Tag Archives: repairs

Are Your Drains Healthy? Here Are The Signs They’re Not!

Standard
Are Your Drains Healthy? Here Are The Signs They’re Not!

If there is one thing that can cause upset for your property, it’s drain issues. There are a lot of jobs around the house that you can do yourself, from fixing a busted fuse to changing a light bulb. However, there are just some jobs that require a little help from the professionals.

Plumbing and drain issues are some of the worst for a house. They cause a level of disruption that you can’t fathom until it happens to you! It’s hard enough to figure out what the problem might be, but fixing it? That’s a whole other ball game! If you need sewer line repair, you need to call the professionals. If you need to replace the drains, that’s another job you can’t do alone.

So, you need to know the signs of the drains being unhealthy, and we’ve got a list of the most common signs for you below:

Stinky Pipes:

Everyone notices the smell of a dead drain. The food rot, the rotting plants – they don’t smell great! Dirty water that stagnates has a foul odor, and you will notice it right away. The worst thing is that the smell will make its way through the house – not what you want! This is where you want to have your drains snaked and thoroughly cleaned by an expert right away. You can click now to schedule an appointment with a drain engineer for some advice or professional help if you feel that one of drains needs it. It’s also so important to dispose of the grease and fat from your pans properly. Don’t throw old grease down the drain – it’ll stink!

Slow Toilet Drainage:

We’ve all been there at least once: we flush the toilet, and we watch the water rise up before it drains. Except for this time, the water level isn’t changing, and nothing is flushing…oops! The worst is when this happens in someone else’s house! However, a plunger should work here, and that will help the waste to drain correctly. If you’re still having issues, then that’s when you call your Plumber!

Gurgling Drains:

Your drains should never be singing to you. Pipes and fixtures are designed to be silent, so you need to think about what could be causing the bubbles. Dirt and grease build-up is one reason, but you really need the water to drain down slowly. Clean drains don’t speak, and you need to ask the professionals at Ansell Drainage (or a similar company in your local area) to use a long wire to let go of all the built-up muck.

Dreadful Damp:

A drain or pipe that has collapsed or cracked can cause damp within your property. The damage that the drain causes will disrupt the flowing water, causing damp in the walls of the home. So, you need to avoid penetrating wet rot and learn to spot the damp signs in the house. When you notice it, try to figure out the source of the wet and call in the professionals to help. The last thing that you want is to deal with substantial damp patches all over the house.

Drains are supposed to be quiet, clean, and smell nice. If yours are playing up, call in the right professionals, and don’t wait around!

Featured Image By: Pexels

3 Things To Check Before Selling Your Home

Standard
3 Things To Check Before Selling Your Home

It’s time to move on, and you want to find somewhere new to live. Obviously, there are lots of different elements of selling a home, and plenty of things to think about. Perhaps one of the most pressing questions is weighing on your mind – how can I sell my house quickly? Preparation, renovation, and maintenance is the key as it can make your property more appealing to potential buyers. Let’s not waste time looking at the obvious things and instead turn your attention to some of the more hidden elements of your home that need checking presale. It really can make a difference! Here are a few things you should definitely spend some extra time looking at and preparing before selling your house:

Furnace:

Every home has a furnace, but how old is yours? If it’s over ten years old – which it might be, then it’s no longer working at peak efficiency. In fact, it will probably only be working at 60%, meaning you lose 40% of the energy created. Do you think this is an attractive prospect for buyers? Here’s a hint, it’s not! So, you may need to find a furnace repair service to touch this bad boy up before you sell your home. It’ll mean you can list your house for a higher value, and you will also have fewer complaints from any prospective buyers.

Windows:

Okay, you’re not technically looking at the windows themselves, but more the sealant around the edges of your windows. This can peel away over time and look quite bad. It also likely leads to drafts of air coming through, which is not good for the energy efficiency of your home. If a viewer sees your nasty window sealant, then they may be put off. Or, they will hit you with a low bid as they argue they’ll probably need to replace the windows. You can avoid this by replacing the sealant to give your windows a more modern look. There’s nothing for buyers to worry about and you make your home look more appealing.

