Your plan is built from 3 simple ideas

A home is a system: air, water, heat, power, and structure. Maintenance is just the habit of checking those systems often enough that small issues don’t become big ones. This planner converts your situation (home age, size, climate, household load, and your available time/budget) into a realistic checklist you can keep up with.

• Older homes and harsher climates need more frequent checks.
• More occupants and pets increase “wear and tear” tasks (filters, drains, floors).
• Large homes have more surface area: more to inspect and more that can fail quietly.

• Your weekly time and monthly budget determine how ambitious the plan should be.
• DIY comfort changes whether a task is “do it” or “schedule a pro.”
• The planner protects your time by selecting a small set of high‑impact tasks first.

• The Home Health Score is not a guarantee — it’s a simple indicator of maintenance risk vs. effort.
• Improving the score is usually about consistency, not doing everything at once.

The Home Health Score (0–100)

The calculator creates two numbers: a Risk Load (how hard your home is to maintain) and an Effort Capacity (how much maintenance you can realistically sustain). Then it combines them into one easy score.

• Age factor: 0–120 years → 0.0–1.0
• Size factor: 300–6000 ft² → 0.0–1.0
• Climate factor: 1–10 → 0.0–1.0
• Household load: occupants + pets → 0.0–1.0
• Capacity: time/week + budget/month + DIY comfort → 0.0–1.0

Risk Load is a weighted blend of age, climate, and size, with a smaller contribution from household load:

• RiskLoad = 100 × (0.35×Age + 0.30×Climate + 0.25×Size + 0.10×Load)

• Capacity = 100 × (0.45×Time + 0.35×Budget + 0.20×DIY)

The score improves when your capacity exceeds your risk load. We convert that balance into a friendly 0–100 score:

• Score = clamp( 70 + 0.6×(Capacity − RiskLoad), 0, 100 )

Why “70”? It makes the score feel realistic: an average home with average capacity lands around the middle. The goal is to improve directionally, not to chase 100.

Three quick examples (so you can sanity-check)

A 5‑year‑old condo (900 ft²), mild climate, 1–2 people, no pets. Even with only 1 hour/week and $50/month, your plan stays light: detector tests, filter/vent checks (if applicable), under‑sink leak checks, and seasonal reminders. Your score is usually high because the risk is low.

A 25‑year single‑family home (2200 ft²), 4 people, 1 dog, moderate climate, 2 hours/week and $200/month. Your plan prioritizes filters, drains, gutters, exterior moisture, appliance checks, and seasonal HVAC tune‑ups. The score is often mid‑range — and improves quickly with consistency.

A 70‑year home (1600 ft²) in a harsher climate, 2 people, 2 pets, only 0.5 hours/week and $75/month. The planner switches to “minimum viable maintenance”: tiny weekly checks + quarterly safety and moisture tasks, plus a “pro list” for higher‑risk items. The score may be lower, but the plan is realistic.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is this plan the same for everyone?

  No — your checklist changes with age, size, climate, and household load. The goal is “right-sized” maintenance.

• Does the planner replace a professional inspection?

  No. It helps you stay consistent between inspections. For major concerns, hire a qualified inspector or contractor.

• What if I’m a renter?

  You’ll get renter-friendly tasks (detectors, filters you can access, drains, reporting leaks quickly) and reminders to contact your landlord for bigger items.

• What’s the most important task?

  Leak detection and filter changes. Water damage and HVAC strain are expensive — small habits prevent big bills.

• How accurate are time and budget estimates?

  They’re rough planning estimates. Every home is different. Use the numbers to set expectations, not to predict exact costs.

• How often should I regenerate the plan?

  Monthly or seasonally is perfect. If you move, get a new pet, or your schedule changes, regenerate it.

• Why does climate matter so much?

  Freeze/thaw cycles, humidity, and extreme heat accelerate wear: roof, siding, HVAC, drainage and seals.

• What if I have zero time?

  Use “Easy mode” and do one 10‑minute task per week. The planner will focus on the highest leverage checks.

• Can I export this as a calendar?

  This page can generate a simple .ics file in the browser (downloadable) so you can add reminders to Google/Apple Calendar.

• Is this medical/safety advice?

  No. It’s an educational planning tool. If anything feels unsafe (gas smell, sparking, active leaks), stop and contact a professional.

Home Maintenance Planner: the complete guide

Most people don’t fail at home maintenance because they’re lazy — they fail because the “to‑do list” is invisible, not prioritized, and not tied to a routine. A home has hundreds of moving parts, and when life is busy, it’s easy to miss the tiny warning signs. The result is a sudden, expensive problem at the worst possible time.

This planner is designed to be the opposite of overwhelm. Instead of asking you to remember everything, it turns the chaos into a repeatable system: small weekly habits, a handful of monthly checks, and seasonal reminders that match your climate. The smartest maintenance is boring maintenance — the kind you barely notice.

Here’s the mindset shift: the goal isn’t to “do all the tasks.” The goal is to protect the systems that cause the biggest damage when they fail. In practice, those systems are almost always: water (leaks, drainage, humidity), airflow (filters, vents, dryer lint), and heat/cold (HVAC performance, insulation, seals). If you take care of those, you eliminate a surprising percentage of expensive surprises.

The Home Health Score helps you quantify that. A higher score generally means your maintenance capacity is keeping up with your home’s risk load. A lower score doesn’t mean something is “wrong” — it means you should simplify, focus on one high‑impact area, and build consistency. Many people improve 10–20 points simply by adopting one weekly routine and one seasonal reminder.

The weekly checklist is intentionally short. It usually includes things like a fast leak scan (under sinks, around toilets, by the water heater), checking your HVAC filter status (or setting a reminder), clearing obvious debris, and doing a quick “listen + smell” walk‑through. These take minutes, not hours — and they catch issues early.

Monthly tasks often cover safety (smoke/CO detectors, fire extinguisher pressure), water quality (drain flow, toilet leaks), appliance health (dishwasher filter, fridge coils if accessible), and exterior checks (gutters, grading, visible cracks). Seasonal tasks vary more: in cold climates, winterization and freeze prevention become essential; in humid climates, mold prevention and dehumidification matter; in hot climates, HVAC efficiency and seals are the big levers.

Budgeting is the second reason people struggle. Maintenance feels random, so many households either under‑save (and panic when something breaks) or overspend on non‑essential upgrades while neglecting basics. A simple “reserve” approach works better: set aside a monthly amount that matches your home’s age and size, and treat it as a buffer. If you don’t use it, great — that money becomes your future replacement fund.

This planner estimates a reasonable reserve by combining your home’s risk factors with common maintenance patterns. It also flags tasks that are safer or smarter to outsource based on your DIY comfort. If you’re low on DIY comfort, that doesn’t mean you can’t maintain your home — it simply means your plan should include “schedule a pro” reminders for the right tasks, while keeping everything else simple.

Finally, remember: consistency beats intensity. Doing one small task every week is better than doing a massive weekend “maintenance marathon” once a year. The planner is built to keep you in the game.

• Weekly (10 minutes): quick leak scan + trash/debris check + “anything weird?” walk‑through.
• Monthly (30–60 minutes): detectors + drains + filter/vents + one appliance check.
• Seasonal (1–2 hours): exterior, gutters, seals, HVAC tune‑up planning.
• Annual (half‑day): deeper checks, warranties, major system planning, safety refresh.

If you want to make this viral: take a screenshot of your checklist and post “My Home Health Score is ___/100 — what’s yours?”