We all know that keeping up with ongoing Home Repairs can be quite the challenge – finding a competent contractor, understanding the intricacies of the work, affording all the expenses. Harpswell Aging at Home has a team that can help.
In an effort to assist Harpswell neighbors with this burden and to support their ability stay in their homes as long as possible, HAH, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity 7 Rivers, has established a Home Repairs Team to provide a variety of no-cost home repairs and weatherization efforts for eligible Harpswell residents. Our focus is to aid in making homes SAFER, WARMER and DRIER.
The Town of Harpswell partners with HAH to handle initial eligibility assessments based on income, residency and age. Know that starting with your first contact, all matters are handled confidentially, protecting your privacy.
To Get Started Call:
The Harpswell Town Office 207-833-5771 – Extension – 108
HAH offers a wide range of home repairs to eligible neighbors to help keep them SAFER, WARMER, and DRIER in their homes.
Safer
- Install wheelchair ramps
- Replace rotted wood on decks, porches, decks, railings, and handrails
- Install, rebuild or reinforce handrails on stairways
- Install grab bars in or near tubs and showers, and near toilets
- Raise the height of toilet seats by installing seat risers
- Replace round door knobs/openers with lever-type door openers
- Replace non-ground-fault-circuit-interrupting (GFCI) receptacles with GFCI receptacles
- Install doorbells, slide latches or chains, and/or peepholes at entry doors
- Install static or motion-sensing outside lighting
- Install smoke detectors and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors
- Increase stairway light levels by installing light fixtures and/or switches
- Install “D” type drawer and door pulls on kitchen and bathroom cabinets
- Replace defective light fixtures and receptacles
- Increase the size of door stoops
- Build platform to raise height of front-loading laundry equipment
- Clean clogged dryer vent hose
Warmer
- Install insulation on underside of house floor, in walls and in ceilings where none exists
- Reinstall falling floor, wall, and ceiling insulation; cover with plastic sheet
- Install insulation around sill plate to reduce heat loss from basement or crawlspace
- Make (done by Habitat 7 Rivers) and install interior storm windows
- Replace broken window and storm door glass
- Wrap or re-wrap under-house heating air ducts
- Seal cracks around entry doors with weatherstripping
Drier
- Caulk cracks around windows and doors
- Install first-floor rain gutters and downspouts
- Install rain-diverting strips on roofs above entry door stoops and stairways
- Replace rotted trim around windows and doors
- Repair leaking sinks, faucets, and drains
Due to the limited funding available for this work, we do not offer work that does not enhance SAFETY, WARMTH, or DRYNESS, such as work to enhance appearance, update fixtures or accessories.
Work not offered by HAH
- Roofing and/or chimneys
- Concrete and masonry work
- Interior ladder work needing greater than an 8-foot step ladder
- Exterior ladder work higher than first-floor rain gutters, eaves, and downspouts
- Work in a basement or crawlspace with standing water on the floor
- Work in electrical panels
- Water treatment systems
- Furnaces, water heaters, and heating/air conditioning systems
- Water wells
- Septic systems
- Inclined stairway chairlifts (motorized stairway chairs)
- Removal of mold, asbestos, lead, and other toxic residues