When it comes to taking on our home improvement or renovation projects, many of us choose the summer season to do so. This is often due to the warmer climate and overall sunnier weather. However, just like there are tasks we should only think of completing during that time of year, there are also those that are best done in the cooler months. Fall is considered the off-season for many professional contractors and, as such, it’s common for us to forget about these days as being an option. But, fortunately, as you tackle these top fall home renovation projects, you’ll find that is anything but the truth.

Repaint Interior and Exterior

Painting, both the interior and exterior, is one of those projects that many of us do to freshen things up for the spring and summer. But, believe it or not, paint products are actually better at curing to a surface when it’s cool outside. Lowered temperatures tend to sap moisture from the air and keep humidity at a minimum. Without the excess water in the environment, your products will dry much quicker and form a better seal along the walls.

It’s important to remember, though, that you shouldn’t start this type of task if it’s already too cold outside. Temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit will cause your paint to dry out faster, but, in doing so, it’s less likely to properly stick to the walls or siding. For this reason, the preferred weather for painting projects is at least 50 degrees and dry.

Fill Cracks in Driveways and Walkways

Fixing cracks and gaps in your outdoor concrete is also a top fall home renovation project to consider during the fall months. This is because, like paint, epoxy or latex patching products don’t dry as quickly in hot or humid climates. So, when you’re looking for a way to finally level out those gouges in your walk and driveways, this time of year offers the highest success rate. Additionally, when the earth freezes, it causes moisture in the dirt to expand and force cracks further apart. For this reason, it’s often better to accomplish this task now rather than later.

Clean and Fix Gutter Systems

Make sure that you’re devoting some of your efforts to cleaning and repairing your gutter system as well. These fixtures are key to keeping the water from melting snow off your foundation and, inevitably, seeping into your home. As such, you want your downspouts to be clear and well-secured to properly direct the water. You can even choose to install mesh guards over the top of your system to prevent excessive quantities of leaves from falling into the drainage pipe as the seasons change. Just be sure that you’re consulting a professional with any complex fixes or replacements, as it’s crucial that your system functions correctly.

Install Insulation in the Attic

You may also choose to install insulation in areas of your home that don’t currently have any. Attics, in particular, are rarely insulated upon construction, and they’re the primary place where indoor heat escapes. Due to this, many homeowners undergo this improvement simply to cut back on their heating expenses. Insulated attics also allow you to better diversify how you use that space. With more heat in this part of the home, you can start storing more temperature-sensitive items or even turn it into another room.

You should consider installing additional insulation in other areas as well, such as around the windows and doors. Like the attic, these places are prone to letting heat out and wasting energy. So, while you’re inspecting them for leaks and gaps, take some time to ensure your home stays comfortable through the winter.

Replace Missing Roof Shingles

Though your roof might look fine from where you’re standing on the ground, there could be several missing shingles you’re not noticing. This can become a problem in the winter should the snow pile up and melt into your unprotected attic. As such, use this season to perform a thorough inspection of your roof and replace any missing or broken shingles before it leads to water damage. This is another project that you’ll want to hire a professional for, as doing work on the roof can be dangerous for those who haven’t been trained.

Repair Damaged or Rotten Wood

This is also a great time to get rid of any rotten sections of wood along the exterior of your home. Since humidity is the main cause of wood rot, it commonly develops during the spring and summer months. For this reason, it’s recommended that you get the wood repaired or fully replaced before it begins to snow. The moisture produced when the snow melts can further sink into the wood and facilitate additional rot growth, making your home less structurally sound over time. So, addressing this issue now can save you a lot of trouble and money later down the line.

Build or Fix Up Your Deck or Patio

Last, but certainly not least, fall is perfect for starting any home additions or exterior adjustments. As mentioned previously, this time of year is considered to be the off-season for professionals. Therefore, it’s one of the only periods where you can get a great deal on deck or patio projects. These deals can save you thousands of dollars and help you get the most out of your budget. Northern Atlanta’s dry climate also makes performing these tasks easier, which, in turn, reduces the amount of time the project will take as a whole. This means that you won’t have to worry about managing a prolonged job, and you’ll get to enjoy your new space much sooner.

