7 Smart Exterior Home Improvement Projects for Spring
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Wisconsin Spring and Summer fly by all too quickly, and there never seem to be enough good weather days for everything on your exterior home improvement wish list. Here are 7 smart exterior home improvement projects to spruce up your home’s curb appeal, and more importantly, to weather seal and protect your home.
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- Sparkling clean windows let in more light.
Clean the windows, sills and trim inside and out. It’s also a good time to inspect exterior window trim for damage, cracked or peeling paint, and damaged or missing caulking that could let in drafts or moisture. Make sure these things are fixed before staining or painting exterior window trim. - Exterior spring cleaning is the perfect time to inspect for winter damage.
Clean up clutter and debris that have accumulated over the cold weather months. Scrub or pressure-wash house siding, garage doors, driveway, and sidewalks to banish winter salt, dirt, mold and mildew that can corrode surfaces or cause staining. If you don’t own a power washer or have experience using one, hire a pro to avoid damaging surfaces you’re trying to clean. Now is a great time to bring your lawn furniture out of storage or scrub it down if it was stored outside. Clean your gutters, repair any damage, and make sure downspouts are directing water away from your home’s foundation. Most importantly, inspect exterior wood and vinyl surfaces for cracks, holes and other damage, and repair or replace before painting or staining - A freshly painted front door boosts curb appeal more than you think.
Whether you choose a bright, welcoming color or something darker and more classic, it will stand out even from the street. If you’re considering DIY, make sure you know how to correctly prep, prime and paint an exterior door. It’s harder than it looks to keep everything perfectly smooth and neat with good paint coverage, so consider hiring a professional painter if you’re a novice. Finish the new look with new, matching doorknob, knocker, and house numbers if your current hardware is worn or dated. - Exterior house painting has the biggest impact on curb appeal.
House paint colors create your first impression from the curb. The right color palette can highlight your home’s architectural features and help make it look stylish and well-kept. Bad colors or a poor quality paint job can make your house the pariah of the neighborhood and drag down the property value. Painting a house is a huge project that requires careful planning, skill and experience, so DIY exterior house painting isn’t recommended. A good professional painting contractor can help you select beautiful and timeless colors that suit your style and neighborhood, and has the right experience, skills and equipment to paint a house correctly and efficiently. Extensive prep work is required to make sure the paint job looks great and lasts - scraping to remove loose paint, filling holes, repairing or replacing damaged or rotted wood, sanding, cleaning, and applying caulking to weather seal. Only then are professional grade exterior primer and finish coats applied. - Give your garage door some love, too!
A front-facing garage door is probably the biggest single area of your house visible from the street. Scrub or power wash it to remove winter grunge and salt, check for dents or other damage, and look for gaps in weather stripping. Wood, metal (steel and aluminum), and vinyl garage doors can all be painted to make them look new. The color will not last as long as the original factory finish, but it’s typically far less expensive than replacing the door, and will provide additional weather protection. - Make sure your deck is ready for relaxing.
Wood decks need regular maintenance and moisture sealing to protect them and keep them looking great. Prolonged moisture exposure will rot an unprotected wood deck, even one made with pressure-treated wood. Composite decks don’t require sealing but still need cleaning to remove winter grunge, and most do not have a mold inhibitor. In addition to causing ugly discoloration, mildew or mold on a deck creates slippery spots that are a safety hazard. Annual maintenance on a deck is a reasonable DIY job but a professional painter can power wash, sand, prep, and reseal or repaint a deck affordably and in a fraction of the time it takes most homeowners. - Tidy landscaping makes your home look well kept.
Start by trimming overgrown trees and shrubs, mowing and cleaning debris out of planting beds. Trim shrubs a foot or more away from the side of your home to allow airflow and help prevent damage to siding and water intrusion. Brighten up your landscaping with new flower plantings. Annuals are less expensive and provide instant color, whereas perennials cost a little more but don’t have to be replaced every year. Add a few inches of fresh mulch to planters to create a manicured look and slow down weeds..
Whether you DIY or hire a pro, it’s important to protect your home against Wisconsin’s weather extremes. Staying ahead of weatherization issues like water damage or dry rot will help prevent expensive repairs so you can enjoy your home and outdoor spaces. The “weather window” in Wisconsin for exterior home maintenance and improvement is typically late Spring through early Fall, so don’t procrastinate. Good painting contractors fill their exterior painting schedules quickly, and weather can be unpredictable, so call for an estimate as early as possible.
