Getting Your Home Ready for Spring

Getting Your Home Ready for Spring

Winter is almost over and it’s already time to start looking ahead to the warmer months ahead of us. Even if you got lucky and only had to deal with a rather mild winter, winter can still be a tough time of year, particularly on your home and yard. As the weather starts warming up again, it’s  good to take a good look around your home to look for any problems that might have come up over the winter. That way, you’ll be able to take care of any potential problems before they turn into big headaches and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the nice weather that lies ahead.

Check Your Gutters

When was the last time you had your gutters cleaned? If it’s been a while, now would be a good time to see how they’re doing. We’ve all heard the saying “April showers bring May flowers,” but the last thing you want is for the water from those April showers to start making its way into your house. Gutters direct water away from your home, so if your gutters are full of leaves and other debris, they won’t be able to do their job effectively and there’s a chance water could start making its way into your basement. In addition to making sure your gutters are clear, make sure they’re still firmly secured and aren’t coming loose anywhere.

Look at the Roof

Inspecting your roof is another excellent way to make sure water doesn’t start making its way into your home. You don’t have to get up on the roof yourself, but take a look at it from the ground and see if you notice any potential problems such as missing shingles or shingles that have started coming loose. If you think you might see some problems, you can always call a roofer to come out and give your roof a more thorough inspection.

Check Your Windows and Doors

No matter what time of year it is, you don’t want doors and windows that aren’t good at keeping the elements out of your home. Check around them to make sure your weather stripping and other seals are still in good shape so you won’t have to worry about water getting in or losing your home’s cooled air during the summer. If you’ve noticed condensation forming between the panes of your glass over the winter, it could be a sign that there’s a problem with the seal between the two panes of glass. In some cases, this can simply be repaired, but in some cases, you might be better off getting new vinyl replacement windows instead.

Take Care of Your Air Conditioner

If there’s a problem with your air conditioner, you don’t want to find out about it when the first hot day of the year rolls around. In addition to changing your filters on a regular basis, you should have a heating and cooling specialist come out and inspect your air conditioner and make sure it’s still in good working order. If you have any plants or shrubs growing near your air conditioner, make sure they’re not overgrown or blocking the airflow around the unit.

Look Around the Foundation

Take a walk around the perimeter of your home and see if there are any problems around the foundation. Look for cracks that might have formed in the foundation or any spots where the ground near your home dips down low. When there are low spots in the ground near the home, it’s easy for rainwater to start pooling up and eventually start making its way into your house. If you spot any of these, a landscaping contractor can come out and regrade your lawn so that water drains better. If you notice any cracks in the foundation, contact someone who specializes in foundations so they can come out and patch those cracks up professionally.

Clean Up The Yard

When your lawn has spent a lot of time hidden under snow, it’s easy to forget what it looks like  underneath. Did you forget to rake up the last of the leaves that fell in your yard during the fall? Maybe a couple of branches fell down over the winter that need to be picked up. These sorts of things can suffocate your lawn and make it more difficult for it to grow into the nice, green lawn you want it to be.

Home Renovation Projects That Don't Pay Off

Home Improvement Projects That Don’t Pay Off

No homeowner ever wants to see their homes depreciate in value. Unfortunately, not all home improvement projects necessarily pay off if you decide to sell your home later on. A lot of homeowners take on big improvement projects, thinking they’re making a great investment in their homes that will pay off if they later decide to sell their homes, only to be disappointed to find out those projects didn’t add as much value as they’d expected. So, if you’re looking to add value to your home, which projects should you avoid?

Swimming Pools

While having your very own swimming pool at home has long been seen as a symbol of luxury, it’s important to remember that many people see swimming pools as more of a burden than a luxury. Sure, it can be nice to spend a hot summer day by the pool, but pools require time and money to maintain. In some parts of the country, swimming pools can only be used for a few months out of the year so a lot of people see them as being more hassle than they’re worth. A lot of people also don’t want to risk being held liable if someone is injured or drowns in their pool. A home having a swimming pool might actually be a deal breaker for families with young children.

