Homeowner’s Resources

To make your home looking new and fresh even after one year we have introduced One-Year Anniversary Drywall Service just for Maryland customers only.

This one-year anniversary service marks the conclusion of your One-Year Classic Homes Limited Warranty. During the year, you will encounter nail pops and small cracks due to the settlement of your home and the change from the heating and cooling seasons. Because of these nail pops and cracks, Classic Homes recommends that you do not decoratively paint or install wallpaper in your home until after the completion of your One-Year Anniversary Drywall Service.

Just before the time of your one-year anniversary, you must schedule your one-time One-Year Anniversary Drywall Service with our Customer Care Dept to correct nail pops and drywall cracks that have taken place. The drywall contractor will point up nail pops, settlement cracks in the drywall, and seams that have puckered, leaving areas ready to sand and paint.

From time to time our customers apply custom mixed paint or stains in their new home after settlement. Please understand that with any custom paint color, normal touch-ups will be impossible to match, and will be readily visible. Likewise, standard surface products (such as wood fillers) or methods may not match as well as they do with standard materials.

Therefore any custom paint applied to your home will void the Classic homes warranty.

When winter is approaching, follow these tips to help ensure that your home survives the harsh winter months.

Treating Ice
Protect your driveway, stoop and lead walk from winter damage.

• Use of salt or chemical de-icers will damage concrete or asphalt.
• We recommend using fresh sand or kitty litter instead.
• Once the ice and snow has passed, it’s best to hose down your driveway and your vehicles of heavy salt de-icers from the roads.

Hose Bibs
Prevent problems caused by frozen external pipes.

• Turn off the water to all outside hose bibs at the interior shut-off valve.
• Drain remaining water to prevent it from freezing.
• Disconnect all hoses.

Heat
Prevent problems caused by frozen internal pipes.

• Always leave the heat on in your home in the winter, even if you plan to be away for weeks at a time.
• Heat the entire home. Even that room in the far corner that no one uses.
• Replace filters in the furnace and humidifier (if applicable).
• Ensure that the condensation line is clear and draining properly.
• Clear debris from around outdoor HVAC units.

Firepace
If your home has a wood burning fireplace, be sure it’s ready before using it.

• Clean and inspect the fire box and chimney.
  Check that the screen and air intake/outakes are clear.

Sump Pump
To prevent possible water damage, be sure your sump pump is working properly.

• Ensure sump pump is operating correctly.
• Check drainage lines for obstructions.

Gutters and Downspouts
Frozen gutters and downspouts can cause more serious problems than you might expect, including roof damage, leading to leaks into your home.

• Clear gutters, downspouts and ice dams before the winter weather sets in.

A quick guideline regarding whether or not a condition is considered an emergency is to ask yourself whether further property damage will result or if there will be a medical consequence if an item is left unattended by a professional until normal working hours. In general, if the answer is “yes”, then you should consider the situation an emergency. If the answer is “no,” please wait to call during our regular business hours.

Unnecessary calls interfere with more critical ones. In order to encourage careful use of emergency numbers, you may be charged a service fee if you request emergency service for a matter that is not a true emergency.

An emergency condition exists only in the following cases:

Heating. An emergency condition exists when there is no heat coming from the main system in your home. All service calls placed after normal business hours will be handled promptly.

Gas line leaks. Leave your home immediately and contact your gas service provider for immediate response.

Non Emergency – Cooling
All calls will be handled during normal business hours. Cooling failures do not constitute an emergency condition, unless a life-threatening health problem requires conditioned air in the home. Please consult with our Customer Care Department should you have any questions.

An emergency condition often exists when you see water spotting on ceiling. Please check if it is due to excessive condensation. Please call the roofing company immediately and please inform the customer care department we will make every attempt to have some one at the first opportunity.

Salt and other de-icing chemicals used to melt snow and ice cause pitting and discoloration of the concrete. Even if you do not use salt, it can be tracked onto concrete surfaces from the street on feet or tires. In order to protect concrete from surface deterioration, we recommend the application of a concrete sealant available at most hardware or masonry supply houses that will help retard the deterioration of concrete surfaces. It is extremely important that you care for your concrete surfaces to avoid these problems, particularly during the winter months. Please refer to your Homeowner’s Maintenance Manual for our care recommendations.