Your home exterior walls (also known as ‘siding’) is what people see when they first approach your house. Depending on how it looks, it can either leave a negative or positive impression among those who see it.

You want your home to look good always so that people get a good impression about it and about you. If you are about to put your house in the market, you will only attract good prices for it if you have improved how the siding looks.

Well-maintained siding is not all about aesthetics. It’s also functional as the interior of your house will get better protection against heat, rain, wind, pests, cold, snow, dust and dirt.

If you have not replaced your siding in a while, look for the following signs to know whether it’s time:

1. Do you notice any warping, swelling or buckling?

Your siding is not supposed to retain any moisture. If you notice swollen, warped or buckled areas, these are indications that moisture is leaking into your walls.

If this is not fixed immediately, it will result in molding, rotting, and eventual collapse of your walls. Before you replace any damaged siding, fix the source of the moisture first.

2. Check for fungi, mold and mildew

The presence of mold, mildew and fungi is yet another indication that moisture is passing into your walls. The water could be leaking from piping that passes within your walls, from your house’s foundation or from cracks on your exterior walls.

3. Dry rot

Dry rot is a dangerous type of fungi that if not eliminated, can cause your walls to weaken and eventually collapse. It might not be obvious just by looking at your exterior walls whether they have been attacked by dry rot. Hire a specialist to inspect the space between your exterior and interior walls and if any pieces show presence of dry rot, replace them.

You might need to reside your entire house if the dry rot attack has spread too far.

4. Holes and gaps

Holes indicate that your walls have been attacked by insects. Note that the damage caused by insects might not be obvious from the outside, because insects burrow and feed on siding from the interior.

Even after you exterminate insects, the holes will still remain and if not sealed, will allow water, dirt and dust to leak into your walls. If the holes are numerous, be on the safe side by replacing your entire siding.

One of the best and easiest ways for making an old room look good and fresh again is applying a new coat of paint. But before you jump right into cleaning the walls and filling in any holes, there are a few things you need to do first so that your project proceeds without a hitch.

Start by working out the following details about your project:

1. What type of paint should you buy?

Not all paint will give you the look or feel you want. Paint can either be water based or solvent based. Both types are available in a variety of finishes, such as glossy, matte, satin and low sheen.

Some types of paints and finishes might not be suitable for some surfaces. For instance, solvent based paint is not good for ceilings. A wall with imperfections should not be finished with a glossy paint. You should instead use paint with a matte finish because it will mask imperfections.

Water paint dries faster and it tends to have a milder smell than oil based paints. Therefore, if you want to do a quick paint job or if you have allergies, it’s better to go with water based paints.

Solvent based (also known as oil based/enamel paints) are good for high traffic areas because they are tough. Surfaces finished with enamel paint are also easier to clean. Such paint is also good for door and window frames.

Walls with imperfections might not do well with oil based or water based paints. Acrylic paint is better for such walls as it will spread on better.

Choosing the right type of paint should be a task you take seriously.

2. What colour do you want your room to be?

Paints come in many colors and the colors also vary in shades. If you want a room to be bright, then you should go with bright colors because light will bounce off them better.

Darker colors are probably better for corridors or offices. If you are not sure how a color will look in your house, get a sample quantity from the store and test on a small patch before you buy a large can.

3. How much paint should you plan for?

Talk to your painter to give you estimates of the amount of paint you’ll need. While you don’t want paint to run out in the middle of the project, too much paint might go to waste especially if you don’t have any other immediate plans for it.

4. Do you have material for covering surfaces that should not be painted?

Paint can be very hard to remove, so you should avoid getting it on items and surfaces by covering them.

Tape over your trim, skirting, door frames and window frames. If you are painting window frames, cover the glass. Buy enough paper or cloth to cover furniture and floors. Also tape around sockets because scrubbing the paint off later will be difficult.

When you have considered and done all these things, then your painting project is ready to begin.

When you are preparing your walls for painting, the first thing you need to do is to remove dirt that may have accumulated on them over the years. This is done by power washing. Failing to remove dirt from walls prior to painting will cause a fresh coat of paint to fail sooner than later.

Impurities removed from walls through power washing include dust, mildew, chalk, old paint and mud. Some power washers operate on gas while others operate on electricity. Electric power washers are more preferred since they have the ability to deliver more power.

