Spring checklist for a well-and-septic home in the Shenandoah Valley

A cracked or loose septic lid is a real danger: children have fallen into septic tanks and died. A bad lid also lets rainwater into the tank, which floods the drain field. A quick walk each spring catches it.

Do it yourself, $0 to $80, about 15 min

A cracked cap or a casing that ends too close to the ground is a common reason a well test comes back with bacteria. Surface water and bugs get straight into the well. The fix is often just a new cap.

Do it yourself, $0 to $60, about 15 min

Roofs fail at the edges and the flashing, and they fail slowly until they do not. Twenty minutes with binoculars each spring, and a set of photos, catches loose screws and cracked pipe boots while the fix is still small.

Do it yourself, no cost, about 20 min

Termites work out of sight inside the framing and do their damage for years before anyone notices. Spring is when they swarm and are easiest to spot, and keeping wood and mulch off the foundation is most of the prevention.

Do it yourself, no cost, about 30 min

Many wet basements and crawlspaces come from rain soaking in right next to the foundation, not from groundwater. Settled backfill and a missing downspout extension send it there. A few wheelbarrows of soil is the cheapest waterproofing a house can get.

Do it yourself, $0 to $150, about 45 min

Winter is hard on gutters: ice pulls the hangers loose, snow bends the runs, and a knocked-off extension dumps spring rain against the foundation. A spring look, on top of the fall cleaning, gets them ready for the wettest months of the year.

Do it yourself, $0 to $50, about 45 min

A gravel driveway is a drainage structure with stone on it. Water running down the middle is what carves the ruts and washes the stone into the ditch. One grading a year with a proper crown is cheaper than a load of new stone every other year.

Hire a pro, $150 to $600, about 30 min

A spigot that froze over the winter often looks fine from outside. The split is in the pipe inside the wall, and the first time the hose runs, water pours into the basement or the wall. Checking with the spigot on and your eyes inside finds it in minutes.

Do it yourself, $0 to $50, about 20 min

Old, damaged or badly covered heat tape is a known cause of house fires, and it runs where nobody looks: crawlspaces and well pits. Unplugging it for the summer takes it out of service while it is not needed and is the natural time to look it over.

Do it yourself, no cost, about 15 min

Hydrants take a beating over the winter from ice, livestock and the occasional hose left on. A leak below ground wastes water, runs the well pump and softens the ground around the hydrant, and it is much easier to fix in spring than in a January freeze.

Do it yourself, $0 to $60, about 20 min

Ash turns corrosive once it picks up summer humidity, and creosote left in the flue over the summer smells, holds moisture and hardens. Cleaning the stove out when the season ends, and booking the sweep early, is cheaper and easier than doing it all in a rush in the fall.

Do it yourself, $0 to $20, about 45 min

A propane tank sits out in the weather for decades, and most problems start small: a rusty patch, a regulator vent plugged by a nest, a line nicked by the mower. A quarter hour each spring catches them while they are the supplier's quick fix.

Do it yourself, $0 to $50, about 15 min