Permanently Converting Extra Rooms

Now and then, we all need a little extra space in our homes. When that happens, people often look for areas in their homes that are being underutilized and try to find ways to adapt them and make them more functional. If you have a job that lets you work from home, you might want to turn the guest bedroom into an office. Or maybe you’d like to turn your garage into a fun playroom for the kids or a large rec room the whole family can enjoy.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with turning under-utilized areas of your home into more usable spaces, but if you want to add value to your home, the key is to make sure they’re easy to return to their original state. You might have loved your home office, but if a potential homebuyer doesn’t work from home and has a larger family, they’d be much more interested in a bedroom than an office. A lot of potential homebuyers might also want a home with a garage that actually functions as a garage, so they might not be impressed by a garage-turned-rec room.

However, converting an attic into a liveable space seems to be an exception to this rule. This has become increasingly popular in recent years and it often does help to add value to a home.

Adding Carpeting

Homes full of carpeting were popular for decades, but nowadays, many homebuyers prefer the look of hardwood floors. Not only do many home buyers simply prefer the look of wooden floors, they also don’t want to deal with the frequent vacuuming carpets need.

Backup Power Generators

Power outages can easily happen to anyone, so you might think that a lot of people would like having the peace of mind that a home they’re considering buying has a backup power generator to keep things going if the power goes out. But backup power generators actually have a rather low return on investment.

Many High-End Luxury Upgrades

When you’re looking for ways to add value to your home, it’s important to keep the rest of your home in mind. For example, if you absolutely love to cook and spend a considerable amount of time in your kitchen, it can be tempting to go all out and turn your kitchen into a top-of-the-line cooking space with marble countertops all the best appliances. However, going over the top with luxury upgrades in one room while the other rooms in your home doesn’t get the same kind of treatment can actually make a home more difficult to sell. Not only does it not flow well with the rest of the house, there’s always the chance that potential homebuyers won’t share your enthusiasm for cooking and won’t be willing to pay more for those upgrades.

It’s also smart to consider the other homes in your neighborhood. One reason why home buyers often look for homes in certain neighborhoods is because of price. If your home is in a neighborhood full of modestly-priced homes, a home full of high-end luxury upgrades could be a very tough sell.

It’s important to remember that although these projects don’t have the best return on investment for your home, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not worth doing if it’s something you’ll personally get a lot of enjoyment out of. If you’re planning on staying in your home for a long time to come, it’s important to do things that will make you comfortable and let you get the most out of your home. However, if you’re thinking of putting your home on the market and are looking for some ways to boost your home’s value a little bit, you’d be better off looking into improvements like garage door replacement, vinyl replacement windows, or replacing your entry doors, which all have good returns on investment.

Fixing Up Your Kitchen Cabinets Without Replacing Them

 

Fixing Up Your Kitchen Cabinets Without Replacing Them

If you were to list the rooms in your house where you spend the most time, the kitchen is probably going to be at the top of your list. Even if you’re the type of person who uses their oven for storage and orders take-out for every meal, you’re probably still going to spend time in your kitchen every day. When you spend so much time in a room every day, it’s totally understandable that you might want to change up its appearance every now and then.

Unfortunately, full kitchen remodels are simply too expensive for the average person to be able to do every few years. But there are lots of ways to dramatically change up the look of your kitchen without having to tear everything out and start over. Your kitchen cabinets are a great place to start. They’re a major focal point of any kitchen, but having them completely replaced is typically one of the largest parts of any kitchen renovation budget. For many people, there’s nothing functionally wrong with their cabinets, which makes it hard to justify spending the money on new ones, they’re just starting to look a bit dated.

The least expensive way to give your kitchen cabinets a facelift is to paint them and get some new hardware. Painting them can be a little labor intensive and can take several days to do the job properly, but the results can bring new life into your kitchen. First of all, be sure to remove your cabinets, wash them with a product like TSP, and sand them down. Kitchen cabinets are typically painted with a glossy finish to make them easy to clean, so taking the time to sand them down will make it easier for new paint to stick. When you remove the cupboards from the hardware, be sure to label where each piece goes.

Once you’ve removed your cabinet doors, you might want to bring one of them to the store with you when you go to pick up your paint, primer, and other supplies. The best tools for the job might vary depending on what type of materials your cupboards are made out of and an employee at the store could be able to make some good recommendations for you and potentially save you some frustration. Since kitchens tend to be areas that get dirty easily, you’ll want a paint with a gloss or semi-gloss finish since they are easier to clean than paints with more matte finishes. And don’t be tempted to skip the primer. Taking the time to prime your cabinets first will make sure you get the best results from your paint job.

