While having functional home gutters is a necessity, no matter what time of year it is, the spring season comes with its own set of needs for gutters. Prone to larger storms and longer periods of weather, these few months could be some of the most likely to bring about flooding. As such, it’s important that you know the part your gutters could play in keeping your home safe. This is why gutter repair is essential in the spring and the benefits this action can provide.
Prevents Pest Nesting Near Your Home
When the weather starts warming up, neighborhood pests officially come out of hibernation and begin building new nests. Unfortunately, this makes your gutters (and several other parts of your home) prime real estate. It’s common for squirrels and raccoons, specifically, to store building materials in your gutters—clogging them up and preventing them from draining properly. On the plus side, by staying on top of maintenance, you not only remove this debris but discourage these animals from coming back.
Eliminates Mold and Rust Growth
The harsh winter months can do a lot of damage to gutter systems, which makes them much more susceptible to things like rust and mold come springtime. Any broken parts will tend to rust as they’re exposed to the elements, and debris will often grow mold if left to sit in water for long periods. Because of this, proper maintenance and repairs will be vital to keeping these things from happening.
Keeps Them Functioning Properly
But the most important reason why gutter repair is essential in the spring is that it can improve your system’s overall functionality. As previously mentioned, spring is the season of heavy rain showers, meaning your home is at a higher risk of flooding than normal. However, if your gutters are working as they should be, this is much less of a concern since the water will be directed away from your home’s foundation. So, in order to ensure your home’s safety during this time of year, gutter maintenance is simply a beneficial thing to do.
At Bear Mountain Custom Painting, we understand how dangerous spring showers can be to the more susceptible areas of your home. This is why we want to ensure no residence goes without the necessary protection this year. Our gutter repair services in Cumming, GA, cover everything from part preplacement to full gutter system installation. As such, we consider ourselves one of the best resources for getting your home ready for warmer weather.
The process of getting new windows installed in your home can be a tedious one without the proper help. In fact, this is one of those complex tasks best left to the pros. Window installation professionals are specifically trained to establish a protective, watertight seal around new windows and replacement models, ensuring long-lasting, quality results. Still, not all installation experts are the same, and it’s crucial that you know how to choose a window installation professional to find the perfect one for your specific job.
Acquire Local Referrals
One of the first steps you should take when looking to hire a window replacement service is to gain insight from some of your local friends and neighbors. Simply asking who they’ve used in the past can give you a clear picture of who you can potentially use and what past experiences with them have been like. Since neighborhoods are also known to have similar home architecture and layout, this can even allow you to see what a potential finished product by a specific company looks like.
Know What Windows You Want Ahead of Time
With a list of contenders to work with, you can then start narrowing them down, depending on what they offer. Depending on what your needs are for your new windows, you might find that some professionals don’t have as much experience installing your ideal type and shape. As such, knowing what you want prior to hiring them can save you a lot of time and research.
Ensure They Have Insurance and Warranties
Additionally, when researching your top few contenders, make sure that their work is insured and that they offer warranties on the projects they complete. These guarantees not only show that the company is legally recognized, but also that they’re confident in their quality and are willing to correct mistakes at no charge to you. By going with a company that is willing to protect you, you’re more likely to get the results you’re after despite any roadblocks that might pop up along the way.
Check Ratings and Reviews
But before you finally make the commitment, choosing a window installation professional should always involve reading through a company’s ratings and reviews. These listings give you an opportunity to see what other individuals are saying about a certain professional’s level of service and what their experience was like. This can indicate how your job will go if you hire them and put you in the position to make the most informed choice.
If you’re currently searching for specialized window and door installation professionals in Cumming, GA look into Bear Mountain Custom Painting. With years of experience conducting full window replacements, we know what it takes to get the job done correctly and efficiently.
The idea of moving into your new home is incredibly exciting for many homebuyers. With the mountains of paperwork finally signed and the long, arduous process over, you’re ready to get on with your life. However, you might get more benefit out of waiting to move your belongings in—despite how badly you want to get it over with. There are a lot of things to do when moving to a new environment, and performing some of these tasks before changing residences can make things go significantly smoother. Here are a few home improvements to complete before you move in to ensure optimum safety, security, and timeliness.
Change Locks or Replace Exterior Doors
When a home comes under new ownership, exterior locks are one of the first and most important things to change. This is the best way to guarantee that everyone who previously had access to the property no longer does and that the home is now exclusive to your family. But, if it’s an older home with some exterior damage, simply switching out the locking mechanisms might not be enough. There are ample benefits to getting new exterior doors installed on your home, such as increased security, refined appearance, and improved privacy. Performing these tasks ahead of time will keep you and your belongings safe from the very beginning.
