Hey, its that time of they year again. Time to clean up those fall leaves. They were beautiful this year, but now they’re everywhere.
Check out this video to see how one guy harvests his leaves:
When the gray, cold days of winter are finally gone, it’s time to give your home a thorough spring cleaning. Although most homeowners tackle the inside of their house, few remember that the outside needs a freshen-up as well! Wash away the grime of winter with window washing, gutter cleaning, and pressure washing. You’ll be amazed at how bright and clean your home looks.
Window Washing
After the rain, snow, and ice of winter, it’s no wonder your windows are dingy and spotted! Eliminate the dirty film of winter and let the cheerful light of spring pour through your window panes-it’s time to call the window washers. While you could undertake this strenuous, messy work yourself, it is generally better to contact a professional. They have the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience to efficiently and effectively wash your windows. With the pros, you can be confident you’ll get a complete window washing, and you won’t have to do the back breaking work yourself! Window washing should include cleaning all windows inside and out as well as any storm windows or screens.
Many window washers also offer interior glass washing services for chandeliers, mirrors, lamps, and ceiling fans; if these items are on your interior spring cleaning list, why not kill two birds with one stone and let the pros tackle these cleaning tasks, too!
Gutter Cleaning
Gutter cleaning is a maintenance task most homeowners dread, and subsequently neglect. But for gutters to effectively channel rainwater away from your house and foundation, they need to be unclogged and flowing freely. Especially following the storms of winter, it’s important to ensure that your gutters aren’t blocked by debris. Perhaps the best way to get your gutters clean is to hire a professional gutter cleaning service. Rather than putting off this dirty chore forever (and ending up with blocked up gutters as a result), employing gutter contractors is a great compromise that gets the gutters clean and lets you sit back and relax! They’ll remove leaves, twigs, and any built-up debris; flush out your gutters; and ensure that downspouts are working properly. Many gutter contractors can even repair gutters that have been damaged over the winter! Once your gutters are clean and repaired, you can rest assured that they’ll protect your home from excess rainwater.
Pressure Washing
Winter wreaks havoc on the appearance of your home: storms splash mud on your siding; excessive moisture encourages algae growth on your brick; salt can stain your driveway. Once the hassle of cold weather is past, it’s time to pressure wash your house. Perfect for removing a whole variety of eyesores from mud to dirt, mildew, and mold, power washing can get the exterior of your home looking great again. Best of all pressure washing services are inexpensive, especially compared with replacing your siding or roof! For optimal results, you do want to hire a professional power washing contractor. They’ll be able to get practically any part of your home’s exterior sparkling clean again without making amateur mistakes like damaging mortar or gouging wood. Contact your local power washing contractor to freshen:
When the weather warms up, it’s time to tackle a few exterior cleaning chores. Window washing, gutter cleaning, and pressure washing are three relatively inexpensive projects that can really help your home look great! For the best results, contact your local exterior cleaning company-sit back, relax, and leave the hard work to the pros!
Matt Gallo is a home improvement specialist and the Internet marketing manager for Prospect Genius, a leader in local online advertising.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Gallo
Well, it’s fall again and it’s time to start buttoning everything down before winter sets in. Once again, we are sharing our checklist, so you can keep your home in great order!
Since you’ll probably have a long weekend over thanksgiving, you have no excuse!
If you have additions or comments, just let us know!
“That crack in the sidewalk will wait.”
“We can paint next year.”
We all say these types of things all the time. We rarely have enough time to take care of everything in our home (or the rest of our lives) and to keep it perfect, but ignoring these small problems can lead to a big problem later.
If you follow the “Broken Windows” theory, these small problems accumulate over time and have a significant psychological effect. The theory asserts that each neighborhood in decline started with one broken window that was never fixed. Over time, broken windows throughout the neighborhood become the norm, and pretty soon you can say the same thing about graffiti, crack dealers, and other forms of crime. For more on this, see “Fixing Broken Windows”, it’s a great read, even if it doesn’t have Bob Vila on the cover.
This can happen in an individual home too. We all know someone who has started a remodeling project that has never been completed. Something just always seems to come up that is more important. Pretty soon, navigating around ladders and paint buckets becomes normal for the family. Then another project seems more important, we we have a few more ladders, maybe some more tarps out. There is a snowball effect that occurs over time until the home is in such disarray that most people clean it up and sell it (at a discount).