For assistance with any of your home renovating endeavors this fall, give us at Bear Mountain Custom Painting a call. We offer top-notch painting and remodeling services, with skilled professionals that are dedicated to providing you with the results you’re after. We also specialize in a diverse range of projects to ensure that we can help with whatever your home may need—whether it be traditional painting or gutter installation.

For those of us who have them, backyard deck spaces are at the center of our home entertainment activities, from hosting outdoor gatherings to enjoying relaxing nights under the stars. They’re just as important to our lifestyles as any other home amenity. However, when you’ve had your deck for a long period of time, it’s easy to lose sight of the things that indicate severe damage. These are a few crucial signs your deck needs work done and what could happen should you ignore them.

Support Posts and Beams Are Rotten

Rot is one of the most dangerous forms of damage your deck can sustain over time—especially when it’s located in the supporting beams. Wood rot is a form of fungus that grows when the wood is moist, and it slowly eats away at the material around it. This eventually weakens the structural integrity of the deck and increases the danger of walking on it. If some sections of wood are discoloring or becoming soft to the touch, it’s crucial that you take action immediately.

The Deck Isn’t Level

You might also need to repair your deck if it’s no longer level enough to walk on. In areas with rainier weather and softer ground, supporting posts often start sinking into the mud. This not only raises the chances that you’ll slip and injure yourself but also makes your deck less usable. For this reason, make sure you occasionally inspect your deck for any sections that may be dipping and reinforce them before they can become a larger problem.

Boards Are Cracked and Splintering

Another important sign your deck needs work done is if its boards are starting to crack or splinter. After years of exposure to the harsh outdoor elements, the top layers of wood will begin to decay and become rough. If allowed to persist, this will eventually cause parts of the wood to splinter away from the rest of the board and become a safety hazard. Therefore, make sure to occasionally sand down these areas and stain your deck to protect it from future storms.

If you happen to identify some of these signs with your own deck, reach out to Bear Mountain Custom Painting to address them. In addition to house painting, we also have a staff of professional carpenters in Cumming, GA that specialize in rotten wood replacement and deck repair. Let us help you get this space back into the proper condition so that you can continue to enjoy it for years to come.

The idea of picking out a new wall color for your home might seem like a simple one, but it may not turn out that way. In fact, there are many things to consider during this process, and even a slight color variance could leave you with an effect you didn’t want. This is why it’s crucial to devote some time to the selection process and really plan out what you want to accomplish with that specific space. Here are some questions to ask before choosing a paint color and how your answers can affect your finished product.

How Will I Be Using This Room?

First and foremost, it’s important to have an idea of how you’ll be using the room. This is because certain colors can affect how you perform certain tasks. For instance, people primarily use their bedrooms for sleeping and relaxation—so they commonly gravitate towards more soothing tones in this space. On the other hand, people often use bright colors in living rooms to promote more energy.

What Atmosphere Do I Want To Create?

Next, you should spend some time thinking about the atmosphere you want the room to have. The color should still promote a certain reaction, but in this case, it’s more about the feeling the color invokes. Yellows are typically cheerful and happy, and blues or natural hues are more calming.

How Much Natural Light Is in This Space?

Another question you should ask before choosing a paint color is how much natural light you notice within that particular room. Color is capable of absorbing or reflecting light, so you could throw the brightness of the space out of balance if you choose the wrong color. For this reason, if you have a lot of light in a room, you can go with a slightly darker color. If you have less light, go with a lighter color to make the room appear brighter.

What Other Colors Are Being Used Nearby?

Make sure to think about how your new color will contrast with the colors you already have nearby. A home’s color scheme doesn’t need to be exactly the same between rooms, but keeping them in the same family creates consistency. It’s typically a lot more effective to take inspiration from the hues you already have around you.

If you’re struggling to answer any of these questions, or if you have others and you’d like to get additional information, give Bear Mountain Custom Painting a call. Our experienced, skilled professional house painters have worked with a multitude of color schemes and types of paint. As such, they can offer vital advice during your decision-making process.