If painting your cupboards seems too time consuming for you, you might want to consider having your cabinets refaced. With cabinet refacing, the workers simply replace the cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and hardware and place a new veneer on top of the existing cabinet boxes. Cabinet refacing is more expensive than painting them yourself, but it’s much less expensive than having them fully replaced and it’s faster and less disruptive than painting them or having them replaced. You don’t even have to remove the appliances from your kitchen so you won’t have to worry about not being able to use your kitchen for days at a time.

Whether you decide to paint your cabinets or have them refaced, you have two great options to change the look of your kitchen for a fraction of the cost of having your cabinets replaced!

Organizing Tips for a Small House

Downsizing to a smaller home is becoming an increasingly popular way to save money. It takes less energy to heat a smaller home and a lot less money to actually build a smaller home. However, downsizing can be difficult and it can be hard to get organized when you don’t have as much space to work with. If you are going to a smaller home, consider the following organizing tips:

Closet Space

Many small homes are lacking ample closet space, which means you must take advantage of what you have in the home. Investing in a good storage system will make your life easier. Wire racks, shelving, and plastic storage bins will keep you organized and your space less cluttered.

Wall Space

In a smaller home, it is also smart to take advantage of your wall space. Walls lined with bookcases can keep your things organized in every room. Instead of using up all of your floor space, this will take advantage of the vertical space in your home and make your rooms look larger.

Ceiling Space

Many homeowners often neglect the space they have on the ceiling when it comes to organizing their homes. The kitchen ceiling is the perfect place to hang a rack that holds pots and pans. This is great if you lack cupboard space or just have a lot of large pots and pans that are difficult to store. If you have a garage, your garage’s ceiling space could be used for storing things like bikes, skis, kayaks, and many other types of large, seasonal items that can be very awkward to store. Using ceiling space will take some creative thinking, but it will keep your home uncluttered.

Unused Space

If you are moving into a smaller home, consider how you can utilize the usual unused space in your home. For example, the staircase takes up a lot of valuable space and, if you can utilize the space underneath for storage or even for a small half-bath, you will make your small home that much more livable.

Furniture Selections

Your furniture in your small home should be able to provide you with more storage space. A large bed could easily hold drawers underneath and an ottoman should offer storage space inside. Before you buy any piece for your home, determine whether or not it really can do double-duty for you. Smaller homes are being more and more popular as people in today’s world are more concerned about saving money. Whether you are thinking of building a tiny house or want to go with a more traditional type of small home, you can use the above tips to keep that home organized.

The Best Reasons to Replace Your Windows

Thinking about replacing your windows, but aren’t sure if it’s something you should really spend the money on right now? Replacement windows are a great investment in your home, but if you’re on the fence about getting them, ask yourself why you’re considering them. There are lots of excellent reasons to go ahead and get them, such as these:

Your Current Windows Just Aren’t Working Anymore

This is the best reason to replace your windows. One of the main purposes of a window is to keep the elements out of your home and if it can’t do that very well, it’s time for it to go. If a room in your house is always colder than you think it should be, you’re feeling drafts, or you’re seeing frost form on the inside of your window, it’s a good time to replace those windows Not only would replacing your windows make your home considerably more comfortable, you’d probably see a nice reduction in your energy bills, too.

You’re Getting Ready to Sell Your Home

If you’re thinking of putting your home on the market, one of the best things you can do to add some value to the property is replace your windows. Replacement windows tend to have a very good return on investment and since many homebuyers look for energy efficient features in homes they’re considering, new, energy efficient windows are something that will absolutely help give your home a little extra competitive edge. If it’s been a long time since your home had new windows installed, new windows could help improve your home’s exterior and potential home buyers are bound to love knowing they won’t have to worry about the windows anytime soon.

You Want To Reduce Noise

Windows aren’t just good for keeping cold air and rain out of your house, they can also be very good for keeping out noise. Your home should be a nice, quiet place for you to relax, so if you’re always getting disturbed by noise from traffic, sirens, or neighbors talking outside, replacing your windows could help make your home a lot more peaceful.

You Want Less Maintenance

Some types of windows require more maintenance than others. Wood windows, for example, look very nice but they need a lot of special care and maintenance that other types of windows just don’t require. Vinyl windows, on the other hand, are very durable and require a lot less attention from you. So if you don’t want to have to worry about wood rot around your windows or never want to spend another weekend scraping, painting, or staining your windows again, vinyl replacement windows would be a great option for you.