Top 5 Home Improvement Projects for the Summer Months
Jun 28, 2013The home improvement professionals you see on TV or hear on the radio often talk about scheduling certain types of jobs and projects around the house by the season in which it is easiest to complete. In other words, during the cold winter months, when rain, sleet, and snow are abundant, you’ll want to focus on home improvement projects inside the house where it’s warm and dry. Additionally, most outdoor projects are best completed during the summer months when you can work outside without worry for ice and snow getting in your way (unless you’re hanging holiday lights outside the house).
The following is a list of the top five home improvement projects for the warm summer months.
1. Work on that deck. Your deck requires power washing and staining every 3-5 years. The stain typically requires a few days of dry weather before you can put it on the surface of your deck, as well as a few days without rain for it to dry and cure. This is also a good time to go around the deck with a hammer and a power sander to make sure there aren’t any nails or wood splinters protruding from surfaces.
2. Paint the house. Depending on what type of paint was used on the home during the last painting, you may need to repaint the exterior of your home every 3-7 years or every 10-15 years. Also, the summer is a good time to go around the house and find gaps and cracks that need new caulking. Old caulk may need to be stripped away, so that new caulk can be put in place.
3. Refresh your landscaping. Summer is a great time to get out into the garden and the landscaping and plant bulbs and perennials. You’ll also want to put in mulch around the landscaped areas of the yard to help retain moisture from watering and prevent soil erosion during periods of heavy rainfall. Keep in mind that flowering trees and shrubs are best planted when the soil is still relatively cool, so save that job for autumn or spring!
4. Replace those old windows. Most folks don’t know how much a good set of replacement windows will save them on their energy bill in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Energy efficiency experts suggest that it may amount to a 15% savings in annual energy costs. Depending on the size of your home, that could mean as much as $350 a year in energy cost savings.
5. Inspect and replace your insulation. Autumn and winter are right around the corner. The summer months are a great time to get up in the attic and down in the basement to inspect the insulation. Replacing old insulation in your attic and basement with new insulation will keep your home comfortable all-year round. Keep in mind that every piece of insulation has an R-value, and insulation with a higher R-Value has better thermal performance.
This article was brought to you by Continental Siding in Kansas City, a leading provider of replacement windows, vinyl siding, and polymer siding in Kansas and Missouri. Continental Siding is proud to offer our clients across the Midwest a wide selection of home improvement products and services that aim to help them keep their homes looking great and performing well.
