Spring Cleaning Time

Spring is here and most people do still take the time to do that big spring clean. But, while you are vacuuming, dusting and uncluttering, you should also be making sure that your home is in a decent state of repair.

Fixing all the little problems now, many of them that may have been caused by the bad weather, will potentially save you a great deal of money. Little problems around the house have a way of turning into huge headaches if left unchecked, so here is a spring home maintenance checklist that, if followed, should help you make sure that your home is ready for the summer months ahead.

Deck Maintenance

If your deck has been covered with an inch of snow for the last few months the fact that it probably needs a little TLC should be no surprise. Although a good power wash can be the best way to restore your deck’s appearance, you should also make sure that the winter months have not damaged its structural integrity. If you have any concerns after throughly inspecting your deck call in a pro now instead of trying to patch things up yourself, which often only makes matters worse.

Check Your Gutters

When it was cold and miserable outside not cleaning out your gutters was understandable. However, that means that the chances are all those leaves that fell last fall are still there, cluttering up your gutters and presenting a potential problem. Now is the time to get rid of them and make sure that they are still in good shape.

Schedule an HVAC Checkup

The need to use your air conditioner may still be a few months away but the time to schedule a check up for your HVAC system is now. If you wait until June to discover that something is not quite right, you may find yourself spending more than a few days wilting in the heat because your HVAC company is booked solid.

Consider an Exterior Paint Job

Spring is the ideal time to have the exterior of your home repainted if it is looking a little shabby. If you paint at the height of the summer the higher temperatures may mean that the paint can be affected by all that heat and humidity and you may end up having to have it redone again far sooner than you should.

Wash the Windows

The one thing that it is easy to neglect (or purposely avoid) is cleaning your windows. However, after all that bad weather they really are going to need it. If ladders are not your thing spend the extra few dollars to call in a professional window washing company to do those tricky second story windows.

Check All Your Summer Tools

Is your lawnmower still working?

Does the grill still fire up?

How about that patio furniture, is it really up to another season in the sun?

Spring is the best time to check all of these things to avoid disappointment when the really good weather arrives and most stores still have great deals on summer items that will be gone by the time the summer sun comes out for good.

At first it may seem like completely repainting the exterior of your home is an expensive prospect, whether you choose to to do it yourself or hire a professional to do the job. However, neglecting to do so when it really is time can end up costing you far more.

The more you delay a repainting job the longer the exterior of your home is exposed to the potentially damaging elements – and structural problems are certainly going to be more expensive to remedy. With all of this in mind when is the right time to call in the painters and give your home the face lift in a can it needs? Here are some pointers.

Is Your Home Three to Five Years Old ?

It may seem strange that a three year old house would need to be repainted but the fact is that these days most new houses have just a single coat of paint over the primer and, while it may look great in the beginning, after three years or so the paint begins to stop doing its primary job – protecting what is underneath from the ravages of the weather – and it really is time for a new coat or two to be added.

Is Your Home Blueish, Grayish or Brownish?

If you tend to describe the exterior of your home in these terms it is unlikely that this is actually the color that was originally picked out. Even the best exterior paint will fade over time and, when it does, it not only looks less appealing but is, once again, exposing your home to the climate more than is good for it.

Try this test on your -ish paint. Run your fingers over visibly faded sections of the paint job. If they come away chalky that is an indication the resin that was actually holding the paint onto your home’s exterior – and providing much of the protection – has broken down, leaving only the paint’s pigment behind.

Blister, Cracks, Flaking and Chips

If the exterior of your home has degraded to this extent then there really is no time to lose. All may not be lost however. If the chipping and flaking is confined to certain areas, under the windows for instance, excessive moisture may be the culprit, not the paint itself. This can be remedied fairly easily with a good re-caulking job around the offending windows.

If, however, the paint flakes are everywhere it is a signal that your exterior paint has failed. At this point you will be best served by bringing in the experts to determine the extent of the damage. If they find that they can still see the paint underneath the chips you may only need a scraping, sanding, and repainting job. However, if the wood underneath is bare you will need your house painter to remove all the old paint and start again from scratch, a far more expensive prospect and one that could have been avoided by acting more quickly, biting the bullet and treating your home to a new coat of paint when it first needed one.