Summer Home Maintenance Projects You Need to Complete if You Live in Chicago
Maintaining a home may be a lot of work, but it is worth it. Each year, homeowners need to do some regular maintenance to keep their property in pristine condition. Before …
Maintaining a home may be a lot of work, but it is worth it. Each year, homeowners need to do some regular maintenance to keep their property in pristine condition. Before the warm summer months, it’s a good idea to have your air conditioning inspected and serviced. The last thing you want is for it to stop functioning in the middle of the summer. HVAC installation can be also be done before the summer months.
To find the best residential HVAC company near you, do a quick Internet search and click on some reviews to read. If you have a central AC unit for house, be sure to get that serviced before the summer kicks off. If it needs to be fixed or replaced, you’ll have plenty of time to get this done. Another component of your comfort that needs to be serviced is your furnace. Have this inspected at the end of the summer to prepare for winter. If anything needs to be replaced, you can buy furnace and air conditioner online options, as well as buy home air conditioning unit options online.
It doesn’t matter if you have a small, two-bedroom rancher in a more rural enclave of Chicago or a big, stunning single-family gem in a more suburban development. You’re going to need to put a little time aside this year to work on some important summer home maintenance projects.
Not sure which summer home maintenance projects to do? Or how much to expect to spend on your upcoming summer home maintenance projects? Let the following guidelines help you determine which items you should concentrate on from Memorial Day until the end of September. Oh, and expect to spend up to four percent of how much your property is worth. For instance, if you own a Cape Cod valued at $400,000, you may end up putting up to $16,000 into repairs and improvements over the course of the year. For a home in the style of a Cape Cod central heating and cooling repairs, roof maintenance, and other pricy upgrades might be par for the course.
Now, let’s dive into the top summer home maintenance projects no one living in the Chicagoland area can afford to ignore.
Give Pests an Eviction Notice
The word “cockroach” is a common name for household insect pest. Millions of homes are faced with a cockroach infestation.
So, if you have cockroaches in your house that make you feel embarrassed about bringing guests over. Fear not, all you need is the services of a professional exterminator to manage and remove these pests from your home or business so that you can go back to inviting guests without any fear of a cockroach whooshing about across the lounge. Cockroach control is tedious because it has to be maintained after a while, these buggers never go away completely and as the adage goes “cockroaches can survive a nuclear blast”, so you are not the problem, they are.
Cockroaches are known to be major common house pests in Texas so much that locals have resorted to scouring the internet and asking the search engine to buy pest control online. If you are someone who rummages through information sites trying to figure out how to do my own pest control or you would like to find out how to exterminate your home yourself just know that there are professionals with years of experience to make your pest problem go away.
Every homeowner deals with the occasional spider, mouse, or bat. But if your home is overrun with critters and insects, you need to take charge of the situation.
Some of the most popular pest problems faced by Chicago families include cockroaches, bed bugs, ants, wasps, yellow jackets, mosquitoes, and rodents. These pests won’t go away on their own, so you’ll need to take action.
You have two choices at this point: Go the DIY route or call a pest control elimination service. If you’re more of a hands-on person, you’ll need to investigate and evaluate what works to rid your home of everything that flies, crawls, and stings. Some home remedies work better than others. Additionally, some take quite a bit of time, especially natural or organic pest control.
If you’d rather just take care of the pests at once, call a pest control service. Professional technicians can help with everything from completely removing an ant infestation to applying mosquito control solutions so you can enjoy your patio again.
Though this isn’t one of the most exciting summer home maintenance projects, it’s definitely an important one. After all, you shouldn’t have to worry that you’re sharing your house with unwanted guests.
Take Care of Nagging Roof Repairs
The average home’s roof lasts around 30 years, as long as it’s been well-installed and properly maintained. Nevertheless, some roofs in Illinois last a shorter period of time or incur damage due to lake effect wind, rain, sleet, and snow.
In thinking about summer home maintenance projects, consider the state of your roof. Is it relatively recent, as in less than 10 years old? Or has it aged considerably? Are parts of the shingles breaking off or warping? Do you suspect leaks that are getting into your walls, attic, or living spaces? These are all signs that this is one of those summer home maintenance projects you need to tackle soon.
