• Perform repairs in a timely manner to preserve your house investment.house image by Cora Reed from Fotolia.com
  
  Owning a house brings with it the responsibilities of maintaining its structural and aesthetic qualities. Over time, from usage and climactic changes, parts of a house can wear or become damaged from use. To save yourself the headache of massive overalls when it comes to house repair responsibilities, tackle repairs in a timely manner; it is only responsible to fix a problem before it gets worse. Maintain a repair budget for your house to fix problems as they occur.
  
  

Structural

• You can perform several repairs to help preserve the "bones" of your house. Arrange for professional inspections of the integrity of your house's structure. From the foundation upward, water, weather, termites, mold, cracks and leaks can compromise the strength of a house's foundation and its structural beams. The responsible approach to these problems is to take no shortcuts and address and correct the first sign of any problem. Do not perform temporary fixes only to put off repairing any problems properly. What oftentimes happens is that the longer you wait, the more extensive the repair becomes.
  
  

Walls

• When you notice a hole in a wall, fill it in with joint compound and/or plaster. Odd holes in the walls and gaps around windows, doors and along the baseboards are all breeches of your home's inner environment. In warm weather, your house gets hotter faster and you may find more insects in your house. In the winter, cold drafts enter the house through these holes and cracks, only to compromise the heating efficiency of your house and increase your utility bills. For a larger area of a damaged wall, replace the hole with a fitted fill-in piece of sheetrock. Smoothing and feathering the joint compound around this repair piece makes it seamlessly disappear on the wall.
  
  

Plumbing and Heating

• Homeowners expect that after some time a plumbing or heating problem will arise in the house. The moisture from plumbing pipes can condensate and cause a mold or mildew problem under a sink or in a wall. If you have access to the pipes, insulate them to make them more energy efficient. Other common plumbing repair problems in a home include clogged sink and tub drains, toilet clogs, pipe damage, faulty joints and connections that cause a drip. It is better to consult a professional plumber about repairing any plumbing in your house.
  
  

Other House Repair Responsibilities

• Keep track of the age of your house's roof. Over time, the shingles become weather beaten and loose. Schedule a professional roofing job when your current roof expires. Home repair of fixtures around the house, such as lighting fixtures, door knobs, locks, door hinges and household hardware, require periodic maintenance, such as lubrication and polishing, to extend their working life. Appliances and equipment also require repairs at times. For the homeowner, regular maintenance and using these appliances responsibly prevents these major investments from becoming damaged. Home repair responsibilities include fixing a problem when it occurs and replacing damaged or faulty parts when they no longer work.