Grout:

For those that don’t know, grout is the little space between tiles. Why does this need checking? One word; mold. Grout is very prone to turning horrible and black with mold. This usually only happens in wall tiles in your bathroom or kitchen. Water can be trapped and absorbed into the grout, which then leads to mold formations. It’s incredibly off-putting and will lower the value of your home if people see it. So, before selling your house, make sure you check the grout between your tiles and clean them if required. Hopefully, you don’t need to do anything as cleaning mold from grout is a tough task.

You should already be carrying out lots of different checks and preparations throughout your home. The three things on this list are things that a lot of you probably wouldn’t think about checking. So, consider them secret ways to boost your sale price! Unless your home is either relatively new or in phenomenal condition, you’ll likely see issues with these things and need to fix them before selling.

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Selling Your Space: Services You Need To Find A Buyer Faster

Standard
Selling Your Space: Services You Need To Find A Buyer Faster

There is much money to be made in the real estate industry. Buying from developers and selling to budding homeowners, when done with acute timing, can rake in a multi-million profit. However, this is one of those trades that sounds easier said than done. While it’s a lucrative business for the flipper, people will always be wary about where to spend their hard-earned cash on. Thus, you have to make your property as attractive as possible. How do you close that sale and make millions in a jiffy? Here are some services you can use:

It’s all about the angles:

Showcasing all of the best features of your property requires expertise. Make sure to hire both a professional photographer and an expert photo-editing company so that the ending photos look exquisite.

To make sure all of the shots present spick and span angles, clean the property from top to bottom a day before. Remove all clutter from the floor to clearly show open walking spaces. Rearrange furniture so that all rooms seem larger. Every wide shot should include at least half of the room or two adjacent walls and a clear view of the floor to ceiling. Let as much light in by turning on lights and opening windows. Accessorize flat elevated areas like dining tables and nightstands for added dimension.

Spruce up your space:

Once you get inquiries and viewing requests, it’s time to let them see the stylish side of the house. Within the industry, this is called “home staging” or remodeling a real estate property to look its best before being sold. It requires renovating the room without installing permanent or personal furnishings. For this, you might need a professional interior designer or an expert carpenter to do the job for you.

Create a theme for your home and find pieces and colors that adhere to the theme. This includes repainting the house and renovating significant and noticeable furnishings such as lighting fixtures, flooring, kitchen kits, bed components, bathroom vanities, and the like.

De-personalize the space. Remove rugs or carpets from your floor and keep all storage spaces bare.

Get your ears on the ground:

Sometimes, an expert set of eyes and ears is what you need to sell your home quicker. Make sure to scrutinize your potential agent’s background. As you take them around the property for sale, ask about their training, their license or certification, and how many years of experience they have had in selling homes. Ask about the last property they sold – how quick they did it and to whom they sold it to. Request a marketing plan and a comparable market analysis of your property to determine how best to sell it.

Don’t be afraid to assess multiple agents. This is so you can either test their listing prices or compare their proposed commissions.

Get more mileage with social media:

In this day and age, your potential client will probably see your property off social media. Thus, leverage your digital platforms.

If you’re clueless about the best practices, you can ask a seasoned social media manager for help. They can set up your own Facebook page, blog, or even a whole website and build a marketing strategy to drive organic traffic to these sites. Shoot a video tour and post it on YouTube or share it through every possible channel.

You can also join online marketplaces, niche groups, and online real estate listings to give your property more mileage.

Don’t work hard by doing all of this yourself; work smart and know the right kind of help you need. Do these things correctly, and you’re on your way to making money off of your property!

Preparing Your Home For The Seasonal Shift

Standard
Preparing Your Home For The Seasonal Shift

While it seems as though seasonal shifts are less predictable than ever in how weather conditions will be felt, it’s important to recognize that preparing our homes for the seasonal shift is worth thinking about. Of course, this is hardly the only responsibility we have around this time. Outfitting ourselves with some new pieces for our seasonal wardrobe, taking care of our health (and skin!), and coping with renewed driving conditions are a handful enough, let alone careful home maintenance.

Thankfully, you needn’t think of this as some kind of chore, rather a relaxed measure of ensuring that you are protected from the weather, that certain maintenance issues do not grow to be worse than they should be, and that you feel safe and secure within your home. Personal changes, upgrades, or developments of your own volition can be applied outside of the guidance below, but the following advice can serve as a good set of markers if you’re struggling to consider what priorities are most important:

Pest Control Preparations:

The Pest Authority is well known for a range of excellent preventative measures to help protect your property against all manner of pests, which can be essential as the seasons shift, as this usually causes the migration of many small creatures far and wide. Being able to ensure that homes with a crawlspace, garage, basement, or other areas that need attending to is fully protected can be an absolute lifesaver. Deterrents can even protect the outside of your property, if necessary.

