When you own a home, you work hard to maintain and repair it. You want your home to last longer and remain as functional as possible. Some home exterior repairs require the knowledge of a professional, but there are many repairs you can handle on your own. This article reviews nine home repairs that you can consider handling on your own.
1. Painting
When you are considering attempting home exterior repairs on your own, a good option is painting. When you apply a fresh coat of paint to your home, it can dramatically enhance the way it looks. Fresh paint also provides a layer of protection against the elements. It also gives you an opportunity to update the color and style to match your preference. If you decide to paint your home on your own, you want to prepare the surface completely. In addition to completely cleaning the surface, you want to repair all damage and cracks. You want to select a high-quality paint that is best for the material of your home. This includes surfaces like wood, stucco, or siding.
When you opt to paint the house yourself instead of hiring a professional, you can save a substantial amount of money. Professional painters can be expensive. When paying a painter, you are paying for the cost of labor, materials, and skill. When you decide to paint your house yourself, it gives you the flexibility to choose when and how to finish the project. You have the ability to work your own schedule at your own pace. You can take breaks or divide the project into manageable sections.
Before you take on a painting job, you should consider the scale of the job. You should consider your skill and capabilities. In addition, you should take the architectural features into consideration. If there is significant damage to your house or your schedule is limited, it might be best to hire a professional for the job.
2. Landscaping
Landscaping is a great option for home exterior repairs that you can perform yourself. Landscaping is critical for enhancing the appearance of your home. When you take on a landscaping project for yourself, you’re able to create a beautiful outdoor space. There are many ways you can improve your landscaping. You want to focus on keeping your lawn healthy and well-maintained. To do this, you should mow the grass regularly, trim the edges, and remove weeds. When you aerate the soil, overseed the bald patches, and fertilized the lawn to create lush, green growth.
You want to create and maintain flower beds, shrubs, and small gardens. If you do some research, you can find suitable plants for your climate, soil type, and sunlight conditions. It’s important to prepare the soil, plant flowers or vegetables, and mulch the beds to transform your space truly. When you apply mulch to your garden beds, it offers numerous benefits. You can help conserve moisture while suppressing weed growth. Mulching also improves soil health. You can also spread mulch around trees, shrubs, and flower beds.
You can also add walkways and pathways to your space to improve its functionality. You can create these walkways with various materials. These materials include gravel, pavers, or flagstones. It’s important that you have proper planning to create a useful pathway. Before you lay any of the material, you want to ensure the ground is level.
3. Outdoor Lighting
You can add outdoor lighting as one of your home exterior repairs. Lighting can improve the safety and look of the exterior of your home. You can consider installing lights along pathways, by entrances, or in the garden areas. Lights can help improve safety because it makes your house more visible at night. You can consider low-voltage or solar-powered lighting. This type of lighting doesn’t require electrical work. When you want to add lights to your outdoor space, you should consider your lighting plan. To do this, you should consider all the areas you want to light. Your entryways and pathways should be your focal points.
You have a wide selection when it comes to fixtures. You can select from wall-mounted fixtures, post lights, and spotlights. There are also pathway lights and string lights. When choosing your fixtures, you want to think about functionality, style, and weather resistance. If you aren’t interested in lights that don’t require electricity, you may have to install electric wiring. If this isn’t something you feel capable of handling, you may want to hire a professional to install your lights. At a minimum, you may want to work with an electrician to provide the electricity, and then you can install your lights. While this isn’t completely doing it yourself, you can do some of the work.
4. Gutter Repair
When you are thinking about home exterior repairs, you should consider your gutters. Your gutters are an important part of your roof system. They ensure that water is moved away from the roof and the foundation of the house. They help prevent water problems like leaking and overflow. These conditions can cause damage to the foundation. If you notice that your gutters are not working as effectively as they should, you can clean out and possibly repair your gutters.
You want to remove any debris from your gutters. You will find items like twigs, leaves, and other dirt in your gutters as it builds up over time. After you physically remove the items from your gutter, you can flush the gutter systems with a house. This allows you to see that water is flowing properly through the gutter. It can also help you determine if there are leaks. You can apply a sealant to fix a leak, but you may have to replace an entire section.
If you are finding that there are other leaks in your house, it may be time for house repiping. This can help to prevent leaks and reduce the risk of water damage to your house. The pipes in your plumbing system age just like anything else. Over time, they can corrode and deteriorate. This causes leaking. When you repipe your house, you are replacing old pipes with new ones. It helps give your house a new and dependable plumbing system.
