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How to maintain the exterior of your house

September 5, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

People tend to get so caught up in making the interior of their house look perfect that they often forget to pay sufficient attention to the exterior. However, neither one is more important than the other.

Both need to be kept well maintained to ensure your home functions efficiently, safely and securely, as well as retaining its overall aesthetic. Here are some top tips for keeping the exterior of your home in fine working order.

Make a plan

Before you go steaming into fixing everything in sight and calling in all the help you can get, take some time to sit down and come up with a thorough plan. This includes a checklist of areas that need prioritizing, a budget, predicted costs of repairs, as well as working out what you can do yourself and what will require professional help.

There is no way you can sort everything out at once, so it is important to be sensible and logical about how you are going to go about it. It may also depend on the season that you decide to make changes to the exterior, as summer will demand different priorities to those in winter, for example clearing out the gutter might be considered more urgent following the falling fall than after spring.

Roof maintenance

The practice of maintaining a solid roof over your head that will keep you warm and dry is fairly vital to the wellbeing of your day-to-day life. In general, asphalt roofs are fairly robust and tend to last anywhere between 20 and 30 years before they need replacing, even if they don’t look too old.

However, there is always the possibility that a hole might form or one of the tiles cracks due to adverse weather conditions, which could lead to leakages, damp, or the forming of mold. If you notice this, it is a good idea to look online for “roofing contractors near me” to get an idea of how much the repair or new roof will cost, before proceeding to factor it into your budget.

Gutter maintenance

Gutters play an integral role in the smooth functioning of your house and must be given the due care accordingly. A gutter clogged with debris, such as fallen asphalt, leaves, twigs, and moss can cause significant water damage to your home. Such is the importance of maintaining clear gutters in good working order that some experts predict if you don’t, it could end up costing tens of thousands of dollars, decreasing the market value of your house and leading to infestations of rodents and insects.

Although it is a tedious fix to ensure they are clear, it is very simple, requiring just a ladder and a pair of gardening gloves to carry out the job. If you don’t feel particularly comfortable doing it yourself, then there are countless different companies who will all send someone out to do the job for you.

Pathway maintenance

Over the years, patios and pathways have a tendency to start falling apart from all the thousands of footfalls they experience, no matter how well they have been laid. It can also be affected by weather conditions, with very hot climates causing expansion and susceptibility in very cold climates to crack.

Pressure washing is an effective way of cleaning off any dirt that has collected, making weathered slabs look brand new. While old algae and ingrained mud may not come off immediately, a bit of scrubbing and chemicals should get it looking up to standard once again.

Depending on the size and type of patio and pathways you own, replacing them completely can cost anywhere between $800 and $4,000 plus. This means that you need to decide carefully what the best solution is before you start making the investment, as it can end up being a fairly expensive business.

Overall, it is clear that there is a whole range of different aspects of a house that need to be regularly attended to. While some may require substantial investment to ensure the problem is solved, the majority just need small fixes to prevent the issue from getting any worse.

Remembering to keep on top of the wellbeing of your home’s exterior might feel tedious for some, yet it will be well worth the effort in the long run, to avoid it falling into disrepair and costing a fortune further down the line. It is generally recommended that homeowners inspect the exterior at least once every six months in order to catch potential complications before they arise.

Get Rid of the Pests and Take Back Your Home

December 19, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Long gone are the days, when as a dad, you had to stand on a chair because the mice were at your feet. These days you can simply call up a pest control service and have them take care of it. You will still be the hero in your children’s eyes. As a single dad, you have your fair share of challenges, but dealing with pests shouldn’t be one of them. You do not have to put up with pests in the home anymore. The sooner you get rid of them, the better. Mice are very dangerous because they not only destroy your home from the inside out, they also carry many deadly diseases. If you have a pest problem, don’t wait. Contact a pest control service at joshuaspestcontrol.com to take care of the problem.

Even if you keep a neat and tidy home, mice and rats will always find a way to get in. They can squeeze through surprisingly small holes and cracks, and they will always seek out warm places to go, especially if it is cold out. Once they get in, they are very difficult to get out. They multiply very quickly. You could end up with an infestation of 60 mice from just six in as little as three months.

Mice seek out food and will raid your pantry, bread box, and food storage. They will leave behind feces and urine. You can’t just sweep up their feces either because you can release a bacteria into the air that can get you very sick. It is important to leave that to the pest control company to handle. There are many diseases that can be transmitted through their urine and droppings, including Salmonella, Leptospirosis, and even severe abdominal cramps. Mice will also seek out water. If they share a water dish with your cat or dog, they can get them sick too.

Mice and rats will build their nests out of the insulation in your home. They may even die in the hardest to get to places, such as in your ductwork, in the walls, or in the ceiling. If that happens, you will have the most horrible stench to deal with. The smell will permeate throughout the entire house and will make it very unpleasant to live in.

Mice will chew through any and everything. They will chew through your electrical wires and can cause a house fire. They can even chew through your water heater and cause a flood. Mice are bad news, and they are not guests that you want to have in your home.