Insulation Checks:

Insulation checks can be a great idea to carry out ahead of time, as this gives you the chance to fully ensure the thawing of the outside world does not give rise to property damage or damp. Ensuring your window sealants are still very much in place after a harsh winter, that your roofing felt is still in good condition and able to prevent heat from rising up and out of your property (to a wasteful degree, at least), and preparing for the offset of moisture that always comes in the springtime through clearing gutters (so that insulation is not overworked) can be a worthwhile idea.

Driveway Maintenance:

Not all driveways will encounter issues, but in colder climates (such as in Canada) you’ve likely had to shovel snow and grit your driveway for some intensive amount of time. The freezing and thawing regular effect weather conditions can have on your driveway may cause damage and cracks or may allow for smaller peeling to be felt at the sides where the material connects with the small guidance walls.

This is where having your driveway inspected by experts in Concrete Repair comes in handy. The last thing you need is to deal with a flooded or breakaway driveway due to its inability to handle moisture or thawing correctly, as a flawed installation will often make itself known at this time of year.

Exterior Care:

Caring for the rest of your exterior is often conducted for the same seasonal reasons as your driveway, but it’s important to recognize just how much work you may have to put forth here. For instance, mowing your lawn after the intensive winter period may be tricky, and also require the use of weed-killing formulas in some problem areas.

Removing debris from the garden, filling in molehills, and inspecting the covered garden furniture are good winter lawn care tips to think about before the weather turns cold. This is also a good time to consider shopping around for new furniture if yours has seen better days as you might be able to score a better price for them. Shopping on websites like jbfurniture.co.uk can provide plenty of inspiration for new furnishings to welcome spring with. Power washing the garden path and your decking can also help remove grime that may have built up over the colder months. Simple cleaning habits, such as using disinfectants on your shed or greenhouse windows to prevent molds can be a great idea.

All gardens are different in their own way, and so it may be clearing fallen branches for one person or clearing the gutters out for another. Doing the latter isn’t always a straightforward process – luckily Clean Pro Gutter Cleaning Little Rock and other companies hold lots of information on their websites that should help you tackle it with confidence. This may not always need doing though, based on your surroundings, but if you do have a garden and you have experienced winter, odds are you’re not going to get away with minimal care over your green space. Every effort helps.

With this advice, we hope you can better prepare your home for the seasonal shift!

Featured Image By: Pexels

6 Ways To Improve The Appearance Of The Front Of Your Home

Standard
6 Ways To Improve The Appearance Of The Front Of Your Home

It’s relatively easy to stay on top of the interior of your home. That space, after all, is a place that you see again and again, and if something isn’t quite as good as it could be, then you’ll notice it pretty quickly. But the exterior of your home is a little different. While it’s a space that you see every day, we usually end up walking through the front door without looking around and inspecting whether it’s in as good of shape as it could be.

But there’s a lot of value in taking the time to ensure that this part of your house is in tip-top condition. Among other benefits, it can nudge your home’s value in the right direction. In fact, the home’s curb appeal is one of the first things that potential homeowners look for when searching for a house.

So if your home’s front isn’t quite as great as it could be, then what can you do? We take a look at a few tried and tested tips below:

Add Some Green:

Everything looks better with a little bit of color splashed on it, and that includes the front of your home. There aren’t too many spaces in the world where you’re able to add plants and flowers, so don’t waste the opportunity that your front yard presents. If you’re not an experienced gardener, then you can start small, perhaps by planting a couple of plants that are native to your area. A hanging flower basket over your front door will look especially good, and it’s easy enough to care for. There’s also a lot of studies that say plants can help boost your mood, so you might just be making your house a more joyful place in the process.

Upgraded Doors:

And speaking of your front door, it’s not just a hanging flower basket that can make it look better. You can change out the door itself, and improve the aesthetics of your house. They say that if you want to keep your home’s value intact, then you shouldn’t add too much of your personality to your property, but there are a couple of spaces where you’re able to add some sparkle – and that includes your front door. Look at switching it out to something new and improved; it will make the whole exterior of the house look better, especially if you choose a statement color.