Paint the Home’s Interior
You can also take this opportunity to paint your new home’s interior before your possessions are there to get in the way. Many homeowners paint walls with neutral colors, such as gray, white, and tan, before placing them on the market because they appear less personalized and are, therefore, easier to sell. But most new homeowners prefer to change this color scheme to match their own personalities and style preferences once they’re living in that space. Painting your new home to your liking before moving your things will make the process significantly easier in the long run.
Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Another crucial home improvement to complete before you move in is to check, test, and possibly replace the home’s old emergency detectors. Though these devices are mandatory in every home, they often go overlooked and are frequently out of date. This can prevent them from working effectively when you need them to the most, and you definitely don’t want to be caught unawares in a new living environment. Before you’re officially living in the home, make sure your detectors are all working properly so that you’re ready for an emergency.
From the time that bricks were first being made, we’ve been including them in our infrastructural endeavors. Whether it be public gathering areas or places of business, these materials acted as the core foundation for many structurally-sound buildings. But bricks aren’t only used for wide-scale construction projects. In fact, they’re just as commonly used to both strengthen and decorate our private residences. Brick homes are just as beautiful as they are durable, providing a classic look and charm while also staving off the harsh elements for generations. So, it’s no secret that many homeowners want to apply some of these benefits to their own properties. However, ensuring these projects go off without a hitch relies on choosing the right type of brick for your needs. These are the different types of residential brick and some tips for picking the perfect one.
The Different Brick Types
Before we get into the specifics of the several kinds of bricks, it helps to have an understanding of what makes them different in the first place. For starters, though all bricks might look and feel similar to the touch, the important thing to remember is that they’re often made with various different materials. These ingredients are what supply certain types of brick with their color, texture, and even their strength. Some bricks also possess additional resistant features depending on their construction materials and can serve more specific purposes as a result. Now, to go into more detail, these are the different types of residential brick for you to choose from.
Burnt Clay Bricks
Burnt clay bricks are the most common and traditional type of brick found on homes, and they are what individuals tend to think of when you mention these reddish, hardened materials. Formed by pressing wet clay into rectangular molds and drying them in kilns, they can be red or brown in color depending on where the clay was retrieved from. This natural palette makes them one of the leading options when going to build a decorative wall or put in brick siding. However, because of their beauty and quality, burnt clay bricks are often a bit more expensive than some other types. Still, they’re highly sought after for the natural color, depth, and texture they provide to a flat home design.
Sand Lime Bricks
Also known as calcium silicate bricks, sand lime bricks are a bit more versatile in use as they’re made with sand rather than clay and are significantly stronger. During the creation process, the sand is mixed with lime powder and molded under a high-pressure system to form brick shapes. The drying and kilning steps aren’t needed for these types of bricks due to the chemical reaction that occurs between the two materials. This chemical reaction greatly increases the strength of sand lime bricks, making them the perfect option for more strenuous use in home foundation or exposed walls. Although, it’s important to still mention that you can use these bricks for more decorative purposes if you like their smooth appearance. With a bit of pigment included in the creating process, you can even commission them in colors other than gray.
Concrete Bricks
On the other hand, concrete bricks offer a more rough and distressed aesthetic that’s become increasingly popular in recent years. Because they can also be formed in a series of different shapes, they’re useful in many areas of the home and have diverse uses. However, you might want to note that while concrete is a very stable material, it doesn’t hold up particularly well to intense pressure or weight. As such, they’re more often used for aesthetics on outdoor fences and hidden brickwork.
Fly Ash Bricks
Fly ash is the official name for the coal residue left after large chunks of coal have been burned away. Containing large amounts of calcium oxide, fly ash is often used as a fast-expanding material in materials like brick and cement. So, when mixed with water, it creates a quick-hardening material that can be molded into chunks of brick. Fly ash bricks are very lightweight compared to other types of brick and resist things like heat and moisture very well. It’s important to mention though that while they’re easy to lay, they aren’t the strongest or most structurally sound. So, you shouldn’t use them for foundations.
Fire Bricks
Lastly, fire bricks, or refractory bricks, are used for areas of the home that need increased heat resistance such as grilling, chimney, and furnace locations. Constructed with earth that’s high in aluminum oxide, these bricks can withstand temperatures of over several hundred degrees once they’re properly burned. These additional properties can be very beneficial to certain sections of a home and even increase a property’s overall resistance to fire. Because of this though, fire bricks might be a bit more difficult to acquire and more expensive to have made.
Tips for Choosing Residential Brick
Now that you know some of the basics about the core types of residential brick, it’s time you start weighing the pros and cons. Brick isn’t an easy material to work with. So, you want to ensure that you’re only getting what you need to meet your vision and that it’s no more than what you can handle. Try these tips to help you through the decision-making process.