This is why it is so critical to stay up to date on your home maintenance. Start with a checklist of small projects that can be completed quickly. Don’t be ambitious! There is more glory in a new kitchen, but if the rest of the home suffers, the overall effect could well be a decline in your home’s value. A new kitchen with all stainless steel appliances doesn’t increase your home’s value if the roof starts leaking and warps the walls.
There are good times for homeowners to pursue these big projects, but they shouldn’t even be attempted until all the basics of annual maintenance are performed.
Luckily we’ve built a checklist to help you stay up on all the annual maintenance tasks you should be doing to make sure your home retains its value. You’ll have plenty of time later to put in the jacuzzi tub, right now you probably need to be double-checking your sump pump!
Tell us more about your horror stories in the comments. I’m sure we all have some.
In one of my finer moments, I decided I was going to stain the deck in the morning before a birthday party for a friend who lived out of town. Three trips to the hardware store later, I was 2 hours late and that deck is still splotchy to this day!
Whoa, where was this before I started on my weekend projects this week!
A new guide by do-it-yourself expert Andrea Ridout, on bookstore shelves this month, provides even the most repair-challenged with an easy-to-follow blueprint for tackling home-improvement projects around the house.
Looks like Bob Vila has a semi-annual checklist that’s very similar to the one we’re going to be promoting on this site. Good for everyone, go check it out.
BobVila.com: Home Maintenance Checklist
Here’s a simple bi-annual “Top to Bottom” checklist to keep your home in shape year round.
1. Roof: Check roof and around vents, skylights and chimneys for leaks. Repair as necessary.
2. Attic: If there is no ridge vent, keep gable vents open year-round to ensure proper ventilation.
3. Gutters: Clean gutters and drain pipes so leaves won’t clog them and be sure they drain away from the house. (Fall: In cold-climate areas) Drain outside faucets.
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by Smith Chen
Over the years the kitchen has gained popularity as the central, most important room in any home. It enjoys, in most cases a round the clock patronage, starting from a very early morning breakfast to a late night snack. The kitchen is a loyal witness to any drama in life that unfolds in every home whether preparing an important meal for a client or surprising a loved one on a special occasion; or a weekend dinner specially made for the grandchildren. So when it comes to planning for a kitchen renovation, there are a lot of things to do and consider so that it will become a room where everybody will feel comfortable and welcome.
First and foremost, set a budget. Decide how much money you are going to spend on your project. To have a budget already set for a specific project will help you decide more easily how far you will go in terms of choosing the materials and design for your kitchen renovation. If possible, price out every item you want to include in your new kitchen, like new appliances, fixtures and accessories. Do not leave anything off your list; as much as possible include even the smallest detail like paints and brushes. There are wide ranges of materials available so you can choose from whichever price range you can afford. Once everything is priced, add 20% onto the cost of the job because you never know when things will go wrong and you suddenly find yourself out of budget.
After all the financing is thought about then you are set to start. Try to have a look at your own existing kitchen. How well do you like it? Is there any part of it that you love and want to retain? Or any part of it that you hate and want to change? Or is there something that you want to add or wish you have? Is the size sufficient enough for your family needs? Or do you need to have a bigger space and more storage? Then think of a style you want for your new kitchen. Taking into consideration the style of your own house and of course your sense of taste. If budget permits you can hire a kitchen design expert who can help you draw out all these things. While still in the planning process it is always necessary to define the space available.
Author: Stephanie Larkin
When you purchased your current home, it was most likely inspected for termites. You would have received a document from an inspection company to certify that no active infestations were present when you bought the home. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean your home doesn’t have termites. If you haven’t kept up termite treatments, it’s always possible that they might have entered your home.
Spotting a termite infestation isn’t difficult, if you know what you look for. And of course, sometimes the signs are unmistakable: an indoor swarm is perhaps the most definite sign that an active infestation is present in your home.
Author: allphaserenovation
For most of the people home remodeling is a dream, so eventually it needs to be done carefully. There are certain things have to consider if you are hiring home remodeling contractor and if you are not doing it yourself. You could start by asking your friends or family member and also check with (NARI) National Association of Remodeling Industry for obtaining the list of members available in your area. In addition to locating a good contractor you could ask your building inspector who would certainly know which one to choose.
Once you have gathered the list make a phone call to every prospects of your and ask them some routine questions such as whether they take projects which you desire, will they offer financial reference if you require, will they offer references of previous people they have worked with, and how long they have been in the industry. Analysis the answers you receive for such questions, so that you would land up to an conclusion of whether they are reliable and smooth to work with.
