The House Year

Union County, New Jersey

January in Union County

12 tasks for a typical local house (basement, heat pump) ·adjust for yours

  1. Anchor the furniture that can tip

    Renters live with unanchored furniture because they can't drill.

    $115–$290to hire out here

  2. Check your fire extinguishers

    An extinguisher is the one tool in your house where "it's probably fine" isn't a plan — you find out whether it works at the exact moment it's too late to fix.

    $55–$175to hire out here

  3. Put leak detectors under everything that holds water

    Every water disaster starts as a drip you couldn't see: the washing machine hose weeping behind the machine, the water heater rusting through at the base, the supply line sweating inside a vanity.

    $115–$230to hire out here

  4. Feel every outlet and switch plate

    Electricity that's flowing right doesn't make heat where you touch.

    $175–$375to hire out here

  5. Check for a whole-home surge protector

    Everything in a modern house has a circuit board in it now — the furnace, the water heater if it's fancy, every appliance with a display.

    $290–$545to hire out here

  6. Radon mitigation system check

    This card is only for houses with a radon mitigation system already installed — the white PVC pipe running from the slab up through the roof (or up an exterior wall), with a fan unit in the attic or outside.

    $175–$400to hire out here

  7. Find your main water shutoff

    Someday — a burst washing machine hose, a split supply line, a frozen pipe letting go — water is going to be spraying inside your house, and every minute it runs costs you real money.

    $85–$175to hire out here

  8. Hot tub quarterly care

    First, the honest gate: no hot tub, no task — skip this card and enjoy your quarter.

    $175–$400to hire out here

  9. Refresh tub and shower caulk

    Grout is rigid and belongs on the flat planes of tile.

    $175–$400to hire out here

  10. Measure your attic insulation (the ruler test)

    Attic insulation is measured in R-value, but you don't need a meter — you need a ruler, because depth is a good-enough proxy: loose blown insulation runs roughly R-2.5 to R-3.7 per inch.

    $175–$460to hire out here

  11. Replace your HVAC filter

    Every bit of air your system heats or cools passes through one filter.

    $85–$145to hire out here

  12. Clean the dishwasher filter

    Older dishwashers had hard food grinders.

    $115–$205to hire out here

The rest of Union County's year

Your county's checklist, one email a month. What's due, what it should cost, and a heads-up when the weather changes the plan. No drip campaigns — we don't have the patience for them either.

Close — but it's not your house yet.

This page plans for a typical local house. The app asks twelve questions about yours and rebuilds the year around the answers — your systems, your dates, your prices.

Free to start · the whole year is $24 · no card required