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The spring/summer seasons signify the end of a long, tough winter. For many of you, this winter involved months of rain and cold weather – and this takes a toll on your home. It leaves many parts of your home crying out for a touch-up here or there, not to mention you’ve got the usual spring/summer maintenance tasks to consider as well. You end up with a massive list of things to do, so let’s walk through some of the more important ones to tick off right away. 

Patch Up The Roof

A roof inspection is needed after a long winter because the bad weather can cause long-term problems. This is particularly important if you had a lot of snowfall over the last few months: snow weighs down your roof and can cause sagging in the attic, as well as possible water damage. So, it’s a case of checking the outside and the inside to be sure everything is okay. 

If not, you might need a roofing company to replace some shingles or patch up some minor cracks here and there before they get worse. Likewise, you may need someone to even out your roof if it’s starting to sag. A lot of you won’t need to do anything, but a roof inspection is crucial, as it may show you need important home repairs. 

Repair & Revamp Your Gutters

Throughout fall/winter, your gutters get put through hell. Loose leaves fall from trees for months, collecting in your gutter along with any other natural debris blown by the wind. Then it rains for weeks on end – and sometimes snows – meaning all of the debris bogs down and turns into a horrible clump. The result? Clogged gutters that are being weighed down by too much debris, causing them to warp and sag. 

While you should definitely try to clean your gutters regularly throughout the colder months, there’s a sense of “why bother?” about it. You clean them one week, and then they fill up with leaves and debris a few days later. Now that the bad weather is behind you, it’s time to call a gutter company to sort everything out properly. This will involve a proper cleaning of your gutters, plus any repairs to sagging or warped areas. If things are really bad, then a full gutter replacement could be on the cards. 

Seal Up Your Windows

Windows are designed to try and keep cold air out of your home during the fall/winter, but this means the weatherstripping works overtime. Loads of rain, snow, and wind can mean that the seals around your windows wear down more than at any other period of the year. But here’s the thing: you actually need this insulation for the warmer months to make sure your AC works properly. With that in mind, it’s time to go all over your house and inspect every window to see how the seals are faring. 

Do you spot any that look overly worn? Re-caulk them with proper window sealant or replace the weatherstripping altogether. It’ll feel like you’ve got new windows without the expense of buying actual new windows. 

Prepare Your AC Unit

The chances are you’ve got an HVAC system in your home to both heat and cool it. As a result, it just spent the last few months warming your home – but now you need to prepare the cooling side of things for the warmer part of the year. The last thing you need is a dodgy AC unit that doesn’t work efficiently and can’t keep you cool during heatwaves. All you need is some simple AC maintenance, which tends to involve: 

• Replacing any filters
• Cleaning dir from around the system
• Bringing in a pro to test the system and provide any small repairs

Who knows, you might discover that your AC unit is actually faulty and won’t work properly in its current state. The bad news is it needs replacing; the good news is you’ve figured this out and replaced it before the hot summer starts. 

Check Your Siding

Think of your siding as the outermost protective barrier against the elements. It exists to buffer wind and bad weather – as well as to look nice. For most of the year, it simply does the latter and makes your home look pretty. But, during the winter, your siding finally gets to show its protective qualities, and this can take a toll on its condition when the sun starts shining again. 

Head outside and check your siding for any telltale signs of winter damage: 

• Cracked or broken panels
• Warping
• Loose panels/planks
• Serious dents

While some of these damages may seem superficial, they end up weakening your siding’s structural integrity. In other words, your home is no longer as protected as it once was. The start of spring/summer is the ideal time to touch up your siding with a few essential repairs – or even to reseal wood siding so it maintains its protective properties. 

Jet Wash Outdoor Walkways

This includes your driveway and any decking/patio on your property. All of these walkways can suffer from big wear & tear in the winter – and they’ll also be filthy. Jet wash them to remove layers of grime and see what state they’re really in. You might be lucky enough to reveal nothing sinister, which means a wash is all you need to worry about – plus resealing any wooden deck boards. 

However, if you experienced some extremely cold weather in the winter with a lot of snow/ice, then there’s always a chance that small cracks appear in walkways. This is mostly common on concrete or asphalt areas, so see to them before the cracks get bigger and turn into safety hazards. 

The beginning of spring/summer is the right time to touch up your home and check for any signs of damage after a tricky winter. It’s all a case of getting your property into its best condition for the warmer and sunnier part of the year. This way you can enjoy it without needing to worry about anything.

The post The Home Repairs You Need To Do At The Start Of Spring/Summer appeared first on SB Magazine.

5 Essential Home Maintenance Tips to Avoid Any Issues

You’ll already know you have to look after your house from the moment you own it. But, this can often feel a little overwhelming, especially when you’re a first-time owner. But, that doesn’t mean you’ll have to struggle through it or have to deal with a lot of stress.