Clean Windows:

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that windows are just windows, but this isn’t the case. While people tend to change them out for newer windows only when they have an obvious fault, such as when there’s a crack, it’s worth remembering that windows do need changing before it reaches this stage. If it has been some years since you’ve changed your windows, then look at upgrading them with a Window installation service in Frisco, TX or your local area. You will be surprised at just how much of a difference a bright and clear set of windows can make to your home.

Big Changes:

Just as with the windows, people seem to think that you should only make a change to the infrastructure of your home when there’s something obviously wrong with it. But it’s not the case, with the front of your house or the roofing. If your home is looking a little tired, then look at having it repainted by a professional company. It’ll make your home shine again. For your roof, you can work with a roofing company and get a replacement fitted. It’ll make your home look refreshed and modern.

Upgrading your roof is a big task to take on but it will pay off in spades. A refreshed roof is an instant face lift for your home, can boost curb appeal, and raise property value. With so many benefits at stake, you will want to plan, budget, and work extensively with a trusted team of experts. To begin researching the best company for you, simply enter a search for “Roofing Company In Mansfield, TX” (or your local area). This research stage can also be most helpful in finding an updated style that appeals to you.

Creating Privacy:

You’ll want your home to look good to your visitors, but that doesn’t mean that you should be showing off your house to the whole world, or at least making it easily accessible. A home with a front yard that’s too easily accessible loses something. So it’s worthwhile to look at making it more private. There are multiple ways to do this. You can make your home feel more cozy by adding a hedge or you can keep it on display, but not accessible, by adding a front gate.

Staying Symmetrical:

Finally, there’s one final rule that you should keep in mind no matter what you’re trying to do to your yard: keep things symmetrical. It’s a little trick that can make your house look a lot better. It’s one of those things that our eyes like to see, from people’s faces to buildings. Do we know why? No! But we like it!

Boost your home’s curb appeal by revamping its exterior – making it feel brand new again in no time!

Featured Image By: Pexels

3 Top Concerns When Renovating Your Bathroom

Standard
3 Top Concerns When Renovating Your Bathroom

When someone is keen to renovate a part of their home, the bathroom is often one of the first places they look to. There are many reasons for this, and one of the most important is that the bathroom is a small room, and therefore one that won’t take too long to renovate. As such, it can also act as a kind of practice for renovation more generally, or it might even be a chance to try and engage with a certain motif before using it in the rest of the home. Whatever your reason, you need to make sure that you are aware of the top concerns there are likely to be when you are renovating your bathroom. In this post, we will take a look at exactly that, so that you can be sure you are doing it right:

The Plumbing:

If anything should go wrong with the plumbing, it can mean that the whole project is a disaster. In the worst case scenario, you might even cause a considerable leak or flood in your home, or at the very least some kind of water damage. There are a few things to bear in mind when it comes to the plumbing. First, be sure to source good quality plumbing supplies from the likes of PlumbersStock. Second, hire a professional plumber to deal with that side of things as you renovate. This is not the time to test DIY skills as a bill for a plumber will be way cheaper than carrying out repairs for potential damage caused. To find a trusted professional, simply enter a search for “winnipeg plumbing services” (or your local area) to get the job done right the first time. Finally, ensure that you have this done first, so that you can then work around it, rather than the other way around, which is going to be much harder.

The Decor:

Your choice of decor is going to be especially important in a bathroom, as it is one of the smaller rooms in the home, and any decision will really be seen, and make a huge difference to the look of the bathroom overall. Make sure that you spend a long time on the decor, and that you know exactly what colors you are going to go for, for instance. It’s important that you like the colors, but also that they are going to work well together and as a whole, so make sure of that as best as you can as well. If you can manage that, the room has more of a chance of success.

br1Pexels Image

The Time:

You don’t want your bathroom to be out of order for any longer than necessary, so make sure that you are aware of that from the start too. This will be especially important if you only have one bathroom, of course, but even if you don’t it is still something to keep an eye on. It can take time to renovate even a small room, so look ahead, plan ahead, and you will be able to renovate your bathroom in style in no time, and to the look that you want for it.

