Seasonal jobs for a brand-new home, month by month, including the ones that keep your Tarion warranty in good standing.
London, Ontario6 minute read
Seasonal jobs for a brand-new home, month by month, including the ones that keep your Tarion warranty in good standing.
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.
Your PDI record is what the warranty milestones are measured against.
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
Year one is the year a new home dries out and settles. That is normal.
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.
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.
