Your house goes through a lot during the year. The winter months bring down lashings of rain onto your roof and ice around your pipes. As such, the summer can provide you with the perfect opportunity to make some much-needed home improvements. These projects can repair any of the damage you may have sustained during the winter or prepare you for the next season. Either way, the sunshine can provide you with the perfect opportunity to head outside and get some DIY done.
Not everyone enjoys having to do home maintenance projects. Although, you are better doing these projects while the sun is shining.
Restain Your Decking
As you would expect, the parts of your house that receive the most abuse from the winter weather are the outside fixtures. Some decking directly out your back door might provide you with a nice place to chill out in the summer, but this fixture can become dangerous if not looked after properly- especially if it is made from wood.
Any wooden structure that is exposed to too much rain or sea air is going to crumble away. You don’t want to risk putting your foot through your decking first thing in the morning. That is why it is essential to stain your deck every year. Staining helps to protect your decking from the elements and gives it an even look. Unfortunately, the staining materials do not last forever. As such, you will need to restain your decking over the summer.
Reseal The Driveway
On the other side of your house, you will have your driveway. While your decking can rot away from too much rainfall, an asphalt driveway is susceptible to damage from both the rain and ice that winter brings. Thawed-out ice patches on your driveway can break away the asphalt o create potholes. Driving over one of these at the end of the day is the last thing that you want.
Fortunately, sealing your driveway can prevent the asphalt from breaking in the first place. However, much like the staining materials this sealant isn’t going to last forever. As such, you will need to reseal your driveway over the summer as well.
Pressure Wash The Outside
Protecting your home from winter weather isn’t the only reason to start making some home improvements. You may also need to make some changes if you plan on selling it. Your home will need to look as appealing as possible to those looking for properties on EZ Home Search. That is why you may want to think about washing the outside of your house.
The winter weather can leave all sorts of muck and visible grime on the walls of your house. This is even the case when your guttering is working properly. Sadly, a quick wash or downpour of rain isn’t enough to remove all this dirt. As such, you will need to get your hands on a pressure washer Pressure washing your home takes seconds to remove all the dirt that has built up on the outside of your house and can leave your home looking like it is brand new.
Clean Out Your Gutters
If you are worried about the amount of dirt on the outside of your house, then you may want to get to cleaning out your gutters. It isn’t a pleasant job, but it is one that gets a lot more bearable during the summer.
The endless amount of leaves, mud, and moss that end up in your guttering can be disgusting to scoop out with your hands. However, just imagine how bad this experience will be just after a light rain. The summer months allow this stuff to dry out so it is easier for you to remove by hand. A blocked gutter could damage the structure or cause the dirt to build up elsewhere. That is why it is important to clear them out whenever you can. It is just a more pleasant home improvement job during the summer.
Build A Shed
The summer months are also a great time to start tending to your garden. Unfortunately, this involves having to buy a load of tools that you will use once a year and never touch again. It can be awkward leaving your gardening equipment around the house, which is why you should consider building a shed if you do not have one.
A garden shed is simple enough to construct. What’s more this extra storage space in the garden comes in handy. It is only during the summer that you appreciate how much you would benefit from improving your home with a shed, so why not make this home improvement over the summer?
Bleed Your Radiators
Bleeding your radiators is a task that not many people think about. However, it is an essential job that must be done. To bleed a radiator, you must first turn off the heating to allow the water inside to cool down. As you would expect, this is a much more pleasant job to do during the summer.
The aim of bleeding a radiator is to prevent water bubbles from forming in the system and blocking the device from working. Since you are unlikely to need your radiators over the summer, it is best to do this task during the summer months. That way, your radiators, and pipes will be suitable to use again in the winter when they are needed most.
Replace Your Windows
Another necessary home fixture that becomes more important during the winter is your windows. While you will be grateful for the ability to throw these open during the summer, they actually serve more of a purpose during the winter.
Everything in your home should be conserving heat during the colder part of the year, including your windows. The wrong kind of window could result in your home becoming cold over winter. As such, you should use the summer to replace your window with dual pane windows. These thicker windows are better at conserving heat so that you will have less trouble heating your home when it gets cold. What’s more, there are environmental and money-saving benefits that also come with this home maintenance strategy. With these extra thick windows, you have less of a need to turn on your heating. As such, you emit less carbon and save money on your gas bill.
Tend To Your Fences
It doesn’t matter if you have fences in your front garden or out back. These dividers help establish property lines and make your garden look healthy. Unfortunately, these wooden barricades can also fall victim to a rough winter.
Not only will these wooden fixtures start to look tatty after a while, but some can even fall down. That is why it is worth having a sweep every summer to fix and replace your fences to keep that property line maintained. It also helps to repaint and stain any wooden fences to keep them protected for the next year.
Conclusion
Home maintenance is rarely something that people look forward to doing. However, these tasks are far easier and more appealing during the summer. That is why you should get out and do the things mentioned above while the weather allows you.