Home renovations are a great goal to accomplish in 2020 so prepare your game plan, watch some HGTV, and get to it!

Featured Image By: Pexels

How To Get The Best Price For Your House (Without Breaking The Bank!)

Standard
How To Get The Best Price For Your House (Without Breaking The Bank!)

If you are taking the plunge and selling your house, there is one thing that will drive the wholesale, and that is getting the very best price for your home. While there is a lot of information around on the internet telling you to spend here and spend there, there are, in fact, some remarkably cheap ways to add some value to your home. Of course, you might find someone who might like to buy your house as-is, and this can be a very lucrative option if you need a quick sale. However, it’s also perfectly possible to spruce things up to appeal to a range of other buyers too!

In this post, we are going to be taking a look at some inexpensive and free ways to add value to your home, and we will even take a look at what buyers really want to see when they view a house:

Why Make Changes If You’re Selling:

The most important thing to realize when it comes to selling your home is that the market is extremely competitive. So, in order to ensure you can sell your home as quickly as possible, you will need to make some moves that aren’t being made by other sellers. This first and foremost includes making necessary repairs and modifications because the last thing a person wants are endless projects once they move in. Major issues like mold will need to be solved immediately. To start this process, simply enter a search for “Mold remediation denver” (or your local area) to get help from the experts and make your home way more marketable.

When buyers visit homes, they are looking at every little detail, and in order for you to not only make a sale but also get the best possible price, there are some things that need to be addressed. The number one thing buyers want for their money is value, and when it comes to value, they really want space. You should be looking to make your house stand out above any others in your neighborhood that may also be up for sale, and doing all of these things is far easier than you may believe.

Of course, making changes is all up to your situation. If you need to move ASAP, then chances are you don’t want to deal with the extra hassle. To expedite things, you might want to consider different companies who will purchase your home for you. Do your research to find out how we buy houses fast to find the buyer that’s right for you.

Improve Your Curb Appeal:

The very first thing you should be doing for your house is to make it look welcoming. Let’s be honest; if your house looks like 112 Ocean Avenue, you may have a little trouble selling up.

If, however, you put in a little effort by taking care of the garden and aesthetics of the home from the outside, you will find you are onto an instant winner. People will often judge a house by what it looks like on the outside, so you may even consider updating the exterior paintwork a little, as well.

Another thing that will often go down well is if if your driveway is clean and paved. The best way to get your driveway looking its best will obviously be Pressure Washing. While most people would consider doing this themselves, they would very rarely have access to industrial-strength units, and this is what would be required for a job like this. Your best bet is to do a search for “pressure washing service in Owasso, OK” or your area and leave this job to a professional.

Give The Illusion Of More Space:

If there is one thing that is going to either reduce or increase the price that will be offered on your home, it will all come down to space. It’s important to remember that when a buyer comes to view your home if they are interested, they will also be looking for anything that can be used as a negotiation point. It is your job to preempt what they may deem as a problem and fix it before they ever see it.

The best tip that can be given when it comes to ensuring you get the right price for your home is to start filling some moving boxes before you even have your first house viewer. By simply boxing up items that you know you will not use, you will end up dramatically reducing the number of items in the house.

When you reduce the number of items in the house, you give natural light the ability to hit areas that it usually wouldn’t. When the light penetrates every corner of the room, you will find that every room in the house has the illusion of looking bigger.

Give Buyers The Canvas They Want:

The most sought after thing when people head out and start to view homes is something they can visualize living in. More often than not, if the house they are viewing is decorated with dense colors and items personal to the current owner, while this may be homely to you, it won’t be to the potential buyer, in fact, it will be quite off-putting.

The best possible thing you can do is to give them a completely neutral canvas. By painting the house in neutral colors, this will allow the buyer to visualize how they see the house in their own mind and is one of the best selling points that you can offer.

In Conclusion:

As you can see, these are some simple solutions for giving you the best possible price when you are selling your home. While they may all seem very basic at their core, they are all vital when it comes to what is wanted from buyers in the real estate market nowadays. When it comes to selling houses, it’s not as easy as it once was, and buyers are more easy to scrutinize than ever before.

