It’s not just the process of moving in you need to be careful about. You’ll have quite a few tasks to get through once you’ve got the keys and are unpacking as well! So, before you sit down with a cup of tea and put your feet up, make sure you complete the five jobs below as soon as you can after moving in.
This is a collaborative post
Change the Locks!
An obvious one for most people moving into a new home, but this job can still sometimes be forgotten about in the rush of trying to settle in. Unless you’re absolutely sure that the keys you’ve been handed are the only copy, get a locksmith out to change the locks and secure your home.
Don’t just focus on the doors here either. If there are prominent, oversized windows in your house, such as large windows in the conservatory that can be opened and closed, get the locks changed on those as well. You don’t want any area of your home to be an entry point without your say-so!
Seal the Doors and Windows
Check on the seals around the doors and windows in the new house. You need to be sure there’s a proper rubber sealing there to keep out the weather, as well as to keep in any airflow you’ve got going round your house.
If you’re pumping heat into the air, or you’ve got a portable AC system on the go, you don’t want all that air leaking straight back out again! Put your hand up against the sealed areas around the doors and windows and see if you can feel anything; you should also do a visible check for holes.
Check the State of the Boiler
How’s the boiler in your new place? Check on its age before you do anything else; if it’s over fifteen years old, you’ll definitely need to get a new one fitted! You can call a repair person out here to check for you if you’re not sure what you’re looking for or you want to be sure the job gets done properly.
A misbehaving boiler can even be dangerous, so make sure this is a top-priority job and you get it out of the way as soon as you’re able to. You don’t want any gases leaking into your home, and peace of mind over this is going to make your new house a much nicer place to live!
Fit Your Heating Correctly
Another element of the tip above, once you’re sure the boiler either needs replacing or is in good condition and you can move forward, now’s the time to fit the rest of your heating correctly.
A lot of homes, and even new builds, can have gaps in the heating system. This won’t make your new house a comfortable place to be; don’t let the cold invade your home for too long after you move in, especially if you’re missing a good portion of insulation as well.
This doesn’t need to be a huge or expensive job either. You can fit a few German electric radiators around the house quite easily if you find there are rooms that are quite large with little to no airflow inside. These kinds of radiators don’t need to be plumbed into the wall either, with quite a few models coming on castors, meaning you can move them as and where you need them.
Fit a New Fence
A new fence is often needed in older homes with a large garden space, as there’s a high chance the original fence is either in disrepair or outright falling down. If you leave a job like this til last, the harder it’s going to be to create a secure, safe space outside of your house.
The obvious security risk aside, if you don’t feel like you’ve got privacy in the garden, you’re not going to feel at ease out there. Even tall plants won’t work!
Fitting a new fence might sound like a lot of work, but you can keep it simple. For example, you can replace it panel by panel, dig out the soil beneath to make sure it fits, and use shingle, bark, and concrete to fill gaps as and where they occur.
If you’ve just moved into a new home, make sure your post moving-in checklist has these jobs on it. The sooner you get to them, the sooner you can relax and enjoy your new space!
Read more posts in the Home & Garden Category