With summer here, your home is experiencing some serious changes in terms of the weather it must contend with. Each season is characterized by certain extremes, whether those extremes are in temperature, precipitation, or some combination thereof; regardless of what extremes your house faces, you can be sure that it is experiencing some wear and tear owing to that. Thus it is that every time the season changes you are obligated to do some home maintenance to manage the upkeep of your house. Some are easier than others, but all are ultimately necessary.
Of course, there are many things that need to be done around the house but which you, personally, cannot attend to. There are a variety of reasons for this, chief among them being that you simply aren’t a professional who is trained and qualified to deal with all the problems a house faces in terms of maintenance and repair. You aren’t an electrician, a plumber, or a structural engineer; in some cases, only a professional will do, and when it comes to your home, only the best will do. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t simpler tasks that you can tackle in the meantime
1. Clean Your Gutters
They sit above you, out of sight and out of mind, but they are, in fact, serving a vital function for your home – keeping your roof clear of water and debris by providing a safe, convenient channel through which both can move from your roof to the ground. Unfortunately, a gutter is a rather simple device and is easily stuffed with leaves, seeds, rocks, and dirt, resulting in a gutter that eventually can’t do its job, as it is simply too backed up. Making a regular climb up to your gutters to clean them out is the difference between a damaged roof and gutters and a perfectly functional gutter system!
2. Deck Maintenance
Everyone loves a good barbecue on the deck, or to spend a lazy afternoon reading a book or just chatting with friends or family on their porch. Either way, if your deck is made out of wood, then chances are it has seen a harrowing few seasons. Boards are easily damaged, can curl, and can eve rot. If you see a board in this condition, it is important to remove and replace it with a new board that fits perfectly. You can cut this yourself or have it provided professionally, but you don’t want to risk keeping a damaged board on your deck – it’s dangerous!
3. Another Coat of Paint
Paint provides the face and aesthetic of your home more than anything else, but it also fades away. It also becomes discolored with time, as well as becoming damaged and chipping or peeling away. Consequently, you may find it necessary to have to put a new paint job over the old one, or even strip away old paint and replace it with new paint; it all depends on what the exterior of your home is made of as well as the type of paint and the condition it is in.
Regardless of the season, you will always have more maintenance tasks to take care of. Thankfully, during the summer time, you can at least take care of your home under the sun and enjoying some nice weather!
+Ken Uhrich loves a well-maintained home. He regularly blogs and gives home improvement tips on the Custom Home Group website.