Consider the Function of the Brick
At the end of the day, if the brick isn’t performing some function for your home, there’s no point in having it. This purpose could be aesthetics, protective durability, or even insulation, but in order to make the best decision, you need to decide which is most important. For those looking to improve their home’s aesthetic, burnt clay, sand lime, or concrete may be the best bet. But, if you’d rather go for strength and durability, you’ll want something like fire brick.
Stick with a Complementary Color Scheme
Make sure that you’re also considering the color of your bricks when you choose, as this will have a large impact on how the home will look once the bricks are laid. Do you like the natural color of clay or the smooth gray of sand? Either way, picking something with complementary colors to the rest of your home will make the property look great and save you a lot of renovation work down the line.
At Bear Mountain Custom Painting, we pride ourselves in being able to provide whatever it is our clients need. From siding and general carpentry services and painting and remodeling projects, we can help with various aspects of home renovation and get you closer to making your vision a reality. So, even if you have a few brick surfaces that you don’t know what to do with, let us work with you on the perfect new look.
From keeping the outside world at bay to making our homes look fantastic, our exterior doors have several essential functions. However, even the best door models can deteriorate with prolonged exposure to the elements and need to be replaced. In fact, regardless of whether your door has sustained damage or not, it’s recommended that you install a new one every several years to be safe. These are some of the benefits of installing new exterior doors and why you shouldn’t wait to get this project done.
Increased Home Security
Though exterior doors are made to be strong and durable, they can’t last forever. As the years roll by, the stress that the outside environment puts on your door slowly wears away at the solid materials and causes structural damage. With a weakened door, your home is more vulnerable to things like pest infestations and break-ins. So, by installing a brand-new exterior door, you’re reinforcing your home’s defenses and protecting yourself.
Additional Insulation
Modern exterior doors also provide more insulation for the home’s interior. A few decades ago, it was common for doors to be made exclusively of solid materials such as wood or steel. While sturdy, these resources didn’t trap climate-controlled air very well and would develop heavy drafts. Newer models, on the other hand, have a layer of polyurethane foam pressed between strips of solid material. These extra layers form a barrier that prevents the indoor air from escaping through the porous wood surface. This prevents those annoying drafts from forming and can even save you a bit of cash on your next utility bill.
Enhanced Curb Appeal
Another noteworthy benefit of installing new exterior doors is the fresh, revitalized look they give to your home. Curb appeal is one of the most important contributing factors to overall home value. As such, maintaining the look of the property is just as important as maintaining its functionality. Since the front door is also the first thing that visitors will see when they walk up to your home, it’s the perfect place to make a good first impression. Best of all, these doors come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and designs to fit with any existing home design.
At Bear Mountain Custom Painting, we believe that every home renovation, no matter how small, is a stepping stone to creating your dream home. Because of this, we offer a multitude of services to best accommodate each homeowner’s needs. Whether it’s exterior or interior painting or door installation in Cumming, GA, we want to ensure you’re getting the most out of your renovation experience.
Your house’s gutters may seem like they’ll last forever, but like any other part of the home, they often needs repairs. With each heavy rain, your gutters slowly loosen and lose their ability to effectively direct water away from your home. Your responsibility as a homeowner is to protect your home by ensuring your gutters are in proper working condition. Use these tips for repairing your home gutters to get the best possible results.
Use Gutter Caulk to Seal Leaks
If your gutters only have a few leaks, simply sealing them might be a better option than paying to replace them. For these jobs, it’s recommended that you remove the gutters, let them dry, and use specialized gutter caulk to ensure the seal is waterproof and likely to hold. If you don’t like how the repairs look after the fact, you can always sand down the excess caulk and repaint to make it more visually appealing.
Re-Secure Gutters to the Roof
Once you’ve repaired your gutters, it’s crucial that you properly reposition them against the edge of your roof. Otherwise, you risk letting water slip through and potentially damaging your roof and home foundation. When you’re refastening your gutters, make sure to screw the bolts in tightly enough to hold—but not so tightly that it could damage the roof. Remember that they’ll loosen again over time and that you’ll need to retighten them occasionally to keep them in position.
Install a Gutter Apron
For increased protection from water damage, you could also install a gutter apron over the back of the gutter to keep it flush against the roof. This will direct any water that otherwise would’ve run down the siding into the gutter where it belongs. However, the installation process is best left to professionals.
Know When to Replace them
In the end, you can only fix a gutter system so many times before you need to replace it entirely, and it’s crucial that you acknowledge when this happens. Opting to fix your gutters rather than replace them when they’re clearly ineffective will only lead to more work and more expensive repairs down the road. Be sure to accept when the time comes to replace them, and hire experienced gutter installation contractors in Cumming, GA to provide you with quality results.
