A Number of Projects You Can Do
All of us know the philosophy, whether from the Bible or from the Byrds: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose.
It's just good sense plus good dollars & cents that the hot summer is not a good time to take care of certain projects around the home. When the temperature hovers in the 100s, is not a good time to plant shrubs and trees, unless you’re into removing dead landscaping and spending hard earned dollars to replace it. But there are a number of projects you can do yourself or done that can be taken care of in air-conditioned inside environment or outdoors during early mornings or early evenings, while the sun is not scorching hot. Think of this as your summertime t-do list. The cost estimates provided below are based upon national averages. You should carefully shop until you locate the item and price that you can live with, and pay particular attention to product service guarantees and warranties.
The Garden
Mulch your garden. Mulching helps in stabilizing soil temperatures and keeps weeds from taking control. It also holds moisture in, which has lately been expensive. Two-cubic-foot mulch bags cost around $4 to $9 at the majority of home-and-garden shopping centers, depending on the kind you buy. orchid moss, cedar bark, nonorganic rubber or hardwood.
Put in lawn sprinklers.
As fall is one of the best times to install new or replant grass, while a new sprinkler system will assure it survives. Need to hire the sprinkler system installed for you? Costowl.com, provides national price estimates, says you'll likely pay an average price of $2,000 to $3,000 for a typical 2,500-square-foot lawn, while sprinkler heads can be $400 to $600 a piece.
Do some hardscaping.
That is, install bricks or those concrete pavers to construct a patio or emphasis a garden. Doing this project yourself will save on the cost of labor, naturally. If you need to employ a professional, Costowl.com can provide a per-square-foot approximation of $8 to $12 for fundamental stamped concrete, Around $10 to $20 for those concrete pavers, and around $7.50 for brick, plus $15 to $30 for stone.
Paint the Exterior.
Professionals paint house exteriors on warm humid days, operating around the peak heat, staying in the shade, and performing lots of prep work. In the hot summer, the main problem is that the paint dries too quickly while not forming an unbroken solid film, that can have a negative impact on the overall implementation or paint job lifespan,. In addition, if the surface being painted becomes too hot, it can cause the paint film to wrinkle as the top of the coat dries faster than the underside of the film paint, blisters can appear, which may lead to peeling later. Costhelper.com price estimates for employing a professional to piant the exterior can cost, an average of $1,500 to $3,000 for the typical one-story, three-bedroom home; which can quickly rise from $3,000 to $5,500 or even more for a bigger multistory or multilevel home.
Paint the Interior.
Go indoors to paint a couple of rooms, Painting n the inside, particularly if your home has air-conditioning, is less of a challenge in hot weather. Not only does the air-conditioning help avoid heat-related problems by taking the humidity out of the air; also it takes away the paint fumes. Using paint with without volatile organic compounds can also avoid fumes. Paintingnetworx.com estimates the cost per-gallon paint plus primer expense ranging from the bargain stuff up to the designer paints, without volatile organic compounds at a range of $15 to $60.
Replace Your Front Door.
A brand new front door brings the home value up. A new fiberglass door is not only attractive but energy-efficient more than four times that of a wood door. Costowl.com says it'll cost $200 to $300 for the most basic fiberglass door without frills, although a complete fiberglass entry door system might cost as much as $2,000 to $4,000.
Get a thermostat that's programmable.
Getting an Energy Star-rated one can be priced as low as $25, while it can cut energy costs about 10 percent.
Clean house.
It's not that expensive and will perk up the appearance of your home, and not just it's value. I'd put a total house cleaning at the tip top of this list of summer projects. Aug 2, 2011
Improvement / Maintenance Books
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