Better Late then Never

I think that the informaiton contained in this is still relevant in February since we seem to be having a mild winter so far:

HandyDan’s Guide to Fall Maintenance for Updating and Selling your Home

As the thought of summer and summer vacation fades and fall kicks into full gear, we are forced to look inward and indoors at the home. All summer long we have been outdoors, away from home on vacation and enjoying the time off of school now the cold weather and staying indoors is upon us. The kids are back in school, summer is over and fall and the coming winter are a reality that is settling into our minds. It’s time to get caught up at home, which has been neglected while we were out having fun. What does all this mean? It’s time for fall maintenance around the house. Whether you are planning on doing maintenance to save money on your energy bills, or getting ready to sell, there are many small and medium sized projects you can do to update and increase the value of your home all while lowering your gas, electric and water bills. These changes can help you to not just get ready for the winter, but also all seasons ahead.

Fall Maintenance can mean several things and can include fall cleaning, a makeover to your house or time to buckle down and get greener and more energy efficient. Energy efficiency is something that will save you money, but if you are planning on selling your house, buyers will be looking for this too. The world is going green and you don’t want to be left in the sellers market with out making some effort to update.

There are several small updates you can make that will save you money in the long run. Keep in mind that any updates you make now, even if you don’t plan on selling your home, will potentially make it more attractive for a prospective buyer. For homeowners who are updating to sell, after the changes they make to transform their ordinary house into a modern dwelling, may change their minds and fall back in love with their home.

The first simple step would be to update those old appliances. I am not just talking about the fridge that you have had through five moves and was given to you by your parents when you first go married. Maybe it came with the house. In any case, get rid of it. Get all new appliances. Get a new gas stovetop, splurge on the energy efficient oven and money saver microwave. You can even update your faucet to decrease water flow with out compromising water pressure. New bubs in your kitchen lights will save energy too. Don’t limit yourself you your kitchen. Put in new energy saving light bulbs throughout your house. In fact why not put in all new lighting fixtures. You’ll save money and your fixtures will be updated and new. You can get energy efficient everything, including a TV. Be creative see what is out there and HandyDan is always there go give you advice.

Don’t forget to update the bathroom either. Replacing that old toilet with a new one, which will use less water will do just that and save you money on you water bill. If you have a new toilet, fix that leak or the constant running that has been going on for years, wasting money and water. While you’re at it, have your caulking re-done. Poor calking and lack of grout has caused thousands of dollars in dry rote damage to our HandyDan customers. Once water has a route to travel, it will make its way to the framing structure rotting away your walls, sheetrock, your floor and sub floor in your bathroom. If the bathroom is located on the upper floors this can cause all sorts of damage in the ceiling. This is a common problem in households and it’s best to cover all your bases when trying to save money. Being energy efficient is great, but you need to watch out for other small things that can cost you big money too.

All of these updates are simple. They can take a day or a week depending on how extensive the work. Some items you can even do yourself. Purchasing a new TV at the store, does not take the expertise of a handyman. You also don’t need a handyman to help with purchasing new light bulbs, although you may want someone else installing all of them if you have a hard time getting around or just don’t want to go through the tedious task of putting all new light bulbs in your house. Hire a professional to install and update appliances, electrical and any bathroom fixtures to make sure it is done right and your energy efficient product is working the way it should are really saving you money as intended.

Some other small updates to have done while your HandyDan handyman is in your home include insulating hot water pipes that may have been forgotten. This will keep the heat where it is supposed to be. You can also update your old water heater for both heat and energy efficiency. And turning it down a little will save energy too. Having the heat on a timer and closing off areas that don’t need to be heated save a lot of energy as well as installing weather stripping on doors. Outdoors you can install a timer system for your plants. In the fall and winter they’ll need less water and you can adjust you timer accordingly.

Some larger projects to update your home include installing new windows and doors. The bay area still has a lot of single paned windows, especially in older homes. These windows let all the heat out of your home and let the cold in. Older doors can also be drafty and once again, updating the weather stripping can solve this problem. If you really want to get exciting, installing some solar panels on your roof, which will save you money, get you a tax break and make your house very impressive to potential buyers.

If potential buyers are really the reason for updating, there are a lot of things that be done to bring a house up to speed for the modern market. These small changes will help sell a house easier and the seller will get a large return on the updates. Don’t be afraid to spend the money for things that buyers are looking for. These changes will make a home more attractive and larger listing price.

In the bathroom, double sink and recessed medicine cabinets along with all those newly updated fixtures you installed for energy efficiency will make your bathrooms more attractive and modern. If you are going to do a major remodel on the bathroom, make sure to install custom cabinet for you sinks. Don’t go pre made cabinets that won’t fit flush to the wall. Not only are they tacky, but they waist space, which is someplace like San Francisco, is simply not efficient. Replace your vinyl flooring with a natural style tile as well.

In the kitchen, which now has all updated appliances to be energy efficient, install a garbage disposal too. This will add a little something extra to help update the kitchen if it still needs a little something. If you are not sure what else can be done, ask HandyDan. We always can give you ideas on updates and installations.

For the rest of the house, Laminate flooring is the way to go. Carpets tend to look and feel dirty. They stain and get dirty easily too, especially if they are light colored. Spend a little extra money to make the home look clean and crisp by installing a laminate flooring that will stand up to daily traffic better. Keep the entryways tiled since Laminate flooring and water don’t mix well. In addition, a fresh coat of paint through out the house will make the entire dwelling feel fresh and clean. Pick a color that is neutral. In most cases, the new owner will re-paint with their own color scheme in mind but when picking a color try to keep the personal artistic decorating instincts out of the choice.

The exterior of the home can be updated too. If the home is painted without siding, think about updating to vinyl siding. Vinyl is easy to clean and looks nice. If the home has vinyl siding it can easily be updated. Sometimes just a few pieces need to be replaced; sometimes all the siding will need to be replaced. Painting the existing vinyl siding is also an option, but getting paint to stick to vinyl can be a challenge and you have to make sure it is done right. HandyDan can help you choose the right paint, prep the siding correctly and make sure it looks good when it is all done. In addition, windows and doors should be updated as well as gutters that don’t work properly or leak and stain.

If you are planning on selling your home, start with some of the exterior until the weather changes. Don’t start any outdoor project that will leave your home vulnerable to the rainy season. If it is too late to start anything outdoors, start with the interior updates and come back to the exterior stuff in the spring when the weather changes. Most of the projects will take several weeks depending upon the availability of the materials you plan to use. Your house should be on ready to go on the market next spring or summer depending upon the weather, material availability and your time limits.

To start you fall maintenance update for energy efficiency or getting ready to sell a home, call Daniel Hernandez at HandyDan (415) 515-0470. Also visit www.handydan.com or e-mail us at dancaninc@sbcglobal.net.

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