More than a few home maintenance tips should make it more manageable. And, they’ll still help make sure your house is in the best shape possible. Some of these will have more of an impact than others, making them more than worth focusing on.

Five specific tips should be more than worth it.

Work on Your DIY Skills

You can DIY a lot of your home maintenance, and this is always worth putting some time and effort into. But, it’s worth making sure you’re  in a position to do that. Work on your DIY skills as much as you can, focusing on the ones you’ll need most. This isn’t too hard. There are plenty of online tools and tutorials that help with it, so you’ll be handy around the house before you know it.

Have a Professional You Can Call

As much as you can do a lot of your home maintenance yourself, it doesn’t mean you can do it all. There’ll be more than a few times when you’re a lot better off hiring a professional. This is especially true when it comes to electrical or plumbing work. An electrician, for example, makes sure the work’s carried out safely and doesn’t risk any more issues later on.

Know Which Tasks to Prioritize

You could end up feeling a little overwhelmed by your home maintenance because there’s quite a bit to do. But, you mightn’t have the time, or money, to deal with everything at once. When that happens, know what needs to be prioritized. Large and structural issues should always be the most important, but more aesthetic ones can be left until later.

Always be Proactive

One of the main reasons why many people think home maintenance is always a problem is because they leave their maintenance until there’s a problem. That usually means repairs, which can be expensive. By taking a proactive approach, though, you’ll avoid a lot of this. Sorting out issues when they’re small, for example, makes sure they wouldn’t be large and expensive later on.

Create a Routine

Speaking of being proactive with your maintenance, one of the best ways to do this is with a home maintenance routine. This is a clear schedule of what needs to be done, and when. It’ll help avoid forgetting about anything, and you could prevent a lot of stress by trying to juggle more than a few home maintenance tasks.

Looking after your home doesn’t have to be as much of a chore as you’d think. More than a few home maintenance tips should make it a lot more manageable, and you’ll still keep your home looking, feeling, and functioning amazing. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t pay off.

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The Importance of Preventive Maintenance

from an HVAC Company

Anything you can do in your home to prevent problems from rearing their ugly head is helpful. Running a home can be costly at the best of times, and so if you’re not looking after the maintenance of the home, then ultimately, more issues are going to arise.

Preventative HVAC maintenance is crucial for helping maximize energy efficiency as well as tackling unexpected breakdowns and extending equipment lifespan.

Having regular servicing in place, it helps in many ways, and proactive upkeep prevents the smaller issues from becoming major system failures.

The Key Benefits of Preventive HVAC Maintenance

What are some of the key benefits of preventative HVAC maintenance? What’s the point of being proactive with HVAC maintenance?

Significant cost savings

With regular maintenance, you help to avoid expensive emergency repairs as well as preventing inefficient operation, which all help to increase energy consumption.

Being able to save a lot of money in the long run, even if there are a few initial expenditures required. For a lot of homeowners, saving money on utility bills and home repairs is important. 

Extended equipment lifespan

With the frequency of regular servicing, from cleaning to lubricating parts, it all helps in preventing premature wear and tear. It allows systems to last much longer and potentially extends a furnace’s life from around 10 to 25 years. 

Again, extending equipment lifespan is a great way of saving money and getting more ROI on the HVAC you have in your home.

Improved energy efficiency

By using an HVAC company, cleaning coils and components helps to ensure the systems operate more efficiently. 

Even a slight dirt buildup on coils can increase energy consumption significantly, and is something you therefore want to avoid in order to reduce your carbon footprint.

Improved safety and air quality

Maintenance involves inspecting for dangers like fire risks and carbon monoxide leaks. It involves replacing any dirty air filters and ensuring cleaner indoor air, too. Improving safety and air quality is important for a happy, healthy household, too.

Reduced downtime

Having regular and scheduled maintenance, it helps reduce the amount of downtime, so that it is less likely to break during those peak seasons where you rely on it the most. There’s nothing worse than having an HVAC system that stops working when you need it the most.

Components of an HVAC Maintenance Program

For a professional technician, some typical tasks will be conducted to help ensure the maintenance program does everything necessary to keep your HVAC in good condition all year round. Typical tasks include the following:

• Checking refrigerant levels
• Testing thermostats
• Cleaning coils
• Lubricating moving parts
• Inspecting electrical connections

For critical facilities like schools or hospitals, it’s important that these professionals offer services that are compliant with strict safety regulations. It’s important to look for all of the above when it comes to finding the right company for preventive HVAC services.

When it comes to preventive maintenance, it’s good to conduct HVAC maintenance in order to keep any system in good condition and to maximize its longevity in the property. 

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