteous response to a negative review is a positive signal about how the company handles problems.

For larger work (eavestrough installation, significant repairs), check whether the contractor is a member of any industry associations and whether they have been in business in the area for multiple years. Longevity is meaningful in the trades — contractors who do poor work or have business integrity issues rarely survive long in communities where word-of-mouth matters.

Getting Quotes

For most exterior cleaning services (window cleaning, gutter cleaning, pressure washing), pricing is relatively standardized and you can get accurate quotes by phone or online with basic information about your home (number of storeys, number of windows, linear footage of gutters). You do not necessarily need three in-person quotes for routine cleaning services.

For larger work — eavestrough installation, soft washing of the entire home, driveway sealing on a large property — getting two to three quotes is worthwhile, not just for price comparison but because the site visit gives you an opportunity to assess the contractor directly. A contractor who shows up on time, assesses your property carefully, and explains clearly what they will do and why is demonstrating professional competence. A contractor who quotes a price over the phone for complex work without seeing it is not.

Be cautious of quotes that are significantly below the range you have seen from other contractors. In the trades, price usually reflects actual costs — labour, equipment, insurance, and overhead. A dramatically lower price almost always means one of those costs is being cut: the crew is less experienced, the equipment is inadequate, or the insurance is absent. Any of these increases your risk.

Common First-Time Homeowner Mistakes

After years of working on homes throughout the Kitchener-Waterloo region, certain patterns emerge in what first-time buyers get wrong in their first few years of homeownership. Knowing these in advance is the most direct path to avoiding them.

Mistake 1: Ignoring Small Issues Until They Become Large Ones

The most expensive repair in a home is almost always a repair that was preventable at a fraction of the cost a year or two earlier. A cracked sealant joint around a window costs $20 in caulk and an hour of time to fix. Left for two years, the water infiltration behind it can rot the window frame, damage the interior wall framing, and create a mould remediation situation — a $3,000-12,000 repair for what began as a $20 problem.

The discipline of regular inspection — walking your property perimeter twice a year with fresh eyes — catches these issues early. Write down anything that looks different, worse, or concerning compared to your previous inspection. Address the small items promptly. The repair cost will always be lower than the remediation cost.

Mistake 2: DIYing the Wrong Things

First-time homeowners often have an instinct to handle as much as possible themselves, both to save money and to learn their home. This is admirable in principle and appropriate in many areas. However, certain exterior maintenance tasks are more hazardous or technically complex than they appear, and attempting them without proper equipment or experience creates both safety risks and the risk of causing the damage you were trying to prevent.

The tasks most commonly botched by inexperienced DIYers:

• Gutter cleaning from a ladder on a two-storey home: Ladder falls are the leading cause of serious home-related injuries in Canada. The awkward angles required to clean gutters while on a ladder — leaning outward with limited support — are exactly the conditions that cause falls. Professional gutter cleaners use specialized equipment, standoff stabilizers, and established ladder safety protocols.
• Pressure washing siding: Consumer pressure washers can generate enough pressure to force water behind siding panels, damage mortar joints in brick, and strip paint from wood surfaces. Professional pressure washing and soft washing use calibrated pressure and appropriate chemical solutions for each surface type.
• Driveway sealing without surface preparation: Sealing a driveway without cleaning and crack-filling first traps moisture and contaminants under the sealer, causing premature peeling and failure. Proper preparation is as important as the sealing itself.
• Window cleaning on upper floors: Second-storey window cleaning from a ladder with squeegees presents similar ladder safety concerns to gutter cleaning. Professional window cleaning for upper floors uses water-fed pole systems that allow cleaning from ground level.

A practical rule: if a task requires a ladder above 3 metres (approximately one storey), professional tools, or technical knowledge about surface compatibility, it warrants serious consideration before attempting it yourself.

Mistake 3: Skipping the Fall Gutter Cleaning

Many homeowners clean their gutters in spring but skip the fall cleaning, not realizing that the fall cleaning is the more critical of the two. Gutters that are full of leaves going into winter collect standing water that freezes, adding weight that can pull gutter sections off the fascia. Ice dams forming at clogged gutters can force water under the roof edge and into the attic. The November gutter cleaning in Ontario is not optional maintenance — it is essential pre-winter preparation.