If you are selling up and want the best possible price, you will need to put in a little effort and a little cash in order to see a very handsome return.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Three Simple Home Improvement Projects That Increase Market Value

Standard
Three Simple Home Improvement Projects That Increase Market Value

Unless you’re a real estate pro, you might not know how to get the best return on your investment when the time comes to sell your home. For example, did you know that your home could sell for significantly more if you spend a little extra time and money on a few simple improvements? While it may seem counter intuitive to invest money and time into a home you wish to get off your hands, a couple of choice updates and additions to your property could give you a decent return on your investment:

Invest in Exterior Features:

While a home’s exterior features such as the garden, garage, swimming pool, roof, and gutters may seem less important than the interior, ensuring that these features are both operational and attractive to the eye is a great way to add value to your home. Keeping your garden and lawn well maintained will leave a strong impression on any potential buyers who turn up for your viewings. No green thumb? No problem! Professional teams like Calvin Landscape (or a similar company in your local area) can transform your yard for you.

There may be a lot of work on the exterior of your property that you can do yourself, like painting and cleaning gutters. Larger additions will need to be handled by experts who can ensure that installations are done according to spec. For example, a high-quality water tank can be a strong selling point. Tank Direct is a fantastic option for your water tank requirements.

A fresh and well-maintained exterior is a useful way to help a potential buyer imagine the lifestyle their family might enjoy, should they buy the property and move in. Family friendly property can include things like a fenced in yard, shady areas to cool off, and bigger selling points like amazing pool designs, a koi pond, or tree house.

Get Those Repairs Taken Care Of:

While you might imagine that getting your bigger projects done (like a bathroom remodel or retileing the kitchen backsplash) would be more attractive to potential buyers, it’s crucial to put these jobs on hold until any necessary structural repairs have been completed. These will make a tremendous difference when it comes time to put your property on the market. If you don’t, you risk your buyers being too distracted by the leaky ceiling or the odor of mold to even notice the fancy additions like new tiles. Before you get started on those more exciting beautiful additions to your home, make sure you sort out your repairs, whether it’s electrical, plumbing, or structural.

home3

Pexels CC0 Licence

Update The Heating System:

If you install a modern central-heating system in your house or give the existing system a comprehensive update, you’re almost certainly going to enhance your home’s value. Older properties such as Victorian houses are charming in many ways, but your potential buyer won’t be charmed by a chilly walk down the hallway as they try to imagine their life in their future home. Problems like chronically freezing floors can be improved with heated flooring too. If you are considering a renovation with a Bathroom remodeler in Murrieta, CA or your local area, this could be a great addition to those frigid tile floors in the bathroom!

Some newer homes come equipped with somewhat dated heating systems that don’t provide enough warmth, and can cost a lot to run. Updating the old system should prove highly attractive to a potential buyer. An extra bonus you get when you add a new heating system to your home is that if you don’t end up selling the property right away, you will save money and stay warmer while you wait for the right buyer to come along.

Whether you’re listing your property in the near future or you’re planning to sell one of these days, these updates are sure to boost the value of your house!

Featured Image By: Pexels CC0 Licence

7 Ways To Look After Your Home During Colder Weather

Standard
7 Ways To Look After Your Home During Colder Weather

With summer coming to an end over the next few weeks that can only mean one thing: the cold weather is just around the corner. Whether you love a bit of chill in the air or you’re dreading it, you need to ensure that you’re as prepared as you can be when it comes to looking after your house. Whether that means stocking up on cold weather essentials or investing in double glazing, the more you can do to protect your house during the winter the better. With that in mind, here are seven ways to look after your home during colder weather:

Keep The Heating On To Avoid Your Home Getting Damp:

Although it may be expensive to keep your heating on for the duration of winter, it’s one of the best ways for you to stay in good health as the temperature drops. Not only will keeping your heating on allow you to stay warm and cozy, but it will also ensure you do not experience damp throughout your home. For more information when it comes to the importance of keeping your heating on during winter, you can visit this site here.

Get Your Boiler Serviced Before Winter Starts:

Getting your boiler serviced just before the temperature drops will assure you that your heating will be in check all winter long!

Invest In Double Glazing And Keep Your Windows Shut:

If you haven’t already, investing in double glazing is another great way to help prevent your home from becoming damp. Whilst it can be expensive, double glazing will help keep the heat in and the cold out. If you don’t have double glazing or you’re considering updating your windows, you might want to consider a siding service.

