Getting Your Home Ready for Summer: Where to Start

It’s time to get your home ready for the summer months. This is a time of a lot of excitement for a lot of people. Are you looking forward to those summer BBQs and long balmy evenings sitting outdoors with friends? Perhaps you’re a gardener, and you can’t wait to see your yard in all its blooming glory come the summer.

To make life a lot simpler for yourself in the long run, you should take a few simple steps to get your home ready for summer so that you don’t end up having to make changes or get repairs in your home while you should be enjoying yourself.

Get Your Chimney Cleaned

If you have a chimney then this is a good time to get it cleaned. If you leave the soot and grime that has built up while you aren’t using the chimney during the summer, it can be a much bigger job when it comes to the winter. It’s better to get this job carried out after the seasons where your fire has been used a lot rather than waiting and doing it during the months where your chimney won’t be called upon.

Prepare Your Air Conditioner

A lot of people forget to keep up with the maintenance tips after their AC installation. A HVAC unit is not just a “set and forget” sort of arrangement. Every year you need to at least consider the air conditioner and check whether it needs servicing.

A lot of people choose a yearly servicing option for their air conditioning units. This is a way to check if the air filters are in good condition and replace them if required. It’s also a good time to check the ducting for any blockages or damage.

People who have pets, and who run the AC unit regularly, should replace the filters more often. Over the winter, you might not have your AC unit on very much, but in the summer it is likely to see a lot of action. This means that you should be prepared to change the filters regularly. This is something you can often do yourself, so you don’t have to get an engineer in just because you need the filter changed.

Clean Out Gutters

Similarly, you’re relying on the better weather here. If your gutters haven’t been cleaned over the last few months, you might find that there are blockages. This can even cause potential damage. You need to check for leaves from the autumn and winter, or even blockages and damage that can be caused by temperature changes and snow.

If you’re in any doubt at all you should get the professionals to do this. It can be dangerous.

Paint the Exterior

Painting the exterior is a job that you should carry out regularly if you want to keep your home in the best possible condition and keep up the appeal. If you have a house that looks really impressive from the sidewalk, regular painting is one of the best ways to ensure it keeps its sheen.

Exterior painting is a big job. You don’t have to do it every single year, but it is a good idea to take a step back and view your home from afar to see if the color is still as strong as it once was. If your home is painted white you might want to paint it more regularly, as any faded sections will look much worse on light colors.

Wash Windows

Over the winter and spring there isn’t too much point in doing a lot of window washing. The chances are that there is a rainstorm coming that will leave them streaky anyway. In the summer, we can be a bit more optimistic about the weather, and washing the windows is essential to preserve your beautiful views of the outside.

This is another task that you can choose to either do yourself or get professionals to carry out. The pros are likely to be much better at reaching the high windows in your home, but you can buy telescopic devices to reach these higher areas, so it is an option to wash windows yourself without having to worry about ladders.

Adjust Doors

As the summer approaches, it is a good time to adjust windows and doors. Often, sealant can come loose through the winter and this can lead to the heat (or cool air from your air conditioner) getting in and out more easily. On top of that, frames can expand and contract with temperature changes.

Check for weatherstripping, and if there are any loose hinges or sealant that has become damaged around any glass areas. It’s possible that you can perform some simple maintenance to make your doors more secure and make it much easier to control the temperature.

Inspect Your Roof

Colder months can have a negative impact on your roof. As the summer months approach and you can rely a little more on the weather, it’s a good time to make any roof improvement.

Winter snow and freezing temperatures can cause cracks. It’s often a bad idea to get on the roof yourself. Instead, you should look inside for any signs of leakages. For instance, water might be getting into your attic or affecting the ceiling and your walls.

You might not have a way to get up and visually inspect the roof, but you can try to get a higher vantage point. For example, you might have neighbors over the street with a good view, who will allow you to check from a high window.

There are different styles of roofing. You might need to check your tiles or you might just need to check for cracks in the surface. If in any doubt, get a professional roofer in to help.

If you do need changes and repairs to be made then it might be best to do this when the weather starts to improve. Summer months can be ideal for this. Take advantage of having time to get the professionals in and get your home ready for the summer.

About The Author: Claire Zimmerman is a content marketing specialist at Allstate Service Group. Having almost 9 years of experience in home improvement, Claire is keen on sharing her knowledge on home design and renovation with others, especially hvac, air filtration and water damage issues. Claire’s articles are informative and entertaining, written both for homeowners and experienced contractors.