Many people will try to take care of the problem on their own, but many of the products that you can find in the hardware store are not effective because they do not get to the root of the problem. They do not take care of the nests. Some of the products don’t even work. If you use traps, you need to dispose of the dead rodents, and that can be hazardous to your health unless you use the proper gear such as gloves and a mask. You may not be able to use sticky traps or poison either because you have pets and children who could accidentally eat it. Those are the products that are typically your best bet at getting rid of your rodent problem.

It is well worth getting a pest control service to come out and take care of the issue for you. It is also much safer for you and your children, as well as your pets. It is very important to get pest control maintenance. In other words, it is a good idea to have your pest control technician come out every month to inspect your home and to ensure that are there not rodents camping out in your home. They will get rid of any feces or dead rodents and will also make sure that there are no new holes or cracks where rodents can get in and grow into a new infestation.

How to Look After and Maintain Wooden Fencing

September 22, 2018 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Your wooden fencing is a very important part of your garden, if not the most important part of it. A good and sturdy fence doesn’t only look good and add in some style, it can add value to your home and provide an extra layer of security. Tired, broken and dilapidated garden fence panels are the opposite of this, however, if you are not careful and don’t look after your fence properly, it is easy for what was once a good fence to become a broken and redundant mess.

Keeping up with the maintenance of wooden fencing is quite important. If you don’t look after it and allow it to become too damaged over time, you may find that you end up having to replace the entire thing which is an expensive endeavour indeed. Too many people get complacent and think that just because they’ve got a fence up, they don’t need to worry about anything else – this is wrong.

Also, it looks pretty bad if you ever come to selling your home and you’ve got a sagging and broken mess of a fence. It makes you look lazy and will remove some added value from your home. Although buying good quality fence panels from a well-renowned seller such as Buy Fencing Direct who have 10 and 15 year guarantees on their products will cut down on the maintenance required, you still have to do some from time-to-time. I am here to tell you exactly what to look out for and some of the tasks you will need to perform on occasion.

#1: Fixing Splits and Cracks

This is the keyword here – maintenance. Generally speaking, your fence will last longer if it is maintained. Not repaired, but maintained. A wooden fence panel will sometimes need to have any damaged looked at before it becomes a big problem and you can quite easily glue broken and split pieces of wood back together so long as it is completely dry. A purpose-made wood glue which is waterproof will do the trick. If it is a rather substantial split, then you may well need to clamp the broken piece together so that it holds in place whilst the glue dries.

You should keep any clamping or tape in place for at least 24 hours – longer if possible – to ensure that the glue completely dries out and solidifies. If the job is done properly, you won’t be able to tell that a crack ever existed. You should only apply glue to a fence which is 100% dry otherwise the glue won’t bind the two broken pieces together. It’s also a good idea to ensure that you repair your fence in good weather when there is a low chance of rain.

#2: Exposing New Wood Layers

Over time, the top layer of your wooden fencing will begin to look old and worn out, however, these older wood cells can easily be removed to expose a completely new and fresher looking layer of wood by using a power washer. A typical power washer will deliver enough pressure to get rid of a very thin top layer of wood and wooden cells which have dried out and started to show their age.

You shouldn’t worry about doing this, either – power washing your fence will not remove enough wood cells to make any difference to its size or shape. Just don’t go crazy with an industrial power washer and put it on the highest setting as this could damage and crack the wood. It’s always good to start on a lower setting and adjust upwards as needed rather than start too high, cause some damage, and then adjust down.

#3: Adding Paints, Oils and Preservatives

You should always treat your fencing panels with specialist wood paints, oils, and preservatives which will not only keep your fence looking in prime condition but protect it from the elements too. This is especially important if you live in an environment with rough and unpredictable weather. If you have torrential rain for a good portion of the year and don’t treat your fencing with a waterproof paint, for example, then your fence can become waterlogged and start to rot.

There are lots of different products which are available to help treat your fencing. For example, decking oil makes a fantastic treatment for your fencing as it helps keep fences made from timber free from water. Decking oil also contains UV filters which protects your fencing from the bleaching affect of the sun.

These paints, oils and preservatives typically come in a vast range of colours so getting the look you need to fit the overall theme of your garden shouldn’t be a problem. Many people wrongly think that because it’s a paint made for wood that it will only come in neutral and earthy colours, but that simply isn’t the case – you can find a whole range of vibrant fencing paints and treatments at any good hardware or DIY shop.

Staining your fence is also a great way to add a bit of colour whilst protecting it from the elements. If you live in a rainy area then regular staining of your fence, say two to four times per year, will provide even more protection from the rain. You will know when it’s time to re-seal your fence because you will be able to tell the difference between your fence when it has been freshly sealed and when the sealant and staining has worn off.

Looking after your garden’s fencing isn’t a huge job, yet many people fail to do it. If you have a good quality fence bought from a reputable provider rather than a cheap one which was thrown up in one afternoon, you will likely need to perform much less maintenance than you think. Spending a bit of time every now and then to survey your fence and fix any problems is well worth it, because a fence which is left too long can become so damaged that repair is not possible, meaning the only alternative is to fork out for an entirely new one.