Before you assume that you’ll end up spending a fortune to completely remove your current roof and reinstall a replacement, remember that you might be able to fix something like a leaking roof with simple roof repair. Expert roofers aren’t necessarily going to try to sell you a brand new roof. A roofer may recommend replacing a section of shingles with lookalikes, for instance.
After fixing any roof concerns as part of your summer home maintenance projects, write yourself a note on the calendar to put roof maintenance a priority next summer, too. The more you keep up with your roof, the less a major repair is likely to surprise you.
Keep in mind that making roofing repairs can also make your central cooling system work more efficiently. If there are leaks in the roof, this will allow air to escape — which means your central heat and air system will have to work overtime to compensate. Guess what happens when a central cooling and heating system has to work hard? You’ll end up paying a lot more for your monthly usage. Not only that, but your whole house heater and air conditioner might not last as long as it should if it has to work harder than necessary. If you don’t want to pay a premium to frequently replace home central heating and cooling systems, you might actually start by fixing your roof!
Contact a Provider for HVAC Tune-Ups
While we’re on the subject of homes in the style of Cape cod central heating and cooling needs, let’s discuss the necessity of maintenance checks and regular repairs for these systems. Your home’s HVAC system plays a critical part in both the comfort of you and your family, as well as your overall indoor air quality. The beginning of summer is a terrific opportunity for you to take advantage of air conditioning maintenance offers from local providers. It’s also a good chance for you to change the filter in your whole house air conditioner or fan.
Have you wondered, “what is central cooling and is it better than what I have now?” Central cooling refers to air conditioning that operates from a specific location — meaning that the air is brought into that location to be cooled and then distributed throughout the home or building via fans or ducts. With central ar, are split systems and packaged units — each of which operate a little differently and have different benefits. Central air isn’t the same as forced air, which is the type of system your home furnace uses. Instead, central air uses a closed loop of cycled and refrigerated air that’s sent throughout your home using that aforementioned forced air system. Essentially, this means that a central air system isn’t actually connected to your furnace.
But the terminology here doesn’t matter nearly as much as the impact. If you’ve been living without an air conditioner or just using window units, you may want to consider making this the year you finally get air conditioning installed. Many places can install an air conditioner within a day or two. And you don’t necessarily need ductwork to get the benefit that comes with an energy-efficient air conditioner. Many systems for central air in Cape Cod homes will end up saving you money in the long run compared to window units — and you’ll certainly be more comfortable with air conditioning on those hot summer days.
Although HVAC Cape Cod home installation can be a bit of an undertaking, some air conditioning companies offer sales and installation of ductless air conditioners. They perform just as reliably as other models, but they don’t require that you retrofit your house with a system of ducts. Many homebuyers in Chicago like to look at houses with some kind of air conditioning. If you’re thinking of selling your house in a few years, adding some type of central air might be a wise addition to your ever-growing summer home maintenance projects checklist. Even if you plan on escaping to the beach this summer, air conditioning contractors Cape Cod seasonal residents rely on can make your vacation house a lot more bearable.
As a final note, consider asking your HVAC service dealer about the possibility of zoning your home. Zoning allows you to focus your heating or cooling where it’s most needed at the time. For example, you may not want to cool off your upstairs areas during the day if everyone in your family tends to hang out downstairs or outside. Similarly, when the weather starts to get chilly, you might not want to heat up your den and living room while everyone’s asleep at night. This will allow you to get the most out of your Cape Cod central heating and cooling style unit without paying a premium. Keep in mind that no matter what kind of system you invest in, you’ll still want to schedule HVAC maintenance on a yearly basis to ensure everything’s working as it should.
Update Your Home’s Electrical System
Electrical problems aren’t just a nuisance. They can also be deadly because they can lead to fires. Therefore, make checking and updating your home’s electrical system a summer home maintenance projects no-brainer.
How do you know if something’s amiss with your electrical system? Some surefire signs that you should at least get it checked out include smelling something funny when you turn lights or the oven on, experiencing flickering lights, constantly having to reset the fuse box, hot to the touch outlets, and dangling wires. Obviously, if you see sparks when you turn on a light or plug in an appliance, that’s another reason to take action immediately.
Even if you like to do everything on your own when it comes to updating your home, leave electrical work to the pros. Ask someone to come into your home and give it a once-over inspection. See if there are any electrical upgrades you should make while you’re engaging in summer home maintenance projects, especially if your home was built or refurbished more than 20 years ago.
