Home maintenance checklist for Sydney homes

Every month

• Test the smoke alarms. Fire and Rescue NSW says to test smoke alarm batteries every month by pressing and holding the test button for at least five seconds.
• Listen for running water. A toilet that keeps running or a dripping tap wastes water all day. Sydney Water says a constantly running toilet can lose thousands of litres a day.
• Run your hand along door and window seals. Draughts and rattles are early signs of worn seals or loose hardware.

Every six months

• Vacuum dust off the smoke alarms, as Fire and Rescue NSW recommends.
• Check for hidden leaks with the water meter. Sydney Water’s method: turn off all taps and water-using appliances, note the meter numbers, use no water for at least an hour, then check again. If the numbers have changed, you probably have a leak.
• Open and close every door and cupboard. Tighten loose hinge screws and handles before they strip, and see the cupboard hinge guide for crooked kitchen doors. The sticking door guide explains what to check, and the sliding door roller guide covers patio and balcony doors that drag.
• Walk the floors. Mark boards that squeak or move underfoot. The squeaky floorboards guide covers screwing them down and the signs that the frame underneath needs a builder.
• Check flyscreens and screen doors for tears, loose spline and sticky rollers, especially before summer. See flyscreen repair vs replacement.
• Walk the fence line and gates. Look for loose palings, sagging gates and latches that do not catch.

Before storm season

Sydney’s storm season brings heavy rain, hail and strong winds. The NSW SES advises clearing gutters, downpipes and drains regularly, trimming overhanging branches that could fall on the house, checking the roof for loose tiles, metal sheets and screws, and bringing loose outdoor items indoors where possible.

Gutters and roofs mean working at height. If you are not comfortable on a ladder, or the roof needs repair, use someone with the right equipment; roof repairs are trade work.

Once a year

• Replace smoke alarm batteries. Fire and Rescue NSW says to replace lead or alkaline batteries every 12 months, and to replace smoke alarms every 10 years or sooner if the manufacturer says so.
• Walk every room with a notepad. Note wall marks, holes, cracked paint, loose shelves, curtain rods coming away and anything that sticks. Put it all on one list; the handyman job list groups the jobs by room for printing.
• Look at the walls and ceilings for new cracks or stains. Water stains point to a leak; cracks that open again or run from door corners can point to movement. Both need the cause found before a cosmetic repair. The hole in the wall guide covers which is which.
• Anchor tall furniture. Product Safety Australia advises securing furniture to the wall or floor to stop it tipping, and most TVs come with anchor straps.

DIY, handyman or licensed trade?

The split matters in NSW. Electrical wiring work needs an electrical licence or certificate. Sydney Water says that for leaks inside the home you will probably need a licensed plumber, and that householders can legally do only minor work such as changing a tap washer. NSW Fair Trading’s rental smoke alarm guidance says hard-wired alarms need a licensed electrician.

Older houses need one more check. The NSW Government says a home built before 1990 is likely to contain asbestos, in places including ceilings, internal walls, eaves and fencing, and advises not to sand, cut, drill or water-blast suspected asbestos.

• DIY: testing alarms, meter leak checks, tightening hinge screws, small filler patches.
• Handyman list: door and cupboard adjustments, flyscreen re-meshing, wall patches and touch-ups, shelves, curtain rods and blinds, flat-pack assembly, small gate and paling repairs.
• Licensed trade: electrical, plumbing, gas, roofing, structural repairs and waterproofing.

Pricing a maintenance list

Several small jobs on one list are easier to price than one job at a time, because the person quoting can see the whole visit. Airtasker publishes Sydney and national task totals from its marketplace data.

The handyman cost guide sets out the published hourly rates, call-out fees and task prices in full, and what to ask for in a written quote. Residential building work over $5,000 including labour, materials and GST needs a contractor licence in NSW, and the value is for the whole job, not each item.