Summer is perfect for spending time with family and enjoying fun outdoor activities. It’s also the ideal time for tasks like sprucing up your home. The best part is you can complete most of the projects yourself. And even if you have never done DIY before, you can visit home improvement stores that offer tool rentals for the needed equipment.
But which home improvement projects should you focus on this summer? You can have your pick of summer DIY projects, from simple cosmetic makeovers to outdoor remodeling. Below are some of the top home improvement ideas you can consider.
Install a Patio
Outdoor projects are perfect for the summer – you can do meaningful work around your home while enjoying the warm weather. And one of the top ideas for summer DIY projects is to do some hardscaping. You can spruce up your yard with hardscaping projects, making it more attractive. You can also create some fantastic areas for relaxation and entertainment, which can significantly serve your family and guests during the summer.
A patio is one of the top hardscape ideas for your summer home improvement. Installing a patio is relatively easy and won’t take much time. Therefore, it’s a project you can do in a day or over the weekend.
If you’re building a patio from scratch, you’ll need a few materials. First is a fabric liner to lay on the ground – after removing the sod or the topsoil for the desired area. Next, you need a base material to give your patio a smooth and flat finish. Some top base materials include gravel, sand, limestone, crushed quarry rock, etc.
Once you have laid your base layer and firmly compacted it, you can install your patio material of choice. Some top materials to consider are paver stones, brick pavers, tile, natural stone, concrete, wood, precast concrete blocks, marble, terracotta, etc. Of course, you can hire a contractor at any point to help with the project or if you experience problems.
Restain Your Deck
According to Today’s Homeowner, decks are one of the most popular outdoor DIY projects for many people. There’s a good reason a deck is so popular. A quality deck, especially during the summer, provides a great outdoor living space to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the warm weather. Decks are also perfect places to spend time with your family or entertain guests.
So, consider a deck if you’re looking for great summer DIY projects. And if your home already has one, you can restore it by restaining the wood, thus making it ready to use during the summer. Restaining your decking also helps to protect it from the elements and other issues such as mold, mildew, pests, rot, etc.
Restaining your decking material is a simple DIY project you can complete without issues. However, for a perfect deck restoration, you must first clean the deck material. The best way to do this is to use a power washer or a good deck cleaner.
Once your deck is clean and dry, you should sand the surface to ensure the stain sticks perfectly, especially if the existing surface has a water-based stain. You should also fix any issues, such as cracks. Lastly, you can apply your stain of choice, finishing off the deck and giving it a new look.
Repaint Your Cabinets
Summer is the perfect time to spruce up your cabinets, especially in the kitchen. First, the long days will offer more time to complete your project. Secondly, the warm weather also helps the paint to dry out faster. Lastly, you’ll likely use your kitchen more in the summer due to kids being home from school or hosting guests. Therefore, sprucing up your kitchen with new-looking cabinets is one of the top summer DIY projects to consider.
Kitchen cabinet repainting is simple, fast, and inexpensive. To paint, you only need to clean the surfaces, sand them, and then apply the coat of paint. If you’re doing two coats, you should ensure the first one dries completely before adding the second one.
The beauty of repainting your kitchen cabinets is that it helps to spruce up your kitchen instantly. On top of that, you can choose the latest interior painting trends or go with a unique paint color that will give your kitchen a fantastic personality.
Besides the kitchen cabinets, you can also spruce up your home by repainting cabinets in other areas such as the dining room, basement, laundry, home office, bathroom, attic, etc. You could also paint other surfaces such as closets, TV cabinets, desks, etc.
Repaint Your Home
If you want to make significant cosmetic changes in your home, repainting your house is one of the best summer DIY projects to consider. A fresh coat of paint will instantly improve your home’s look, feel, and comfort. Additionally, according to Angi, painting can offer more benefits, like protection from the elements, pests, and wear and tear – especially for outdoor surfaces.
For your painting project, you can start with the interior spaces, where you can give your home a new look by painting walls, ceilings, and even doors. Then, you can paint room by room, starting with the most vital areas such as the kitchen, living room, bathrooms, bedrooms, attic, and basement.
If pressed for time and budget, you can make minor cosmetic upgrades, such as painting accent walls in the living room and bedrooms. However, if these are not an issue, you can consider painting the entire home. Of course, this will increase your workload. Therefore, consider hiring interior painting contractors who can do the job faster and offer a more quality finish.
Besides interior painting, you can also give your home a major facelift by painting the exterior surfaces. Some top areas to consider for your summer DIY painting project include the exterior walls, siding, garage door, and fence.
Retile Your Floors
Replacing your floor tiles is another one of the best summer DIY projects. According to Angi, you can retile your floors for several reasons, including damaged or loose tiles, water damage, and mold. Installing new tiles can also help spruce up your home, giving it a fresh look.
