5 Summer Home Improvement Projects
Project #1- Decks
You will need to give your deck a good cleaning and check for any water damage from the winter. They make scrub for the decks, scrub your deck with this and let dry one day. Then you should apply a fresh coat of sealer providing there is no water damage to the deck. If there is water damage then you may want to sand it and refinish it. Then each year apply the sealer to it and you should have no more problems.
Project #2- Caulk
Caulking is something that should also be done once a year. You should caulk around the exterior joints and around the windows. Just because its warm out doesn’t mean you wont need to do this. In the summer you are trying to keep the warm air out and this is a vital place that air seeps in from. Don’t forget to caulk around the doors also. This seems to be a place people forget and its one of the most important spots. Caulking around these will also help keep all the summer insects out of your home. This can be a huge issue if a ton of bee’s figure out how to get in your home.
Project #3- Concrete
If you have a concrete porch, driveway, patio or walkway you will need to inspect these each year. After the winter months you can almost count on some sort of damage. You have all the snow, sleet and hair mixed with all the salt you throw down, you are probably going to see some cracks. Unless you want them cracks to turn into big holes then I suggest fixing these each year. Cracks in the concrete are fairly simple to fix. As long as it’s a small crack you can buy concrete caulk. You will need to clean the crack out very well. The best way to do this is with a pressure hose. Once its clean let dry. After you have done that you can apply the concrete caulk and let dry. If the crack is pretty large then you will need to buy concrete patch instead if caulk.
Project #4- Siding
If you have any lose siding from the winter winds then you should fix these during the summer. You could fix them in the winter months to, but I find if you wait for the summer months then you will be more likely to fix them better then you would have in the winter. Its pretty cold in the winter and you try and get things done fast, and may not do them correctly. If you have access to a pressure washer then I would get it and pressure wash your home. Make sure you use detergent that is made for your home as you don’t want to spray any paint or anything off your house. If you have windows that you can not reach, then use outside Windex. They make a kind that hooks right to your hose and makes cleaning windows fairly easy.
Project #5- Vents
If you have a gas dryer in your home then you should clean out the entire vent system. Take the lint trap out and scrub it. Even if you empty your lint each time you use it, doesn’t mean its clean. Hold your trap under running water. Notice that the trap looks clean but how come the water wont go through the holes. That’s because there is a film left behind that wont come off unless you scrub it. Clean out the exterior vent cap also. These can get pretty gross through the winter months and could become a fire hazard. Along with the dryer most people have roof vents. You will need to get there once a year and clean them vents to. They will probably be full of debris and who knows what else. Cleaning these once a year or more if needed will help your home vent properly.
