First Year Maintenance Calendar

Seasonal jobs for a brand-new townhome, month by month, including which outdoor jobs the condo corporation owns and which are yours.

Your warranty, and your part in it

Every Ironstone home is covered by Ontario’s Tarion warranty across three milestones, all measured from the day you take occupancy: one year on workmanship and materials, two years on key systems including plumbing, electrical and the heating envelope, and seven years on major structural elements. Coverage is automatic because we are a licensed builder. There is no extra paperwork and no add-on fee.

The part that is yours: warranty claims are submitted through your MyHome account at myhome.tarion.com, which creates the official record, and then you contact the Ironstone Service Team and we coordinate the work. Reasonable maintenance is also your responsibility, and a claim can be declined if the cause was maintenance that did not happen. That is what the calendar below is for.

The exact scope of each milestone is defined and administered by Tarion. For authoritative terms we point homeowners straight to Tarion’s own resources.

Sort this out early: in a condominium the corporation maintains the building exterior and the common elements, so several of the outdoor jobs below are not yours. In a freehold townhome all of them are. Your declaration, rules and budget draw that line, so read them and know which side each job falls on before the first freeze.

Month one

• Set up MyHome at myhome.tarion.com and note your possession date
• Start a running list of anything you notice. Do not save it up in your head
• Locate and test the main water shut-off. Know where the electrical panel is and confirm the breakers are labelled
• Change the furnace filter and write the size on the furnace in marker
• Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm
• Expect small drywall cracks and sticking doors. A new home dries out and moves in its first year, and that is normal

Every month

• Furnace filter: check, and change it every one to three months
• Run water in any unused sink, tub or shower so the trap does not dry out and let sewer gas in
• Test the GFCI outlets in bathrooms, kitchen, garage and outside using the test button
• Walk the perimeter and look at the grading and the downspouts

Spring

• Turn exterior taps back on and check for splits
• Clean downspouts and confirm water discharges well away from the foundation
• Test the sump pump by filling the pit with a bucket of water
• Switch the humidifier to its summer setting
• Check caulking at windows, doors and the tub surround, and touch up what has opened
• Re-establish grading where soil has settled against the foundation. Settling in year one is expected

Summer

• Clean the HRV or ERV filters and the dryer vent
• Water new sod and young trees deeply, and keep watering the soil next to the foundation so it does not shrink away
• Check the garage door auto-reverse safety
• Inspect the deck, porch and railings

Fall

• Shut off and drain exterior taps before the first freeze. This is the single most common avoidable claim
• Switch the humidifier to its winter setting and set it around 35 to 40%
• Clean gutters and downspouts
• Have the furnace serviced and change the filter
• Check weatherstripping on every exterior door

Winter

• Keep exhaust vents, the gas meter and the furnace intake and exhaust clear of snow and ice
• Run bathroom fans for 20 minutes after showers. Condensation on windows means the humidity is too high
• Shovel away from the foundation, not against it
• Watch for ice damming at the eaves after a thaw and freeze

The two dates that matter

• Before your first anniversary of possession. Submit your year-end warranty form through MyHome. This is the deadline for the one-year workmanship and materials milestone, and it does not move. Put it in your calendar the week you get the keys.
• Before your second anniversary. The second-year milestone covers key systems. Same process, same account.

If something happens that could cause imminent significant damage to the home, or an immediate serious risk to health or safety, that is a warranty emergency. Use the Ironstone 24-hour emergency line rather than waiting.

Where this goes next

You do not have to work the rest of this out alone.

Everything in this guide is on our first-time buyer hub as well, alongside six calculators that run the same numbers with yours plugged in. If you want a person instead of a page, that is what our team is for.

The first-time buyer hub

Calculators, the seven steps and every guide in this library.

Open →

Move-in ready homes

What is finished and available right now, with real prices.

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Stax townhomes

Our entry point. Three bedrooms from $377,184, now selling.

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hello@ironstonebuilding.ca London, Ontario · Monday to Saturday, 10a–5p
Ironclad Pricing · 7-year Tarion warranty

This guide is general information for first-time buyers in Ontario, current as of August 2026. It is not legal, tax or mortgage advice, and program amounts, rates and eligibility rules change. Confirm the details that apply to you with your lender, your lawyer and the program itself before you rely on them. Prices and availability referenced here are subject to change without notice. E.&O.E.