The optimal window for gutter cleaning in the Kitchener-Waterloo area is November 5-20. Most deciduous trees have dropped their leaves by this point, but the ground is not yet frozen and crews can safely operate. Waiting beyond late November risks frozen gutters that cannot be cleaned until spring.

Mistake 4: Not Having a Snow Removal Plan

First-time homeowners who move in during spring or summer sometimes arrive at their first Ontario winter without a snow removal arrangement in place. Professional snow removal services in the KW area are often booked up by early November. Waiting until the first significant snowfall to find a contractor means limited availability and potentially higher last-minute pricing.

If you are purchasing a home in spring or summer and anticipate needing snow removal service, secure your contract in September or October before the season demand peaks. Many services offer early-bird pricing for early sign-ups.

Mistake 5: Applying Caulk in Cold Weather

Caulk application requires sustained temperatures above 5°C for proper adhesion and cure. Many first-time homeowners notice a failing caulk joint in October and attempt to repair it as temperatures drop. Caulk applied below 5°C fails to bond properly and will fail prematurely — often within one season. If you miss the repair window in warm weather, wait until spring rather than applying caulk in cold conditions that guarantee early failure.

Mistake 6: Sealing the Weep Holes in Brick

This one is surprisingly common. Homeowners who notice small gaps between bricks at the base of the wall sometimes fill them, thinking they are cracks or gaps that should be sealed. These are weep holes — intentional design features that allow moisture to escape from the wall cavity behind the brick cladding. Sealing them traps moisture in the wall, causing rot in the structural components and potentially serious long-term damage. If you have brick cladding, leave the weep holes open.

Resources for Ontario Homeowners

As a new homeowner in Ontario, several organizations and resources are relevant to your situation beyond the immediate question of exterior maintenance.

Tarion Warranty Corporation

If your home is newly built (purchased from a builder), it is covered under the Ontario New Home Warranty program administered by Tarion. Tarion warranties cover defects in work and materials, building envelope protection (including water penetration), and major structural defects, with different coverage periods for each category. New homeowners should register with Tarion at tarion.com within the first 30 days of possession and understand the warranty terms and timelines for making claims.

The most important Tarion timeline for exterior issues: water penetration through the building envelope (basement, roof, walls, windows) is covered under the two-year warranty. If you notice water infiltration through any exterior surface in your first two years in a new build, document it immediately and file a Tarion warranty claim before the two-year deadline.

Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA)

The HCRA licenses and regulates home builders and vendors in Ontario. If you purchased a new home and have concerns about your builder that extend beyond warranty claims, the HCRA at hcraontario.ca handles complaints about builder conduct and licensing. You can also use the HCRA's public registry to verify that a builder is licensed before purchasing a new home.

WSIB Clearance Verification

As noted earlier, you can verify any contractor's WSIB coverage at clearance.wsib.on.ca. This is a free, public tool. Use it before authorizing any significant exterior work at your home to confirm the contractor has current WSIB coverage in good standing.

Region of Waterloo Building Services

Some exterior work on your home requires a building permit in Ontario. Permit requirements vary by municipality, but common permit triggers include: adding a deck above a certain height, significant structural changes, adding a secondary suite, and installing a pool or hot tub. Major roofing replacements generally do not require permits but eavestrough installation on a new addition might. When in doubt, call your municipality's building department before starting work. Working without a required permit can create issues at resale when buyers' lawyers do a permit search.

Energy Efficiency Incentives

Various federal and provincial programs offer rebates or incentives for energy-efficient upgrades to existing homes. Programs including the Canada Greener Homes program have offered rebates on window replacement, insulation, and other improvements that affect building envelope performance. Check current federal and Ontario government websites for active programs, as these change frequently. An energy audit through a licensed energy advisor can identify the highest-impact improvements for your specific home and identify available incentives.

Homeownership in Ontario rewards attentiveness. The homeowners who maintain their properties consistently — who clean their gutters in November, seal their driveways in summer, and catch the small caulking failures before they become wall repair projects — spend less money over the long run and live in better-maintained, higher-value homes. The learning curve is real, but the framework is not complicated: inspect regularly, address small issues promptly, hire qualified professionals for tasks that warrant them, and budget for the maintenance that protects your investment. You will be ahead of most homeowners before your second year is out.