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Tackle these five summer maintenance tasks during June’s longer days and better weather — and save yourself time and money this winter. #1 Update Outdoor Lighting In June, winter nights are probably the last thing on your mind. But early summer is the perfect time to plan for those “OMG, it’s only 4:30, and it’s already dark” moments by adding or updating landscape lighting. The most energy-efficient, easy-to-install option is solar lighting, but it won’t perform as well on dark or snowy days. For light no matter the weather, install electric. #2 Clean Your House’s Siding With a bit of preventive maintenance, your home’s siding will stay clean and trouble-free for up to 50 years. Fifty years! Clean it this month with a soft cloth or a long-handled, soft-bristle brush to guarantee that longevity. Start at the bottom of the house and work up, rinsing completely before it dries. That’s how you avoid streaks. #3 Focus on Your Foundation There’s no better time for in...

Big remodeling projects aren't the only way to get a worthwhile return on investment or happiness. H omeowners can get payback and joy from several smaller, lower-dollar-value home improvement projects.  Small projects are suited to DIY, which can save you cash.  Recent research shows that 10% of young millennials, between 23 and 31, want a fixer-upper home where they can work on DIY projects.  Of course, kitchen and bathroom makeovers will always have a place in our hearts (if not our wallets). The following five high-performing projects are significantly less expensive options.  #1 Hardwood Flooring Refinish or Replacement Refinishing hardwood floors is one of the top interior remodeling projects that brings the highest return. Remodelers estimate the cost at $3,400, and REALTORS® estimate the value recovered at $5,000, a whopping 147% return.  With hardwood floors, you get a lot of bang for your buck, they’re not that expensive, and people really like them. ...

Every home suffers a few negatives, but not every solution requires pricey structural changes.   Paint   is a frugal remodeler’s go-to solution to perk up a problem room. Here’s how to pick paint colors to give any room a facelift: Choosing Paint for a Room That’s Too Small Painting walls white, cream, pastels, or cool colors (tinged with blue or green) creates the illusion of more space by reflecting light.  White or light colors on walls lifts the ceiling, bringing your eyes up, which makes you feel like you’re ina larger room. How to use paint color to make a room seem bigger: Paint trim similar to walls to ensure a seamless appearance that visually expands space.  Use a monochromatic scheme to amplify the dimensions of a room. Select furnishings in the same color. Lack of contrast makes a room seem more spacious. Extend wall color onto the ceiling an additional 6- 12- inches. This will make the room seem taller. Paint vertical or horizontal stripes. Vertical stri...

There’s a basic rule of thumb to follow when choosing paint sheens: The higher the sheen, the higher the shine — and the higher the shine, the more durable it will be. Flat paint has no shine; high-gloss is all shine. In between are eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss, each with its own practical and decorative job to do.  Here’s how to choose the right paint sheen for your painting job: High Gloss The most durable and easiest to clean of all paint sheens, high-gloss paint is hard, ultra-shiny, and light-reflecting. Think appliance-paint tough. High gloss is a good choice for area that sticky fingers touch — cabinets, trim, and doors. High-gloss, however, is too much shine for interior walls. And like a Spandex dress, high gloss shows every bump and roll, so don’t skimp on prep work. Practical application:  kitchens, door, and window trim Durability:  very high Semi-Gloss Good for rooms where moisture, drips, and grease stains challenge walls. Al...

If you’re a homeowner in a snowy climate, chances are good that you dread shoveling snow in the winter.  B arring a move to a snow-free state or barricading your family inside all winter, there’s no way to avoid the endless task of shoveling snow.  There are, however, ways to make the process much easier. Here are four simple hacks to make the morning after a snowfall much less stressful. #1 Spray Your Shovel with Cooking Oil Snow sticking to your shovel makes an already arduous task even more obnoxious. Avoid it with this hack: Lightly coat your shovel with nonstick cooking oil to make the snow slide right off. No more time wasted removing snow from your snow remover. (You can substitute a spray lubricant like WD-40, but the downside is it’s toxic.) #2 Lay Out a Tarp Before the Snow If you like shortcuts, this technique has your name on it!  The day before an expected snowfall, lay a tarp on your walkway. When the snow finishes falling, just pull out the tarp, and voilà:...

Stand in your kitchen and take a deep breath. Smell that? From last night’s fish to your son’s nasty lacrosse pads that he left on the table.  If you can’t detect any of your home’s rankest odors... you’ve got nose blindness. You actually adapt to the smells around you.  On a sensory level, your processing mechanism becomes less sensitive to the continuous stimuli. On a cognitive level, you can become habituated to the smells and basically learn to ignore them.  Here are some of the most common nose blindness culprits and how to ban them from your home. #1 Pet Funk There’s one easy way to tell if your home smells like pets: Do you have them? Then, yeah, unless you’re an obsessive cleaner and groomer, your abode has at least some Fido funk.  It could be pee, but more likely it’s just hair, gunky ears, and weeks-old slobber.  The first step to cleaning up pet smells is — sorry, pets — cleaning the pets themselves. Bathe and groom them regularly.  Then, v...

When painting the exterior of your home, you want to get the most from your investment. Done right, an exterior paint job can last 10 years; stain needs to be reapplied more often, anywhere from two to 10 years, depending on the type of stain. One key to how long an exterior finish lasts is how well the surface is prepared. But equally important is the choice of the paint or stain itself. Using high-quality materials, matching them to your house and climate, and conducting regular maintenance will extend the time between recoatings. Expect to pay $35 to $45 per gallon for conventional premium paint or stain. "Green," or zero-VOC, products run $45 to $55 per gallon. A gallon covers 350 to 400 square feet, so figure on about 8 gallons to cover an average two-story, 30-by-40-foot house. Most paint jobs require a primer and two topcoats. Acrylic Latex Paints Acrylic latex is the favored choice, both of pros and do-it-yourselfers. These water-based paints come in an endless range ...