Though installing a new set of gutters on your home might not seem like a complicated process, it takes a professional hand to get the job done right. This is why it’s essential that you put in the effort of hiring not only a gutter installation service but a quality one. Otherwise, you could end up paying more for a poor experience and sub-par results. This is what to consider when hiring a gutter installation company and the importance of choosing wisely.

Whether They’re a Local Business

When determining how effective a home gutter installation team will be, one of the most crucial things to look into is whether they’re local. Though you could potentially hire a company regardless of where their headquarters are, choosing someone close to home allows you to better research their level of service. It also makes it easier to support the economy within your specific community and provides you with a means to get your gutters further cared for in the future if needed.

Level of Experience and Expertise

You should also spend some time looking into the experience and knowledge of your potential candidates. Not all professional gutter installers have the same number of years in the field or the same amount of exposure to certain types of gutter systems. For this reason, it’s vital that you know what each of your choices specializes in and whether they produce work that reflects that experience.

Reputation and Satisfaction Rating

Another important thing to consider when hiring a gutter installation company is its overall reputation in the community and customer satisfaction rating. At the end of the day, you want a product that will reliably protect your home for several years to come. So, past customer experiences within your neighborhood should reflect that. If your neighbors don’t have any good things to say, it can be an indicator that you’re in for an unsuccessful project.

Insurance and Potential Warranties

Make sure that you aren’t forgetting about protecting yourself throughout this process. Project insurance and warranties exist to ensure that you won’t be charged for the company’s mistakes. As such, you want professionals that are fully willing to provide these things to you as a part of their services. In fact, any licensed gutter installation business is required by law to provide insurance to their customers as a part of their plan. Warranties also make the deal a bit better for you, as they take the burden off your shoulders should your new gutters break or malfunction.

The bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the home. Designed to foster maximum relaxation, these places are supposed to be sanctuaries where you can get as much rest as possible. However, depending on what color your walls are currently painted, you actually might find that you aren’t feeling as rejuvenated as you should. These are some of the best colors to paint a bedroom for sleep and how each of them prepares the mind for optimal shut-eye.

Deep Blues

Blue—specifically, deeper shades of blue—is widely regarded as the number one hue for relaxation and restfulness. This is because it provides a calming effect on the mind that makes the conditions just right for you to drift off into dreamland. Darker blues are particularly effective since they absorb any excess light within the room and keep the space dimly lit enough, so as to not disrupt your sleep cycle. So, if you’re looking to improve your sleep quality, painting your bedroom blue is a great place to start.

Tame Yellows

On the other hand, if blue is too dark of a color for your liking, you don’t have to feel forced to choose it. In fact, even some sunnier colors can still help you get better sleep. Yellow is a hue that’s associated with both sunlight and energy—two things that make for a great morning. Because of this, you would think that it would then fall short of helping you sleep, but this isn’t the case. In fact, yellow is also a natural color that can create a soothing and cozy atmosphere. Just be sure that you don’t use a variation that’s too bright.

Pale Greens

Pale or light green are also among the best colors to paint a bedroom for sleep. Being hues that we would naturally find in our local forests, these colors bring with them a sense of harmony and positive energy. This atmosphere can have a calming effect on the mind as well and make it much easier for us to re-energize our bodies. Like with yellow, though, this impact is lessened should you use a brighter version of the color, such as neon or lime green.

Clean White

If you take more comfort in a clean and organized bedroom space, white just might be the color for you. While many assume that white reflects too much light and, therefore, prevents us from getting the sleep we need, it actually provides a fresh and clean atmosphere. Sometimes, rooms with a lot of color can appear cluttered and chaotic, working against the tranquility you’re trying to establish. White walls act as clean slates for the mind, making the room appear more organized and reducing your stress.

For more information on what colors could work the best in your own bedroom, reach out to Bear Mountain Custom Painting. As home interior painting professionals, we’ve personally worked with all paint colors in the spectrum and have first-hand knowledge of the effects they can have.