What You Need to Keep Your Home Exterior in Good Shape

It’s a complex thing taking care of a house to make it a home. Especially during pandemic. When you aren’t even going outside daily, it can be easy to accidentally neglect needed maintenance to your home. And, even in an average year, things just build up while you are working hard to do other things, whether with family, work, or maintenance inside the home! Knowing where to begin to up your curb appeal can be confusing. Here’s what you need to keep the exterior of your home in good shape and ready for both your family, and to protect your investment for the future.

Keep Your Home Clean

Honestly? Keeping your home pressure washed and clean outside might not have been the top of your worries during a pandemic. This is not unsurprising! Pressure washing is proactive maintenance. Besides making your house paint look fresher , and cleaning all those outside windows, it also kills off mold and mildew growth which has been beginning. It can help you see if there are any spots in your siding which need further maintenance, or if painting needs to happen in any specific area. Pressure washing is also a great way to prepare for painting, which will stick much better to a clean surface than a filthy one.

Fix Roof Damage

Small storm damage problems occur with every roof from time to time, regardless of age. Fixing those things immediately protects your investment, not just of your roof (which is far more costly to replace completely than a few shingles), but of your home itself. Even small leaks in your attic can cause huge mold problems later on, which can not only damage ceiling joists, but also the health of your family. Mold is a danger to people, pets, and the objects which are otherwise protected by your roof.

Keep Trees Trimmed

The beautiful trees surrounding your home provide so much to your landscaping. Besides beauty, they help with your heating bills in the summer by providing shade to the house as well. Trees, though, need maintenance, and spring is a great time to notice what they need. When everything buds beautifully in the early months of the year, if you notice a particular branch or, worse, a full tree which is not setting out leaves…that branch or tree has died and needs trimming back. Making sure branches are away from roofs protects them from falling during storms as well.

Protect Your Pavement

If you’ve been pressure washing, sealing your pavement afterwards is a great step towards protecting it. Your driveway and patio get sunburnt just like everything else! Sealcoating can protect your paving from elemental damage. Sealcoating needs reapplication every 1-3 years, ideally. This prevents pitting, staining, and deterioration of your pavement areas. This means it’s generally past time to consider a good sealing, and a perfect time to do it is after pressure washing. Then you’re on the same schedule for both.

Ground Cover

While most of America is working on becoming more environmentally friendly, you’re looking at the green grass you’ll need to mow all summer. Enter ground covers ! Low to the ground and offering everything from color to flowering appeal, various ground covers are wonderful to save both water and time. If you have a high hill in the back yard which is a beast to mow, or are frustrated because your front lawn is nothing but grass except under that one shady tree, finding a ground cover which works for your needs can be really helpful!

Update Your Door

Your front porch is a beautiful place to display your personal taste and style. Just as you would change or update a wardrobe to more current colors or designs, the same is true of your doorstep. This can include fun things like wreaths, of course, but it’s also important to look at the foundation they are placed upon. Does your door need replacement for safety or style? If not replacement, could it be updated to reflect current color schemes? You can emphasize the beauty of brick or siding by painting a door as an accent, just as you would have accent textures or color on the inside of your home.

Fenced In

With items which only need repair or replacement every few years, it can be easy to not see gradual decline. Check your fence to see if it needs pressure washing, and to see if it needs repainting. Check to see if there’s any places it needs to be repaired or replaced as well. If there are small trees attempting to grow beside your fence, you should consider whether they will damage the fence as well, and if they need to come down. This is a great time to consider adding trellises or other additions to your fence, to see what planting you’d like to do.

Look To The Porch

Think of the front of your home as you would a freshly cleaned face before adding accoutrement. Some faces look best all on their own, but some look lovely with glasses, or makeup, or other additions which the owner of the face prefers! This leaves a great deal of room for stylistic choices , as preference changes widely between individuals. If your home needs a new shutter color, or porch swing cushion, consider those things similar visual accessories.

Your beautiful home can look all freshened up with just a few small changes. What those things are depend upon individual needs for your home and property. Do the things which are most critical to keep your house safe, first, and then progress to the beautiful bits which make you smile. It won’t be long until it’s warm enough to spend your time on the porch or deck, enjoying the hard work you’ve put in. Even better, when you reach your driveway, the appearance of your home will make you smile. You will feel more peaceful knowing you have taken care of exterior dangers, and have created a beautiful, protected exterior.

Need help updating your home exterior? We have you covered !