During your routine maintenance inspections of your historic building, always spare a few minutes to take a good look at the surrounding area. A crumbling garden wall, rusting railings, or a tree branch that is beginning to overhang your roof may not seem like pressing maintenance matters, but remember it is always best to tackle problems while they are small and easy to correct. Developing problems outside the house may easily escape notice, so be sure to check your sewer or septic tank and any fuel tanks that you may have. Check which way rainwater runs across paths etc during a storm.