LANCASTER, Pa. — As you spend more time outdoors this time of the year, you may notice some areas of your house or yard that could use some TLC. Summer is the perfect time to tackle these tasks.
According to Bill Haughery, owner of Precise Inspecting in Lancaster County, the first thing homeowners should do when inspecting their home is to look up.
“Take a look at your roof. Be able to look at the shingles. Look at the gutter. Look at trees overhanging the roof. All of these things can really harm your roof. Particularly, trees overhanging it will cause mildew and moss to grow on the roof, which causes the shingles to not last as long,” he says.
Haughery adds that while you’re trimming your trees, make sure to cut back any branches that may be touching your home. These branches can act as pathways for insects to get into your home, so it’s best to cut that path off. Most of this work can be done by yourself, but for bigger trees or higher branches, make sure to call in a contractor.
Another item to take care of is power washing your siding. Haughery says that power washing will remove mildew that can break down the siding.
Something else to keep an eye on is your downspouts. Haughery says they should extend 4-6 feet away to keep water from pooling near your foundation.
Another home improvement task perfect for the summertime is sealing your driveway.
“Sealing up those cracks in the concrete with a special concrete caulk or in the asphalt driveway with an asphalt caulk will add years to the life of your walkways and driveways,” says Haughery.
An item of importance to also consider as temperatures heat up is your AC unit. This is the time of the year to call an expert to get an AC tune up. Along with regularly changing your air filter, an AC tune up can help your unit run more efficiently, which in turn will help you save money.
Pat Kazar of Shipley Energy has been an AC technician for over 30 years. His biggest piece of advice for homeowners is to get your units checked early in the season.
“We look at any electrical connections. We find out if there’s any small problems that we can take care of now before the heat gets here. That way they're not calling us, ya know, in the middle of a heatwave and their air conditioner isn’t working. We can maybe fix something now instead of having them call us later,” he says.
Kazar says that most units break during the hottest days, so it’s important to take care of any problems early on. He also stresses that this type of work is not something to DIY, but rather something to call in the professionals for.
Both Kazar and Haughery agree that any work you can do now to prevent future problems will go a long way.