Home maintenance and renos good for the soul

Question: Should I be wary of doing maintenance or renovations on my home during the current COVID-19 pandemic? Are there any concerns with regard to my health, or those of others, if I undertake these activities while practising social distancing at home?

Answer: Doing regular maintenance chores, repairs or renovations on your home should pose no additional threat during the current health crisis, as long as social distancing measures can be maintained. In fact, keeping busy with often overdue upgrades may provide a welcome sense of accomplishment, which may be missing during these uncertain times.

Before going any further with my answer to this hypothetical, but timely, question I would like to disclaim any notion that this advice is researched, medically accurate, or anything other than my humble opinion. I have not consulted with any health professionals, at least not in relation to this specific topic, regarding proper behaviour to prevent contraction or transmission of coronavirus. As with all my columns, I am heavily reliant on my own experience in forming my response. I always try to keep the parameters of my answers within my field of expertise, so I beg your indulgence for going beyond those now. These are definitely unprecedented and strange times, so why should my weekly column not follow in that same tone?

This is the time of year when we normally end our cold weather hibernation, venturing out into our yards and gardens to begin typical spring maintenance chores. As I have written in the past, this should begin with inspection of the exterior of our homes to look for obvious areas of deterioration over the winter months. As the snow disappears, areas of peeling paint, eroded soil, dripping eavestroughs, damaged wood, and other defects may be observed. While it still may be a little cold to attend to some of this deferred maintenance, planning the hours and resources necessary may be done now.

Measurements for materials may be taken and lists made, even if the work is not to be attempted for several weeks. Those with extensive landscaping or gardens around their properties should survey their condition, and begin indoor planting of seeds, if so desired. Making a list of landscaping supplies, such as topsoil, mulch, seeds, and plants should expedite the work, once the weather co-operates. Going to the home centre or supermarket to buy supplies may be warranted, but care should be taken to avoid unnecessary trips to ensure social distancing measures are followed. It may be better to delay your shopping expedition until right before you need the supplies. Although, on the other hand, there may be fewer people currently undertaking these chores, so avoiding the rush may actually improve your social-distancing objective.

Another option is to forgo the outside jobs until later on in the spring and concentrate of what can be done inside the home. I, personally, have just completed a couple of inside drywall patching jobs which were so long overdue that using existing paint was barely possible. My bathroom ceiling had been damaged by a roof leak, caused by an exhaust fan vent hood, several years ago. When I opened the 20 litre bucket of white ceiling paint used the last time it was painted, it was so lumpy I thought it would be a write-off. After extensive work with a power mixer, and straining through a kitchen splatter screen, I was able to salvage more than enough to complete the job.

While the work was physically challenging, due to old shoulder injuries now mostly healed, the reward was palpable. After spending the first part of two weeks self-isolating, due to a recent trip to the U.S., I had a bad case of cabin fever. The distraction of getting up in the morning with a tangible goal made the quarantine much more tolerable. Since the drywall repair required three coats of compound, followed by sanding, priming and painting, it took a limited daily effort over several days to complete. This was especially beneficial, as it not only eased the sense of confinement, but minimized the strain on my sore shoulders.

The point of relating this story is to highlight the improvement in my overall mood and mental health during this endeavour. I have always enjoyed the quick sense of accomplishment when doing construction or renovation projects, even when I was doing it for a living.

Other than taking care to follow the new rules of social distancing when purchasing supplies and tools, there should be little concern of increased risk when doing home maintenance or repairs. In fact, quite the opposite may be true, as the increased sense of self-worth gained by the accomplishments can be quite beneficial in counterbalancing the negative effects of social distancing.

Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the past president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors — Manitoba (cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at trainedeye.ca.

trainedeye@iname.com