Like all home systems, electric systems have improved over the past few decades. By investing in a different type of electric box or rewiring parts of your property, you could end up saving tons of energy. You’ll also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you’ve handled all those electrical issues.
Give Your Lawn a Haircut–And Other TLC
Two words: Curb appeal. Houses that lack it tend to fade into the background or become neighborhood eyesores. On the other hand, houses with tons of it generate lots of “Ooohs” and “Ahhhs” from passersby.
Lawn maintenance happens to be one of the most instantly rewarding of all summer home maintenance projects because it’s effects are so instantly noticeable! It’s tough not to spot the pergola someone adds to a side yard or a brilliantly flowered walkway made of stone. No, you don’t want to spend your whole budget set aside for summer home maintenance projects, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give your property an eye-catching facelift.
Start by making sure that your lawnmower is properly serviced and ready to do all the trimming throughout the summer months. You can service it yourself or, if needed, take it somewhere to get a tune-up or blade sharpening. Check all your other lawn tools to be certain they’ll be ready to perform for the season.
Next, check out any trees around your house. Could they use a little tree pruning? Giving your trees and bushes a haircut probably sounds like a simple process. However, it’s more of an art form. Plus, pruning a tall tree can be dangerous if you don’t have proper equipment or training. Call on an expert with know-how and referrals to make your flora look amazing.
Finally, insist on adding “weeding” as one of those summer home maintenance projects that needs to happen on a weekly basis. You can’t just weed your garden once and be done with the experience. That’s not the way weeds work. Even if you use some type of non-toxic weed killer, you’ll still have to get on the ground and pull every now and then. Consistent weeding helps keep your lawn healthy and gorgeous.
Put Money Into Siding Repair or Washing
Like roofs, siding will eventually wear out. Sure, some siding can last up to 60 years. But that doesn’t mean you should let it get discolored year after year.
As the seasons change, your siding becomes exposed to everything from airborne debris to insect webs to intense sunlight. This leaves the siding looking less than attractive. Some siding may even take on a greenish hue due to a build-up of algae and moss.
Take heart, though: Even ugly siding may come back to life with some pro power washing and attention. Call up a company that specializes in working with houses with your type of siding. Talk to them about your choices, such as cleaning versus repairing versus reinstalling.
Upgrade Your Fencing or Add a Fence
Are you interested in cherry-picking your list of summer home maintenance projects to figure out which ones will give you the most aesthetic impact for the money? Install a fence or fix the one you have. Fences can turn any home into a location that just looks like a million bucks, even if it’s valued at well below that figure.
First, if you have a fence already, make fence repair a priority. Wooden fencing often rots away in spots or needs to be re-nailed in place. Wire fencing can come loose thanks to critters bending it away at the bottom. And fences made from composite materials may eventually warp or discolor.
Go around your fence and examine it from both sides, making notes of problem spots. Then, set out a plan to fix everything, one project at a time. You don’t have to redo your fence in one day. Be reasonable and piecemeal it out so it’s done by summertime’s end.
Thinking of putting a fence in? Make sure you are aware of your property boundaries before digging posts. Also, think about renting equipment to make installation a breeze and not a chore. You’ll appreciate increasing the privacy around your home and may even improve your property value by including a fence onto your grounds.
Swap Your Doors
Is it time for unattractive, broken, or dated doors to go? Unless you’re locked into keeping your doors for some reason, explore potentially swapping interior or exterior doors. Newer doors will more easily latch and lock, making them more secure.
While you’re at it, weigh the benefits of adding screen doors if you don’t have them currently. Screen doors can be fantastic, especially in the spring and fall months when the weather’s not too warm for you to open the windows and doors to let in the breeze–but not the bugs.
Upgrade Your Garage
As a conclusion to our suggestions of summer home maintenance projects, pay attention to your garage and its garage door. If you don’t have a working electric garage door, explore garage door installation services in Chicago. Nothing feels more relaxing than being able to push a button and gain access to your garage, not to mention your home, in the case of a garage that is attached.
Oh, be sure to clean your garage from top to bottom. Garages become cluttered and dirty quickly. Summer presents a wonderful time to finally get rid of all the junk you no longer need and start to love your garage again.
What summer home maintenance projects are on your calendar for the next three months? No matter your response, you’re sure to start autumn with a more appealing, safer, and valuable property after engaging in a few house upgrades and repairs.
