Hearth and Hammer

Hearth and Hammer Raleigh's woman-owned home maintenance & handywoman service. We handle all repairs, from painting to plumbing, with skilled, friendly care!

The device on your ceiling that is supposed to save your life might not work anymore.Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors...
07/16/2026

The device on your ceiling that is supposed to save your life might not work anymore.

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors do not last forever. The sensors inside wear out, usually in seven to ten years, and an expired detector can look completely normal while doing nothing at all. Carbon monoxide is the bigger danger, because you cannot see it or smell it.

Most people test the battery and assume the unit is fine. The unit itself has a shelf life.

Three things to check today. Save this.

1. The manufacture date printed on the back of each unit
2. Whether you have a carbon monoxide detector near sleeping areas, not just smoke
3. Whether any of them are more than ten years old

If you are not sure how many you need or where they go, Hearth and Hammer can assess your home and install them correctly.

Send us a message to get on the schedule.

Follow for the home upkeep most people forget until it costs them.

The cracked line of caulk in your shower is doing more damage than you think.Caulk and grout are the seal that keeps wat...
07/09/2026

The cracked line of caulk in your shower is doing more damage than you think.

Caulk and grout are the seal that keeps water out of your walls and floors. When they crack or pull away, water slips behind the surface where you cannot see it. It sits there, and it rots wood, ruins subfloor, and grows mold long before anything shows on the outside.

This is one of the most overlooked sources of hidden water damage in a home.

Three signs it is time to reseal. Save this.

1. Caulk that is cracked, peeling, or discolored
2. Grout lines that look dark, soft, or crumbling
3. Any soft spot or give in the floor near the tub or shower

Resealing is a small job that prevents a wall-opening repair. Hearth and Hammer can handle it before the damage spreads.

Send us a message to get on the schedule.

Follow for the home upkeep most people forget until it costs them.

What you don't see behind your washing machine could flood your house in minutes.The supply hoses running to your washer...
07/06/2026

What you don't see behind your washing machine could flood your house in minutes.

The supply hoses running to your washer are under constant water pressure, all day, every day, even when the machine is off. Most are rubber, and rubber fails. When one bursts, it does not drip. It releases hundreds of gallons an hour until someone shuts off the water.

This is one of the most common causes of major water damage in a home, and it almost always happens when nobody is standing there to catch it.

Three signs yours need attention. Save this.

1. The hoses are rubber instead of braided steel
2. You see bulging, cracking, or rust near the fittings
3. You cannot remember ever replacing them, and the washer is more than five years old

Swapping to braided steel hoses is a small job with a huge payoff. Hearth and Hammer can replace them and check the connections in one quick visit.

Send us a message to get on the schedule.

Follow for the home upkeep most people forget until it costs them.

That brown stain on the ceiling almost always starts somewhere you never look. Your AC pulls moisture out of the air, an...
06/30/2026

That brown stain on the ceiling almost always starts somewhere you never look.

 

Your AC pulls moisture out of the air, and that water drains out through a small line. Over time, that line clogs with algae and grime. When it backs up, the water has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is usually your ceiling, your drywall, or your floor.

By the time you see the damage, the leak has been happening for a while.

Three signs your drain line is clogging. Save this.

Water pooling around your indoor unit

The system shutting off on its own

A musty smell when the AC runs

A clogged line is cheap to clear and expensive to ignore. Hearth and Hammer can flush it and check the whole system before summer puts it under load.

Send us a message to get on the schedule.

Follow for the home upkeep most people forget until it costs them.

This is the inside of a dryer. Not the lint trap. The part you never see.That gray buildup is packed around the motor, t...
06/25/2026

This is the inside of a dryer. Not the lint trap. The part you never see.

That gray buildup is packed around the motor, the wiring, and the electrical connections. A tech opened this machine for a repair and stopped to take photos, because lint sitting against heat and live wiring is one of the most common ways a house fire starts.

Here is what most people miss. Cleaning the lint screen after every load helps, but it does not catch everything. Lint still slips past and settles deep inside the machine and along the vent line. Dry, flammable, and sitting in the worst possible spot.

Three signs your dryer is overdue for a cleaning:

1. Clothes take more than one cycle to dry
2. The top or sides feel hot to the touch
3. You notice a burning or musty smell when it runs

Dryer fires are one of the most common and most preventable home fires there are. The fix is simple. Have the interior and vent professionally cleaned on a regular basis.

If you cannot remember the last time yours was done, consider this your reminder.

Hearth and Hammer handles exactly this, and it takes far less time than recovering from a fire. Send us a message to get on the schedule.

Follow for the home upkeep most people forget until it costs them.

06/01/2026

We get it. Life gets busy, the list gets longer, and somehow that dripping faucet becomes background noise. But here's the thing — most home maintenance issues are cheap and easy to fix early. It's the waiting that turns them into expensive problems.

7 tasks that are cheap now but expensive later:

1. Caulking around tubs and windows — when it cracks, water gets in. Water damage is not cheap.
2. Cleaning your dryer vent — clogged vents are a leading cause of house fires. Do it once a year.
3. Flushing your water heater — sediment builds up and quietly kills the unit. A flush adds years to its life.
4. Checking your gutters — blocked gutters push water toward your foundation. Foundation repairs start at thousands.
5. Sealing gaps around doors and windows — you're literally paying to cool and heat the outside.
6. Testing smoke and CO detectors — batteries die and nobody notices until they really need to.
7. Fixing slow drains early — that slow drain is a clog in progress. Ignore it long enough and you're calling a plumber at midnight.

None of these take long. All of them save you money. Most of them just need someone to actually show up and do it.

That's exactly what we do. Follow us for more tips that help you stay ahead of your home — not behind it. 🏠

Address

1100 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC
27603

Telephone

+19192289403

Website

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