Even if you do have double glazing, you also need to ensure you’re keeping your windows shut where possible. For a guide to keeping the cold air out during winter, you can visit the following site.

Insulation:

A drafty home is not a comfortable one! Sometimes providing extra warmth is as simple as swapping out summer curtains for a heavier fabric, adding thick and plush rugs, or doubling up on throw blankets. However, this is not a fix all as the chill is coming from the outside in. You might want to consider upgrading your home’s siding with the services from James Hardie Siding in Naperville (or a similar company in your local area). This is an energy efficient option to give extra insulation as well as boost property value and curb appeal. With improved siding, your home will be nice and cozy all winter long!

Stock Up On Cold Weather Essentials:

Another great way to look after your home during cold weather is to stock up on cold weather essentials. Whether that means drought excluders for your doors or blankets for your living room, get what you need to stay comfy cozy while the cold weather strikes.

Clean And Store Your Garden Furniture:

Although you may think that it’s just the inside of your home that needs looking after during colder weather, the outside is just as important. Autumn and winter can bring some horrible weather and if you’re not prepared, you may find that your garden furniture is prone to damage. To help prevent this from happening, you need to clean and store your furniture just before the temperature starts to drop.

Consider Your Roofing And Gutters:

Your gutters and roofing may be in good condition now, but the bad weather may cause them some damage. Get any problem areas repaired or at least have a professional from a roofing company give them a once over before the winter to make sure that they can handle some snow. It is so important to have your roof checked because the pros will be able to catch small problems before they turn into a bigger one. Research companies like Tyler Roofing or a similar one in your local area to see what services they can provide for you.

Signing off on the checklist above will help keep you and yours perfectly comfy cozy all fall and winter long!

Featured Image By: StockSnap from Pixabay

5 Ways To Winter Proof Your Home

Standard
5 Ways To Winter Proof Your Home

Your home is with you throughout all of the seasons and it needs different attention based on the time of year. When the threat of winter is close by, it’s time to give your home the once over to ensure your cozy nights in aren’t destroyed by drafts, leaks, or unwanted guests in your attic.

Clear your Gutters and Drains

This might be the last thing on your ‘to-do’ list, which is why it hits the top spot on ours. Although this is not the most enjoyable or glamorous job in the world (wet leaves, moss, bugs!? No, thank you!), it is arguably one of the most important. Exterior pipe blockages can cause some serious damage to both the inside and outside of the property. The weight of drains and gutters filled with leaves and natural debris can pull the pipes away from your house, causing nasty damp and mold problems that can affect the walls from the inside out. Just a few minutes of handling gross things will save a whole load of hassle later on!

Up On The Roof:

Humans aren’t the only living things who like to cozy up in the winter. Local wildlife also enjoy finding warm places to snuggle during the cold months. Check the roof for cracked, missing, or loose tiles. Any damage from heavy rain, sleet, or snow can create large spaces that our furry or feathered friends can use to claim your home as theirs! Enlist the expertise of a reputable roofing company to assist you with this task. It’s way less dangerous for them because they know what they’re looking at, as well as having the necessary tools to complete the job safely.

Pillow Fort!

Relive your childhood winters; hot chocolate, Disney films, blankets, and pillows. Although these days, it might look more like sipping tea (Or maybe wine…we won’t tell!) and binge-watching your favorite show. But a pile of fluffy blankets and cute cushions can create a lovely homely feel to alleviate the dark distress of winter. Ahh, that’s better!

Check Your Heating

Feeling the warm air reach your face as you enter the house after being out in the cold is the definition of bliss. But what if you unlock your front door and you can still see your breath in the hallway? The familiar sound of the heater whirring transitions from a clunking to radio silence. Disaster. Get your boiler checked before the big winter freeze sets in.

Clear your Pathways:

People are invited into your home even before knocking on the door. As host, your job is to ensure any visitors stay safe, even those delivering packages! Any accidents outside of the home can make you liable for expensive insurance claims. To avoid any drama, sprinkle your path with a store cupboard staple: SALT! One tablespoon will prevent slippery paths of up to one square meter. This is a very easy, inexpensive way of making sure nobody takes a tumble outside of your door.

Don’t get caught in the cold this winter while inside of your own home with the tips above!

Featured Image By: Pexels