The most popular time for home improvement projects is the spring and summer. After all, who wants to paint their house or put on a new roof when snow is falling? That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t many projects you can tackle in the winter. In fact, you can even save money by undertaking jobs in the off season.
Since business slows down in the colder weather, contractors and home and garden stores often have specials this time of year. Of course, you don’t need to spend a ton of money to make your home look (and work!) better.
Many home improvement projects can be done by a homeowner with a do-it-yourself spirit and a small budget. While some jobs are best left for the warmer months, many jobs are well suited for working indoors, and don’t require you to be outside in the elements, thus can be pursued in the winter.
For example, you may want to paint the inside of your house. Modern paints are not as toxic as they once were, and they do not give off fumes as strong as in years past. You can beat the lines at the hardware store and rent the equipment you need to make indoor painting painless. Power sprayers are available for rent or borrow in every city and turning up the heat can help the paint dry more quickly.
If you can handle your own carpeting, installing a new color can be done during the winter without the aid of a carpeting crew. Carpeting prices may also be cheaper during the winter.
There are many indoor maintenance projects you might want to consider now too.
Burst pipes can cost a fortune, and the old standby of letting water drip slowly doesn’t always work. Installing heat tape on your pipes is easy to do yourself, and is cheaper than having a plumber do. The tape, which is actually a cord more often than not, wraps around exposed pipes that may freeze. You plug it into a standard outlet and it warms up the pipes, preventing them from freezing. Heat tape must be plugged into an outlet with a ground (3-plug) to work properly.
Changing light fixtures can obviously be performed indoors and provides an excellent opportunity to add higher efficiency lights and seals. Installing lights and fans is a fairly simple process and fans can be purchased on line, eliminating the need to drag them home through the snow. Simply put in the order, and they will be delivered to your doorstep.
Organization is a different type of maintenance that you can undertake in the colder months. Let’s face it: everyone can think of some area of their home that needs to be reorganized. Instead of feeling cooped-up inside, use the time to clean out closets and install shelving units or storage cabinets. Old boxes and drawers can be opened and cleaned out. Many areas have organizations that would be happy to take old coats and clothes from you during the winter as well.
As you can see, there are many ways to improve the look and functionality if your home this winter. As always, the hard part is getting off the couch to do it…
By: TC Thorn
Posts Tagged ‘Plumber’
Winter is a Great Time For Home Improvement Projects
March 19th, 2010Home Improvement Service Companies and Liability Issues
February 1st, 2010
Home Improvement companies which service our needs as handymen are under the gun these days due to all the rules and regulations, permits and fines at all levels of government. In fact one recent franchise company which is basically a; Handy Man Service, sells franchises where a Franchisee would have himself as an owner operator or a crew of employees which would be dispatched to customers homes who call in for service.
Sounds like a great service and a great franchise right? Sure it is much needed but also consider that a Franchise System will want only legitimate operators who follow the rules of City, Country, State and Federal Government. That means if a Handy Man comes to your house to build a railing on your deck or fix the fence you are probably okay, but if you ask them to look at your sink while he is there forget it; as he most likely would not be a certified plumber too? Or if you wanted him to connect your new gas BBQ well he would not be certified for that either. He might be able to connect your garage door opener, but not if you wanted it hard wired to your house you see?
Unfortunately you can see the problems here with potential lawsuits, fines from city, permits and licenses too. Of course you can always call an illegal alien Handy Man who does not follow the rules to do all these things for you, but not an official company run by an American Citizen? America, I certainly hope you can understand what is happening here and appreciate how over regulation and over lawyering is killing American Small Businesses in every industry. Think on this in 2006.
By: Lance Winslow
Preparing Yourself For Home Improv
December 28th, 2009
In a perfect world, the word “improv” wouldn’t be inside Home Improvement. After all, improving a house takes time, money, and, above most, patience. However, in the hustle and bustle of every day lives, with guests dropping over on 24 hour notice, family stopping in for a week’s stay unexpectedly, and spouses volunteering your house for the annual, and large, Christmas party two days before it’s scheduled, home improvement must sometimes be done with quick thinking.
So, how do you do it? How do you take something that involves so much time, planning, and management and condense it into a few hours worth of work? You might think that the answer is, “ya don’t,” but sometimes it is possible. All you need is a little help and a lot of preparation:
Invest in Home Improvement Books: Hardware stores, book stores, and even libraries are filled with do-it-yourself manuals. Some of these manuals are specific, such as how to install an electrical outlet, but some are all inclusive, such as a general Home Improvement manual. Because you aren’t sure what problems will arise unexpectedly, it’s good to have a collection of both. The books with specifics can help you with the details of your projects, while the all encompassing ones will help improve your chances of finding at least some information on your house’s ailment.
When all else fails, research your problem on the Internet. However, keep in mind that anyone can post anything on the Internet: the facts might not always be straight. If a webpage states that you need to hire their company’s plumber to fix a shingle on your roof, you might want to try another site.
Know which of your Friends Know what they’re doing and which just think they do: Friends are great for calling in a pinch; the problem is that certain ones can make your pinch a little tighter. Instead of relying on just any old friend, learn what friends are good at which tasks. Just because one of your friends is an electrician doesn’t mean he knows anything about fixing your sprinkler system. Because he probably won’t admit this, you may find yourself, as he tries to fix your sprinklers with duct tape, worse off than you were to begin with.
Have the right tools: Fixing things can be hard, fixing things when you don’t have the right tools can be impossible. Instead of waiting for that impending disaster, the one that finally makes you decide to upgrade your tool box to one that holds more than just a wrench, a screw driver, and a hammer, be prepared ahead of time. Even if your house is in perfect condition right now, it won’t always be. Investing in an extensive tool kit helps you invest in your ability to perform home improvement. If you don’t have the money to purchase a tool kit with all the bells and whistles, then become friends with someone who already has one.
Call for Help when you Need it: Sure, you may take great pride in knowing that you fixed something all by yourself, but this pride can come at a cost: time, money, and the something you fixed being worse off than before you touched it. If you can’t fix something without help, or can’t fix it quick enough, then call a contractor (one that you trust). You will find asking for help doesn’t hurt: swallowing your pride isn’t so bad, it tastes just like chicken.
By: Jennifer Jordan