If you’ve purchased a home in Mitchell Shire — perhaps in Wallan, Kilmore, or Beveridge, — you’ll know how delightful it can be. Country charm, slower mornings, room to breathe. Yet with the privileges of a semi-regional lifestyle come a few quirks that city slickers may never even have considered. Yes, we’re talking about home maintenance.
Home maintenance is a necessary evil that comes hand-in-hand with home ownership. Mitchell Shire’s unique blend of older mid-century and Federation-era homes, temperamental weather, and semi-rural setups makes certain maintenance risks more likely to hit local residents.
Neglecting smaller maintenance issues around the home can quickly snowball into costly chaos, and the last thing you need is a preventable property disaster draining your bank account.
So whether you’re a long-time homeowner or just moved into your first place out here, here are the key maintenance risks you should take into consideration as a homeowner in Mitchell Shire.
1. Storm Damage & Insurance Gaps
Mitchell Shire is no stranger to VIC’s unpredictable weather, as we’re regularly experiencing torrential downpours, hail, and bearing the brunt of the region’s strong northerly wind squalls. Whilst all property types can be battered by these elements, older homes especially are more susceptible to storm damage. Loose roof tiles, cracked guttering and dodgy trees can easily escalate from “I’ll get to that next weekend” to an emergency callout and a bucket under the ceiling.
Latest Stories
This is where you have to be proactive. Regular roof checks (especially before winter), clearing gutters, and trimming back any overhanging trees is essential. It’s also key to update your home and contents insurance regularly as a Mitchell Shire resident. With storm damage threatening the structural integrity of your home and leaky roofs and ceilings also posing significant threat to your contents, ensuring your policy is updated every year for adequate cover can provide great peace of mind. Make sure your policy reflects what your home is worth now (not 10 years ago), and what it would realistically cost to replace all your furniture, electronics, and other valuable assets.
2. Septic & Drainage System Failures
A lot of Mitchell Shire houses don’t have town sewerage — particularly if you’re further out in the sticks — and that means septic systems. They fade into the background when they’re working. But what happens if something goes awry? You’ll definitely notice. Clogged toilets, flies, soggy yards…it’s a nightmare, to say the very least.
The vast majority of septic dramas are attributable to inadequate maintenance. These systems must be pumped out on a regular basis (typically once every 3–5 years) and should be inspected more frequently if you have a larger household. It’s also important to be super mindful about what goes down the drain: non-biodegradables, grease, or too much water at once can cause overflows or damage your leach field.
Similarly, if your home is hooked up to storm sewer systems or natural drainage areas, clogged or damaged pipes can cause flooding around the foundation — especially during a downpour. This is also why you should never ignore damp patches or slow drains. What may seem to be just an annoyance can actually be indicative of a larger, messier problem, that will only get even messier if left unchecked!
3. Termite Trouble & Timber Rot
The mild climate and green leafy nature of Mitchell Shire makes for the perfect environment for termites to flourish, especially in timber homes, garden beds close to the house, or older properties with subfloor moisture issues. And once these pesky little critters let themselves in, it’s game over for your structural integrity if you don’t act fast.
But termites are not the only wood-botherers in town. If there is moisture seeping from leaky pipes, poor ventilation, or blocked gutters, it can cause timber rot — particularly in weatherboards, windowsills or eaves. It’s slow, insidious and expensive to fix if you pretend it’s not there. The key is to schedule annual pest inspections, even if you haven’t noticed anything. It’s a small outlay compared to the damage they can cause.
Additionally, ensure your subfloor is well-ventilated, repair leaks promptly and don’t allow soil or mulch to pile up too high around the base of your house. Basically, don’t make life easy for critters or mould.
4. Bushfire Risk & Vegetation Management
If you’re living on the doorstep of a reserve or your property backs onto bushland, this one's for you. Mitchell Shire has multiple areas designated as high-risk for bushfire, especially in the warmer months when everything’s dry and crispy. It doesn’t take much for a spark to spread, and houses surrounded by overgrown vegetation are especially vulnerable.
Reducing your bushfire risk isn’t just a seasonal task. It’s a year-round maintenance. Keep leaf litter off the ground, clean out gutters, trim overhanging trees, and mow your lawn short. Also ensure your fences, decks and outdoor furniture aren’t sitting in a sea of flammable material. And don’t wait for a CFA alert — have your own plan in place. That means knowing your fire danger rating zone, having essential supplies prepped, and making sure your insurance (again!) actually covers bushfire damage. Spot the pattern yet?
5. Heating Systems & Chimney Hazards
Winter in Mitchell Shire can be pretty brutal. Naturally, many homes in the Shire depend on fireplaces or old gas heaters. But if not properly maintained, these can pose risks of their own. Dusty flues, cracked firebricks, or bird nests in chimneys, for example, all may pose fire or carbon monoxide risks. And if you’ve got a split system or reverse cycle unit, when was the last time you gave the filter and coils a thorough clean?
Before winter sets in, get your heating system professionally inspected. Dust off the air-con filters, sweep the chimney, and ensure that any gas appliances have up-to-date safety certifications. With risks of air pollutants and carbon monoxide leaks, faulty heaters are a silent danger, and it’s better to sort it out now than freeze your toes off in the height of storm season.
6. Electrical System Overload
Finally, plenty of homes in Mitchell Shire still run on outdated wiring systems. Combine that with modern energy loads (air fryers, electric blankets, home offices, smart TVs, etc.) and you’ve got a recipe for the perfect storm. Add in the occasional power surge during storms, and your system really needs to be up to scratch or you’ll either find yourself in a power outage at the best case scenario or quite literally be playing with fire in a worst case scenario.
If you’ve ever experienced flickering lights, slightly-too-warm power points, or random trips of your breaker, that little reminder is your house waving a giant red flag. Get a licensed electrician to check things out as soon as you can. Simple changes like switchboard upgrades and surge protectors can prevent major issues. And honestly? Don’t DIY electrical stuff. It’s not worth the risk to save a few bucks.
Hammering It Home: Protecting your Mitchell Shire Residence
Regional living in the Shire can be very enriching, but it has its own rules when compared to urban or suburban living. More exposure to the elements and increased risks of falling trees, power outages, and damage to underfloors caused by termites or even septic system failures means that Mitchell Shire homeowners can always expect a hefty to-do list when it comes to annual property maintenance.
So take some time throughout the year to perform maintenance tasks relating to these risk factors. With some extra care and due diligence, you can ensure your property is in the strongest possible position and with the most suitable level of cover to protect your investment as a homeowner and also keep your family safe from season to season.
0 comment
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Read and post comments with a
digital subscription.