Summer a very warm season. During this season, people experience extreme heat conditions. It is necessary to carry out home renovations that will serve you well during summer and also continue being valuable to your home in the long run. Let us look at some major renovations you can do in preparation for the season and others you can do during summer to enjoy your time.
Ensure Your Air Conditioners Are Working Well
How do you ensure the air conditioners in your home give you the best cooling service you need for this season?
First, get the Air Conditioning unit tuned up if you haven’t done so already. Air conditioners are specially designed to be very tough, engineered to endure all kinds of abuse but maintain their same level of functioning. Many units use almost 50% more energy when they are not used properly. With the rising cost of energy, if you keep your Air Conditioner running below its peak, you will spend a lot more on energy bills in the extreme heat of summer. Your air conditioner must have tune-ups to run properly every year. If they go without the maintenance services, they lose up to five percent of their efficiency for every year of their operation. For example, a 12 SEER unit that you purchased three short years ago could be functioning today as a 9 SEER unit without a tune-up.
You can recover most of its efficiency by starting a regularly scheduled maintenance plan. Research shows that with added tune-ups, the air conditioner retains almost 95 percent of its efficiency. Therefore, the cost of the annual tune-up is more than made up for by the reduced costs of repair in the future and the money saved on your electric bill every month. Furthermore, if you maintain an air conditioner well, it will function much better for dehumidifying your home.
The check-up on the air conditioner should include:
- Cleaning the condensing unit coils.
- Adjusting the belts properly.
- Oiling the motors for the fans.
- Checking the amp draw on the compressor.
- Checking all the pressures and temperatures on the system to ensure it aligns with the particular manufacturer’s specifications.
One of the most crucial parts that you should also check is the coolant level. It is important because an air conditioner that is only 10 percent low on coolant can end up costing you about 20 percent more to run. Therefore, experts suggest that a coolant level be tested yearly.
In addition to annual tune-ups, it is recommended that some added measures be taken to guarantee more comfort at home and accurate system functioning. First, make sure you buy good filters and replace the old ones regularly. Also, cut down any bushes or other materials starting to encroach on the unit’s space outside. Another excellent idea is to stop closing the supply air outlets that are located around the home. In most instances, closing these outlets becomes dangerous to the overall functioning of the air conditioning system.
Insulate and Seal Your Home
Insulating and sealing you is one of the most cost-effective steps towards energy and money savings, as you get to regulate the heat of summer. You can save around 10% on your annual energy bill, and sometimes, there’s no need to hire a contractor because you can do it yourself, but if you can’t, hire professionals who offer home insulation services.
First, make sure you insulate your attic well, as insulation helps prevent heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. So insulating servers you in both seasons.
Different insulation has different R-values. The R-value is the measure of the ability of the insulation to resist heat flow. The higher the R-value, the higher the insulating characteristics of the material being used. In new homes, the recommended R-value for attics is R-44 – R-50. R-38 is acceptable in most areas, but if you live in a freezing climate, R-49 is recommended. Always measure the depth of the insulation in the attic. It should be at least between 12and 15 inches; otherwise, add more.
We gain and lose too much heat through windows and doors, depending on the seasons. You can close all cracks around your windows and weather strip all around your exterior doors to eliminate these losses and make your home more efficient. Also, look for holes in your attic, basement, and crawlspace, and deal with them as needed.
Insulating your home will save you more energy than using An Ac service equally important, but you will spend more on energy bills when using ACs than insulating your home.
Improve your roofing
If you need a new roof, install it during summer and consider using a fire-resistant roof material. Whether it’s a shingled roof, you’re dealing with or a flat, painted roof, summer is the best time since you can dry things out under the hot sun for the best results. To fix your roof properly, you need to take time and get roofing contractors who offer the best commercial roofing services. What are some of the factors you need to consider when looking for roofing contractors?
- The location of the roofers. It’s advisable to get a local one to reduce costs.
- The reputation of the contractor. Get referrals about the various contractors you are considering from people you can trust. That will help you make informed decisions.
- The customer service and customer complaint response methods that the contractor uses. You can ask those referring them even as you get information from the contractors. Customer service is very important.
- The contractor’s payment terms- It is advisable to get different quotations and see what terms of payments are reasonable and favorable. It is also not advisable to pay the full amount before the job is complete. A down payment is more reasonable, while the remaining payment is done once the job is complete.
- The types of contracts the contractors use- Written contracts are better than verbal contracts.
- Any warranties provided by the contractors on the job and a warranty on the materials they use from the manufacturers- A warranty will help shield you from immediate losses.
