With the Summer Olympics here, we think that there is no better time to get your home gold-medal ready. And, by marking things off your to do list, like gutter cleaning, you’ll have more time to root for USA.
In an effort to help you get your home to champion status, here are three projects you can tackle yourself to achieve home improvement greatness.
Choosing your Shutters
Do you want to add instant curb appeal? Adding or sprucing up your shutters can greatly improve the appearance of your home. However, we realize that choosing the right shutters for your home can be overwhelming. Well-chosen and placed shutters can be a great touch, while poorly chosen shutters can hurt a home’s appeal and value. Here are some tips for mastering shutters for your home:
Shutter Size and Placement
It may seem obvious, but not all homes will have enough space for shutters. If a window is too close to a corner, the shutter can stick out beyond the edge of the home, and look quite funky. Additionally, it can also be difficult to add shutters if your windows are close together.
The size of your windows will play into the width and height of your shutter. Ideally, the width of shutters should be half the width of the window, and the same height as the window. Therefore, if you can imagine the shutters closed, they would completely cover the window.
Shutter Styles
Your climate and your personal preference will play into what type of shutter style you chose. You may not realize it, but different styles of shutters have different uses. For example, the louvered type shutters allow some air flow to cool the house, but they still keep out the weather. Solid and paneled shutters are typically for colder climates in the northeast US, where the harsh winter weather can wreak havoc on windows.
Therefore, different regions in the US have different shutter styles. New England’s colonial heritage have solid or paneled shutters, while the South usually has louvered shutters.
What are Shutters Made out Of?
Choosing your shutter’s material is largely dependent on the homeowner. There are pros and cons to each of the different shutter materials:
If you are looking for authentic shutters, real wood cannot be beat. However, it’s important to note that real wood shutters require frequent maintenance, repainting, and replacement.
Vinyl shutters are an alternative to wood and homeowners love them because they don’t need replacing. However, it is important to be wary – better quality vinyl shutters will hold their shape and color for longer.
The last type of shutter is made out of composite materials. These offer the best authenticity and durability. Composite materials vary, but they’re usually a combination of PVC, fiberglass, and engineered wood.
Choosing your Shutter Color
If you don’t have an eye for color, this may be the most difficult part of choosing your shutters.
A good rule of thumb is to match or complement your window trim since your window trim will be lying right up against your shutters. You can also match or complement your shutters to other exterior home areas such as your front door or garage.
How to Paint a Door & Pick the Color
- Need a bit of refresh on your exterior? Painting your door can be difficult, but it is totally worth the time-consuming task. Follow these tips for creating a silky, smooth finish:
- Don’t Paint Dirt: Scrub oil and dirt off the door so that the primer can bond fully to the old paint.
- Remove Old Paint: Decades of paint buildup can be unsightly. Remove paint buildup fast with a sharp stainless steel scraper. Then, sand the door to smooth the scraped edge.
- Prime before Paint: Use a primer to block stains, muted dark colors and help new paint stick better.
- Prevent Sticking: Freshly painted doors will stick to weather stripper. In order to prevent sticking, cover weather stripping on an exterior door.
Choosing a Door Color
Much like choosing a color for your shutters, choosing a color for your doors can be tricky. Different colored doors are thought to represent different statements. Use this fun guide to see what type of statement your door makes:
Yellow: Welcoming and cheery, yellow exudes happiness. This color is often identified with high energy and warmth, a lively color that can easily brighten drab exteriors.
Red: Red is often associated with life, power, passion, and strength. By painting your door red, you are thought to bring vitality to your home.
Orange: Orange may be really scary to most homeowners, however, it doesn’t have to be. By utilizing the right complementary colors, your home can look modern and welcoming. Orange is also said to tell your guests that you like to entertain and enjoy a good challenge.
Blue: Associated with peace and truth, a traditional blue colored door is thought to represent with those that are grounded and true to themselves.
Green: People that chose a green door are often ambitious and strive for personal betterment. They are also thought to be good with their finances since green is associated with money.
Landscaping with River Rock
River rock is one of the most popular stones used for landscaping – for good reason! It comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, making it easy to integrate into any landscape design you have in mind. One thing they do have in common is that they have a soft rounded shape and a smooth finish. This is what makes it so popular in the landscaping world. If you are looking to incorporate river rock into your landscaping plan, consider these ideas:
Replace Mulch
Many homeowners opt to replace mulch with river rock because they have several advantages. The first is durability. Mulch has to be replaced every season, however, rocks can last a lifetime. The second is aesthetics – pale colored stones look wonderful surrounding homes and makes green foliage pop. It can also keep insects away and reduce the growth of weeds!
Border a Fence
Spreading river rock along a fence or terraced wall can add visual interest to the structure.
Create a Dry Creek Bed
One of the more common uses for river rock, creating a dry creek bed can add an interest visual element to any yard. Think about incorporating things like trees or boulders into the flow of the creek bed. If you’re not very creative, a landscape designer can help lay it all out for you.
Avoid Altogether: Gutter Cleaning
Gutter cleaning is not only a dirty, dangerous task – it’s time-consuming, too! With LeafFilter’s simple, hands-free approach, homeowners can rid gutter cleaning for life.
In just three easy steps, our professional installers will equip your gutters with our micro mesh gutter guard that will ensure your gutters are protected for life:
- Clean and Realign Gutters: First, we’ll clean and realign your gutters, ensuring that they are in optimal shape before installing our product. If you happen to need new gutters, we offer gutter replacement in addition to gutter guards.
- Reinforce & Seal: We reinforce your gutter system with internal hidden hangers and seal any holes, gaps, or openings to
- Install LeafFilter: We install LeafFilter at the same 11-degree angle every time – so it will never impact your roof or shingles. Then, we conduct tests and inspect the system to make sure that it is working properly.
With LeafFilter, you can free yourself from clogged gutters and focus on other home improvement tasks. Request a free estimate and learn more about LeafFilter.