5. Pressure Washing
When you are looking around to determine which home exterior repairs you can handle yourself, you may want to consider pressure washing. The exterior surfaces of and around your house become grimy and dirty over time. Pressure washing is a great way to clean and restore these surfaces. It’s important that you have some idea of what you’re doing with a pressure washer. If you don’t, you can cause a lot of damage to your house. You can also cause injury to yourself.
You must use a high-pressure washer to pressure wash your home. You can purchase or rent one. You want to ensure that you have access to a suitable power washer. This means it has all the appropriate pressure settings and attachments that you’ll need for various surfaces. It’s important that you have access to a water source and hoses and connectors.
The high-pressure water stream that comes from a pressure washer can cause injury or property damage if misused. You must follow safety guidelines and wear protective gear. This includes goggles, gloves, and non-slip footwear. You want to be careful around electrical outlets, windows, and any delicate surfaces. You must have some knowledge and understanding of different surface materials and appropriate power-washing techniques. You can cause damage to any surface, including wood, siding, or paint. It’s critical to know which are the appropriate pressure levels and techniques to use for each surface.
6. Addressing Driveway Surfaces
When you notice that you have cracked or damaged driveway surfaces, it could be an area that needs home exterior repairs. Cracks and damage not only look bad but could cause other problems. If the area is large enough, it could cause damage to your vehicle. It could also be a tripping hazard. If you have a concrete driveway and the cracks are small enough, you may be able to repair them yourself. For small cracks, you can use concrete filler or concrete repair caulk. You should follow the instructions from the manufacturer. If it’s a large area, you may be able to use the concrete patching compound. However, you may need to resurface the entire area. If you have to resurface the area, you will need special tools like a concrete mixer or concrete grinder.
If the damage is extensive, you may need to contact professional paving contractors to handle the work for you. They have the knowledge, skill, and proper equipment to handle the job quickly and properly. A professional can resurface the entire driveway, install a new driveway, or repair potholes.
7. Roofing Problems
If you are looking at home exterior repairs and wondering what you can address yourself, your roof could be an option depending on what it needs. If your roof has minor repairs, you may be able to fix them yourself. If there are major repairs needed, you should leave that to a professional. It’s possible to find an affordable roofing contractor. If you notice there are damaged or missing shingles, this is potentially work you can handle on your own. You may need a tool rental service to ensure you’re using the proper equipment.
You can replace individual shingles without too much effort. You must carefully remove the damaged shingle using a pry bar or a special shingle removal tool. It’s important that you clean the area beneath the shingle and apply roofing cement or adhesive to secure the replacement shingle in place. You also want to check for damaged or loose flashing around chimneys and vents. If you find any, you want to repair or replace or repair it as needed.
8. Debris Removal
When you are working on a substantial amount of home exterior repairs, you may create a good amount of debris. It could be construction waste, junk, or old material. A dumpster rental is a great solution to dispose of all the waste. Many local companies offer roll off container and dumpster rentals in various sizes to accommodate different project needs. When you are considering renting a dumpster, you want to keep the scope of your project in mind. This may give you a good idea of how much debris you’ll generate.
If you are going to have more extensive construction and repairs to your home, it may involve demolition. You may want to hire demolition contracting professionals. They have the equipment, knowledge, and expertise to handle a project of this size. They can perform tasks such as tearing apart sheds, removing concrete slabs, or demolition of damaged structures. When you hire a professional demolition contractor, you can feel confident that all safety regulations are followed and no damage is done to your project. Another option is to hire junk haulers. This will ensure that you have an efficient cleanup of your job site.
9. Personal Injury Lawyer
While you may not immediately think of a personal injury lawyer when you are thinking about home exterior repairs, you may want to. A personal injury lawyer can help when you want to ensure that proper safety is being met, especially when performing repairs yourself at home. No matter how safe you are, accidents can still happen. That means that you or someone else could get hurt on your property. A personal injury attorney can make you aware of your rights if someone is injured on your property during home repairs.
A personal injury lawyer provides guidance on potential legal options. They can help you navigate the complexities of personal injury claims. They can help you gather evidence, assess liability, and negotiate with insurance companies. They can also negotiate with other responsible parties. When you seek legal advice, you can protect your rights and pursue compensation. You may be able to get compensation for medical expenses. You may also be able to make up for lost wages and pain and suffering.
While it’s possible for any of these projects to be completed by you, it’s important to have an understanding of your skills and comfort level before starting any project. When you take on these home exterior repairs, you save money and take pride in maintaining and improving your home.