- How long the contractor has operated and their professionalism. A contractor who has been in business for longer periods is most likely very good at his work.
- Does the contractor have the required permits to do the job? Conduct your due diligence to ascertain that before signing any contracts.
- The liability of the contractors and his work team. Does he compensate any worker injured on the site? There should be a thorough understanding of that to avoid extra charges.
- The legitimacy of the contractor and check if there are any pending legal actions.
- Their waste disposal methods- It ensures environmental conservation.
Outdoor home improvement
The summer is a good time to focus on outdoor home improvement jobs, those having to do with landscaping. Landscaping is fun to do on your own. It is highly visible to the public, so you won’t want to mess it up. Summer is a great time to do new flower beds that you’ve waited for a long to do, building an outdoor barbecue pit, arranging a poolside lounging area, doing diverse landscaping jobs to improve your home security conditions on your property, and maintaining the lawns and gardens.
Maintaining a lawn is as easy as you make it. Doing and maintaining a lawn by yourself is possible, and it allows you to explore all the ideas you’ve always had. You can play around with ideas. It also saves you money and allows you to learn about plants, flowers, and grass. If you don’t know what to do, you can hire someone to teach you.
If you can’t do it personally, you can hire someone to do it for you. Some people have concentrated on commercial lawn care. They do a perfectly wonderful job since they trim bushes, keep your grass at the right height, applying fertilizer, aerate, and give you the best advice on maintaining your lawn.
They can advise on the type of grass best for your lawn, recommend trees, shrubs, and plants to decorate your lawn and make it more welcoming. They know how to do mulching and direct you on safe approaches to keeping healthy plants. While bugs are inevitable, lawn care professionals know how to keep those pesky insects away using organic materials rather than harsh pesticides. You are of consistent care on your lawn as you will be setting the schedule for how often they come to work on it. If you hire commercial lawn care professionals, they will come with their tools.
Exterior Painting
It is done during warm seasons so that the paint can dry out well. You may need to paint one side when the sun is not directly facing it to ensure even and quality drying.
Additional ways to save energy
Consider replacing single-pane windows with Energy Star qualified double-pane low-emissive windows to help cut down on heat transfer and ultraviolet light.
Open drapes on your south-facing windows during the winter to let in natural light and heat. At night close drapes and blinds to reduce heat loss through your windows. Adversely, close all drapes on the south-facing windows during hot summer days to prevent the sun from heating your home.
Pool cleaning
It is fun to own a pool and enjoy splashing around during summer days. Maintaining a clean pool is a big job, and you should take it seriously to keep your pool clean and look good. The pool looks dirty if leaves and debris accumulate on the water surface. All of these need frequent pool cleaning. Scrub the floor, wall, and steps of the pool frequently, so they don’t get slippery and mossy.
Below are basic tips you need to use in your pool cleaning sessions.
- You need to invest in efficient pool cleaning equipment that includes a skimming net, pool vacuum cleaner, and algae brush, for starters.
- Use the skimming net to remove leaves and other debris floating on the water’s surface. It takes less time if you don’t have too many trees overlooking the pool. Keep a large garbage can beside you and empty your skim net into it. Keep going until the water in your pool looks clean.
- Clean the floor and walls of the pool too. Algae build-up starts spreading over the bottom and sides of the pool, which requires you to give the entire pool a good scrubbing every so often. First, drain the pool completely and then use a long-handled rough scrubbing brush specifically for swimming pools. If you have a pool with tiles on the floor, get a separate tile cleaning brush.
- Vacuum the pool once a week to keep it clean. You can consider using automatic pool cleaning systems available on the market that will suck up debris and other dirt from the bottom of the pool.
- Clean strainers and filters periodically and replace them every so often. Always check on them every time you clean your pool. They are very useful in preventing the drains from clogging.
- You will also need to check on the water in your pool. Buy a water testing kit to check how hard or soft the water is.
- A diligent pool cleaning schedule will give you a clean and beautiful pool, which you can enjoy with family and friends.
If you are unable to clean the pool by yourself, please hire a professional to do it for you to maintain its cleanliness. You could save the cash you pay someone to clean it, but you will enjoy swimming in a clean place, and it will also be safe for you and your loved ones.
The ability to enjoy your summer and maintain a good home during that season depends on how much you are willing to give out to renovating some things and teaching yourself to do others. Doing things yourself will keep you active, save you money and enable you to bond more with your loved ones as you do them together. Ensure you do all improvements and renovations in safe conditions