Home Maintenance
A home maintenance checklist for homes in Nepal
25 Aug 20265 min read
Most expensive home repairs start as a small problem no one noticed. A short, sensible maintenance routine — a couple of hours a season — catches most of them early. Here is the checklist I work through, written for the climate and construction styles common in Kathmandu.
Before the monsoon rains
The biggest preventable damage in Kathmandu homes happens in the monsoon. With the season approaching, check gutters and downpipes for blockages, look for cracked or lifted roof flashing, and confirm that anything mounted outside — wiring, junction boxes, cables — is properly fixed and sealed.
Inside, test that doors and windows still seal along their edges, since rain drives sideways against many valley homes. A good look in daylight is enough to find the problem areas.
Electrical checks
Walk through the house and feel the switches and sockets in routine use — they should be cool to the touch and firm. Test your breakers by switching each one off and on once or twice a year so they don't seize in position.
Look at exposed wiring in the meter room and outbuildings for chewed, frayed, or heat-discoloured cable. If any circuit trips regularly, note when it happens; a repeating pattern is worth an electrician's visit before it becomes an emergency.
Plumbing and water
Listen for drips you've stopped hearing, then find them again. Check toilet cisterns, the area under basins and sinks, and the exposed pipe runs in service areas for dampness or staining.
Clear the overflow and drain covers where leaves gather. If pressure has changed noticeably over a season, or a tap is suddenly harder to close fully, add it to the list — those are early signs, not normal ageing.
Furniture and woodwork
Wood moves with humidity, and Kathmandu's seasons put joinery through real expansion and contraction. Check chair and table joints for wobble, catch door hinges before they drag, and look at balconies and railings for loose fixings.
A loose joint caught at the wobble stage is a twenty-minute fix. The same joint ignored becomes a cracked rail or a split panel.
Questions people ask
How often should a home be inspected?
For most homes, a twice-yearly pass — once before the monsoon and once in the dry season — covers the high-risk periods. Owners of rental properties often prefer one thorough pass each season.
Can I do this checklist myself?
Most of it, yes — the checklist is mostly inspection, not repair. When inspection finds something, that's when a professional visit is worth booking before it turns into a bigger job.
Home maintenance is mostly catching problems early. An hour of looking around a couple of times a year, and prompt attention to what you find, keeps the repair costs down and the house comfortable.
Nabaraj Baral
Home services & skilled maintenance from Thali, Kathmandu, Nepal. If this guide helped, the fix itself is a booking away.
Need this one looked at?
Describe the problem and book a time — or call 9828002002 to talk it through.