What kind of home updates you should consider this summer?
Photo by Max Vakhtbovych from Pexels
The long days of summer invite people to tackle home improvement projects. After all, you have more daylight to get things done.
What should you do to fix up your homestead? Here are eight home updates you should consider making this summer.
A garage makeover
When you ask homebuyers what they look for in a property, a well-organized garage nearly always makes their top 10 list. It doesn’t take much to hang some pegboard on the walls to organize your garden tools or install some cabinets with locks to keep harmful chemicals out of curious little fingers.
One item to upgrade is your door — faulty systems can kill. However, new Wi-Fi models enhance your family’s security. You can check that you shut the door even after reaching the grocery store and establish temporary passcodes to let service people enter.
Adding a she-shed or man-cave
Virginia Woolf once wrote that a woman needs a room of one’s own to practice her art. Even if you don’t plan on penning the great American novel, it’s glorious to have a retreat.
This project can become part of your garage remodel. If you are among the 75% of folks who don’t use this space for car storage, why not put it to use as a hobby space or place to watch the game? Alternatively, you can pick up prefabricated sheds relatively inexpensively at home improvement stores and finish them however you like.
Installing a rain garden
Does your basement sometimes take on water in heavy rains? This phenomenon can crack your foundation over time, leading to the need for costly repairs.
This summer, why don’t you consider installing a rain garden? These collect rainwater off impervious surfaces and direct them into a depressing patch of soil, so they don’t gather around your foundation. The beauty part is once you complete installation, you don’t need to perform much if any maintenance beyond the first year.
Building a compost bin
Did you get into the gardening craze amid the pandemic? If you did, you might have noticed how quickly a trip to the nursery can drain your wallet.
Why not save more green by, well, going green? It doesn’t take too much to build a compost bin for your food scraps. You might even get by making one from wood salvaged from repurposed wooden pallets that you can get for free at hardware stores. You’ll save a bundle on fertilizer and decrease landfill fodder.
Refreshing your color
Painting provides one of the biggest ROIs of any home improvement project. You can pick up a bucket of the stuff for less than $30 at many home improvement stores and finish many tasks in a single weekend.
You can do the interior, exterior, or both. Redesign the color scheme or go bold with your trim. If you decide to take on any outdoor projects, remember, the best drying occurs on days with 40% to 70% humidity. Pick a milder day, as high temperatures can dry your paint before you finish your brushstrokes, resulting in an unfortunate texture.
Upgrading your kitchen
Your kitchen is the heart of your home, and it deserves a little TLC before the holiday season arrives. Are you short on storage space? Consider adding solutions like a hanging pot rack to help you save cabinet room and add a rustic farmhouse touch.
If you have a little extra cash, consider upgrading your appliances to take advantage of Energy Start savings. Since 2011, manufacturers have designed their products to be more energy efficient to achieve the highest possible ratings. If you have less to spend, painting your cabinets a lighter color can give the illusion of a larger space.
Going solar
If you have been thinking about converting to solar power, either to save on energy bills, protect the planet, or both, now is the time to act. You can still reap a valuable tax credit for doing so, but it expires in 2022 — make this the year.
You can even get creative using solar power if you rent. You can now find portable solar panels that don’t require you to undergo a significant renovation to install. They might not power your entire home, but they can cut your monthly bill substantially.
Screeing-in your deck
Would you like to dine alfresco without getting eaten alive yourself by noseeums and mosquitoes? Maybe you want to extend your outdoor living into the winter months.
If so, consider screening in all or a part of your outdoor deck or patio. Doing so gives you a place to picnic free from insect pests. Additionally, you can build removable vinyl inserts that create a greenhouse effect in the wintertime. You can extend the time you spend outdoors and get a jumpstart on any summer seedlings.
Consider these 8 home upgrades this summer
The long days of the season inspire people to be anything but lazy. Why not tackle one of these eight home updates this summer?