Safety tips when using a power washer:

1. Power washing should be done by skilled hands. Even if they are not difficult to operate, leaving them in the hands of an unskilled person can make them dangerous to people and property. The biggest challenge with handling one is in learning to use the right pressure.
2. Power washers should not be pointed at other people. The pressure expressed by the power washer is extremely high, so just like a gun, you should not aim it at people especially when it’s discharging water.
3. If you are working on a ladder, angle your ladder such that it will compensate for the ‘kick’ that comes when the water makes contact with a surface.
4. Power washers should not be used around or near power sources, such as meter boxes, lights and sockets. Turn off the power before you begin and after you finish, check to ensure that no water leaked into any power sources.
5. Power washers should be used with the right levels of pressure. A psi of between 1500 to 1800 can eliminate spider webs, grit, dust, dirt and fungus. For washing off loose paint, a force of 2500 psi will work. Anything higher and you’ll damage the walls.
6. Note that wood sidings are especially vulnerable to power washing and the right level of pressure should be applied when working with wood.
7. Before power washing, your house should be protected against the pressure blast. All windows and doors should be closed. If any windows and doors are leaky, extra caution should be applied when blasting around them.
8. Make sure the pipe doesn’t get tangled during power washing. Remove all items that could be in the way, such as furniture or kids’ toys.
9. Power washing should only be done on still days. If done on a windy day and you are up on a ladder, the combined force from the wind and water pressure could make you fall.
10. Start power washing from the top of your walls and proceed vertically in a downward direction.
11. Washing should always start with a low pressure and from a safe distance. Only increase pressure in small amounts and move closer to surfaces in small distances.
12. A power washer should never be aimed at windows or doors.

Moisture, dirt and dust found in the air are carried into vents and ducts which can cause mold, and dust contamination over time. If these contaminants are not cleaned out, they might result in health complications in people with allergies and sensitive respiratory systems. Additionally, dirty air vents and ducts will not effectively move air in and out of your heating and cooling systems.

As such, it’s important to clean air vents and ducts every few months. For each cleaning session to be successful, you should follow the below 5 tips:

1. Check for the presence of mold

If your house has inadequate ventilation, this can cause moisture accumulation resulting in growth of mold. As air travels through ducts that have mold growing in them, it causes mold spores to detach and blow into the house. If the spores are blown into moist areas such as bathrooms, kitchens or basement, large parts of your house to get mold infestation.

Though mold is visible, it might not be easy to see it in areas deep inside the vent. The best way to detect mold presence is through lab analysis. Depending on the extent of infestation, you might either have to clean out the mold or replace the damaged areas.

2. In case of mold infestation, find out the source of the moisture problem

Even if you clean out the mold and replace moldy areas, the problem will still recur if you don’t address the moisture problem. In addition to cleaning your vents and air ducts, find out what is causing moisture accumulation and fix it. Though this will increase your costs, it’s better compared to the damage you could end up with in the future.

3. Check for clogging and debris accumulation

If pests such as cockroaches, flies and rodents die inside air ducts and vents, they could cause clogging. As they decompose after they die, you will notice particles releasing into your living areas from the air vents or air ducts. You can also tell you have a clogging problem if air is not circulating as well.

4. Identify professional air vents and ducts cleaners

To hire qualified professionals, check for valid licenses, a good reputation and lots of experience. This is the only way to guarantee that your air vents and ducts will be cleaned properly, keeping them efficient at heating and cooling.

5. Get cost estimates

Costs will depend on certain factors such as: how extensive the air ducts or vents are, whether you have mold infestation, the amount of dirt contained in the system, and ease of accessibility. Ensure you understand how the cleaning professionals arrive at their estimates.

6. Confirm the job has been done right after every cleaning

After cleaning is completed, you should notice a change in the air quality. The air ducts and vents should also appear visibly clean. Additionally, allergic symptoms should start to subside.

Trees around the house can be a great thing: they provide shade, serve as wind breakers, add beauty and increase property value. But when overgrown, trees can also pose a threat to you and your house. If you allow your trees to become overgrown, they might cause the following damage:

1. Old and overgrown branches might fall and injure people and cause damage to electricity & telephone lines, your house, car and other belongings. Not to mention, downed electric lines can result in fatalities and fires.
2. Broken branches and leaves that find their way onto the roof of your house will clog gutters which could result in water flowing into your roof, walls and basement.
3. Rodents can invade your roof by walking on tree branches that grow too close to your roof.
4. You might lose complete use of your patio, deck or balcony, if leaves and tree branches grow over that space.
5. Constant rubbing of tree branches on your roof will wear your roof material faster. Additionally, constant shade from the sun will cause dampness on your roof leading to faster deterioration.
6. Your house might get musty and cold due to improper circulation of air.
7. Large root systems can cause damage to the foundation of your house, eventually affecting the entire structure. If there are cracks in the foundation, tree roots can grow into them, causing problems such as foundation uplift, sinking of buildings where roots have leeched water from soil and penetration into water and sewage pipes.

To prevent all these problems, you should trim and prune all trees and vegetation that grow around your house to keep it under control. Tree branches should be at least 4 to 6 meters away from your roof. Before you plant any trees, learn all the facts about them, including how long their branches and roots will grow. Big trees should be planted farther away from the house.

Safe removal and trimming of trees is important to prevent damage and accidents. If you are not confident about trimming overgrown tree branches, contact a professional in your area to do it for you.