Floor tiling is a simple project you can complete independently without problems. You only need to remove the old tiles, clean the surface, apply the adhesive, and set your tile. Then, apply the grout between the tiles, seal it, and give your new tiles a wipe-down for a clean and shiny look.
There are several areas of your home you can choose for retiling. These include the kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and shower. You can also retile some floor surfaces, such as the kitchen backsplash and the tile shower walls.
Lastly, consider replacing other flooring materials with tiles. According to Houzz, this is a great way to keep your home cool in the summer. It can also enhance the beauty of your home while making your floors more durable. Of course, this will be a much more complex project, so you should consider bringing in some flooring contractors.
Install an Awning
According to the American Cancer Society, summer might be the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors, but sometimes, the sun can be too extreme. Therefore, to prevent problems like sunburn and skin cancer, you should consider installing shading in your outdoor areas. This makes installing an awning one of the top summer DIY projects.
Awning installation can also offer you more benefits besides providing shade to your outdoor areas. For example, it can help cool your home, enhance its curb appeal, and protect it from other elements, such as snow and rainfall. Therefore, it’s a very rewarding summer home improvement project to invest in.
You can consider several areas when installing an awning in your home. Some of the most popular ones include the porch, deck, patio, garden, outdoor play areas, and swimming pool deck area. You could also install awnings over the front door, back door, garage door, and windows.
Lastly, you can choose between a fixed and retractable awning. A fixed awning will stay up all year round. On the other hand, you can deploy the retractable one when needed and retract it when you’re not using it. This makes it perfect for covering your doors and windows. A retractable awning can also make your outdoor living areas appear more stylish.
Build a Fence
You’ll most likely spend much time outdoors during the summer, especially if you have kids and pets. It’s also possible that you’ll have guests over for a get-together or a party. These activities bring about an increased need for privacy and security.
So, building a fence around your property is another one of the top summer DIY projects you should consider. The best part about fence installations is that they are straightforward. Therefore, you won’t have much trouble building one from scratch. On top of that, the warm summer weather and long days will make it easier and more enjoyable to complete your project.
You can consider several options when building a fence for your home. One of the top ideas is a picket fence made from wood, cedar, steel, wrought iron, aluminum, or composite materials. Another option is using wood boards, poured concrete, stone, brick, concrete blocks, or plastic & composite panels. These can offer you increased security and privacy. You could also consider fencing with a chain link or even planting trees.
Lastly, you should fence areas within your yard that could be a safety hazard for your kids and pets. This includes the swimming pool, ponds, gardens, etc. Fencing off these areas will ensure that your family is safe when spending time outdoors.
Pressure Wash Your Home
According to Realtor, power washing is one of the top ways to maintain your home’s exterior. It also offers more benefits, such as improving your home’s curb appeal and revealing any issues with your outdoor surfaces. Therefore, it’s another of the top summer DIY projects to put on your to-do list.
Pressure washing your home in the summer has many benefits. First, the weather is warm, which makes any outdoor projects fun. Secondly, your home will dry much faster due to the warmer temperatures, thus reducing the risk of mold & mildew growth. Lastly, it’s the best way to spruce up your outdoor living areas, which will most likely see a lot of action during summer.
The best part about pressure washing is that it can help you spruce up several areas in your home. These include the walls, siding, garage doors, patio, deck, pavements, driveway, walkways, fence, and outdoor furniture. Of course, you can also pressure wash the roof – as long as you do it safely.
But while pressure washing is a great way to spruce up your home, you should be careful about the areas you use it on. High water pressure can damage brick, stucco, vinyl, aluminum, and composite materials. You should also avoid power washing your windows, doors, and areas near electrical panels or appliances.
Remodel Your Bathroom
A bathroom remodel is another top project you can tackle during the summer. Of course, the weather and long days will make it more convenient to work in your bathroom. However, with kids home during summer, your bathroom is likely to see an increase in traffic, making it a good idea to spruce it up a bit.
You can consider several ideas for your bathroom remodeling project. One of the top ones is to refresh the walls. You can do this by repainting them, installing or replacing wallpapers, and replacing or installing tiles.
Besides the wall, you can also spruce up your bathroom by updating the shower and bathtub. For example, you can install new tiles, a shower cubicle, or upgrade the shower door when remodeling the shower area. As for the bathtub, you can give it a new look by restoring it – cleaning, sanding & glazing, applying an epoxy coating, etc.
Other top ideas to remodel your bathroom include replacing the hardware (faucets, shower head, wall hooks, toilet paper dispenser, etc.), updating the light fixtures, installing mirrors, etc. However, you should avoid making any major remodels, especially one that touches on your plumbing or electrical systems – unless you’re working with a contractor.
Renovating in summer can be a great way to make your house more comfortable during the summer months. It can enhance the beauty of your home, add value to your property, and increase safety & security. Summer DIY projects can also help to proof your home for the cold and wet months ahead. If you want to make home improvements this summer, the above are some top projects to consider.