As this summer is nearing its end, you shouldn't stop sprucing up your home's exterior and interior. The onset of fall and winter implies preparing your home for colder weather. However, many homeowners are lost in terms of the exact repairs they need to perform in late summer, so here are a few tips to freshen up your home quickly and easily.
It's not too late for a bit of landscaping
Although springtime is ideal for landscaping, late summer is suitable as well. Namely, this is the period to trim and remove dead or unstable branches that might snap off because of gale strong winds or the accumulation of snow.
Cleaning the gutters
Speaking of dead branches, your gutters are probably full of twigs and dead leaves. Heck, there is even a football or a Frisbee up there! This is no laughing matter, as pools of water can form on the roof after a major rainfall. If the gutters give way, then our house will suffer from water damage which is hard to clean up.
Luckily, cleaning the gutters isn't too hard if you have ladders long enough to reach the roof. Make sure they are secured at the base, so they don't tip over. Also, don't lean out to the sides to much while up there. Use a broom or a rake to scoop al the roofs from the gutters and roof.
Dealing with the draft from the windows and doors
The wall insulation of your house should be impeccable but the doors and the windows are the weakest areas. The seal around their respective frames should be airtight. Otherwise, you need to grab a caulk gun and fill in all the holes, regardless of how minuscule they might seem at first.
The doors should be mounted with a gasket at the bottom to prevent the draft. If you seal these areas correctly, the heat loss in winter will decrease dramatically, lowering your utility bills.
Preparing the yard for the cold spell
Apart from your home's interior, the exterior will require winter preparations. Once you are certain that the backyard pool won't be used anymore this summer, drain it completely and cover it with a plastic sheet to prevent laves from piling up at the bottom.If you have a garden tap, then it needs to be shut down and disconnected from the grid. The latter is essential since water that remains inside the pipes (which is hard to drain) can freeze overnight, rupturing the pipes. In this sense, all the water pipes that run under your home should have a layer of insulation.
Time for painting
Nature is most colorful at the onset of fall. You too can use this time to add a fresh layer of paint to your property. Painting the front door of the fence is enjoyable but if you own a large estate, then this work can be time-consuming. In order to have enough time to get other things done, call deck and fence painting experts to apply a fresh layer of paint. Since they are professionals, you can be sure that the paint won't peel off by next summer, as it might do if applied by a layman such as yourself.
A break from gardening
Clearing out garden planters and pots is mandatory and the end of the gardening season. The beds need to be cleared (and preferably, cleaned) and all the bulbs planted. Late summer is the ideal time to finally throw away all the damaged planters and buy new ones at a local gardening center. The gardening equipment should be neatly stored in the shed outside and kept under lock and key until next spring.
Changing and cleaning AC filters
Before the time comes to heat your home instead of cooling it down, be sure to check the air filters of the heating system and the AC. These filters should be cleaned regularly, according to the manufacturer's instructions. In most cases, they are rinsed using soap and warm water. However, every filter has a projected lifetime, so replacing them should also be part of this late summer maintenance "ritual."
Tending to walkways
Finally, you need to turn your attention to all the walkways on your property, the driveway and the patio included. Over time, cracks start forming inside the concrete and fill with water as the rainy season begins. The cold winter air freezes the water that accumulated in cracks and the concrete starts cracking from the inside.
You can prevent this scenario from occurring by curing concrete. This involves filling these cracks in all the concrete slabs of the driveways and the pathways. By prolonging the pavers' lifespan, you are actually saving money in the long run, as paving the front yard isn't cheap.
Just because summer is at its end, it doesn't mean that there are no chores to be done. From cleaning the gutters to repairing concrete pavers on walkways, there is still enough work inside and outside the house to keep you busy in September and October.