summer maintenance tips, home, safety

anthony gilardi, home improvement advice

Today HGTV's Anthony Gilardi provides 10 Summer Maintenance Tips for Your Home. These simple tasks will help prepare your home for a safe and happy summer.

Don't forget to Ask Anthony your home repair or home improvement questions RIGHT NOW in the comments below! Anthony visits us here on CafeMom every other week.

Summer is here! Time for relaxing by the pool or on the beach. Time for enjoying family BBQs. No housework for three months, right? Well, almost…

Before you retire yourself to the joys of summer (or between bites of burger; I won't tell...), there are a few summer home maintenance projects you should take care of around the house first.

These basic home improvement tasks will ensure your home is safe for the summer season and beyond:

  1. HVAC Unit. Time to replace all filters and clean out all vents.
  2. Exterior Doors and Windows. Check all doors and windows. Make sure they are working properly. Doors should open and close without sticking. Windows should open, stay open when required, and close smoothly.
  3. Screens. Check all window and door screens for holes. Repair or replace where needed.  
  4. Exterior Stairs. Whether they're made of wood, metal, or concrete, outside staircases, stoops, and steps have aged since last summer. Repair or replace damaged stairs for safety.
  5. Decks/Patios/Porches. Again, whether they're made of wood, metal, or concrete, decks, patios, and porches have also seen some wear and tear since last summer. Check for loose flooring, protruding nails, screws, or splinters. Most importantly make sure your safety railings are strong and secure.
  6. Swimming Pool. Time to professionally service all the pool's components. Make sure there are proper safety fences and gates around the perimeter of the pool, and that all sides and openings are secure.
  7. Pest Control. The only pests I usually concern myself with are the ones that can do direct damage to your home. Two examples: Termites and Carpenter Ants. Why worry about this now? End of spring and early summer is when both of these insects nests hatch. If you’ve seen a hatching Termite or Carpenter Ant nest hatch, you know my concern. These insects look wood to grow their nest. Have a professional exterminator come by your home and school you with options on the best way to prevent home damage from wood-boring insects.
  8. Attic. Time to get into your attic and make sure: It is properly ventilated (check vent screens for holes and or damage), and it is properly insulated. R13 insulation should be installed between all ceiling joists. Anthony TIP: Insulation should never be installed between roof rafters. This is incorrect and needs to be removed. It will seriously compromise the longevity of your roof.
  9. Basements and/or Crawl Spaces. Much like your attic, the underside of your home also needs to be properly ventilated. Check vent screens for holes and or damage. Make sure your crawl space access is properly…well, accessible. Check for wood damage. Waterproof all areas within 12” of grade (ground level, earth, dirt).
  10. Driveways and Walkways. The harsher the weather in your area, the more chance the asphalt, pavement, concrete, or hardtop on your driveway/walkway has been damaged or compromised. Repair all settlement cracks, potholes, and loose masonry. Properly maintaining these areas once a year can prevent a larger more expensive problem in the future.     

Not bad, right?

Take one or two days to address these areas, and then it’s smooth sailing this summer.
Oh yeah, one more Anthony Tip — even if it is smooth sailing, always wear a life vest.

See you next time,

—Anthony Gilardi

 

What do you want to Ask Anthony? Leave a home repair or home improvement question in the comments below.