Let’s not beat around the bush, it’s been a rubbish summer. We’ve not had the best of weather for mowing our lawns, never mind attempting much DIY. Not with standing the impending doom of the onset of winter, this last week or so has hinted at the prospect of an Indian summer and therefore an unexpected window of opportunity to prepare our homes for bleaker weather before Jack Frost firmly slams it shut.
Like many jobs concerning the outside of a property, ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ – make sure you do those little niggly jobs as soon as you can before they escalate into problems that could be avoided.
Image: Pinterest
Puttying around windows
Most people ignore this job as they believe it’s there simply to keep the pane of glass in place. But the other job it does is, to protect the woodwork of the frame by allowing the rainwater to run off. If there are decent sized cracks it’s best to chisel the loose bits out and re-apply some putty. A little tip here is apply talc to your hand before, to avoid a big sticky mess, and then manipulate a small ball of putty in your hand, making it more malleable.
Paint window frames
Whilst you’ve got your ladders out and the sun is (hopefully) still shining why not check to see if your windows need a paint. Apart from the obvious aesthetic benefits, keeping up-to-date with this can add years to the life of your window frames – the job will always last longer if you give them a bit of a key (light sanding) and a good clean first.
Modern paints have advanced a great deal in recent years and I aways recommend not to scrimp on cheap paint. Many external paints these days have acrylics or plastics in, which means you need to do this job a lot less frequently. Regular painting is essential, especially if you live by the sea with all that corrosive sea air.
It’s worth noting that both these jobs are fairly simple, but don’t forget to get someone to have a foot at the bottom of the ladder for you if you’re going up high.
Boiler servicing
Perhaps an issue that you haven’t or maybe don’t want to think about is the condition of your boiler. I know, it’s warm enough at the moment but let’s face it, October is less than a month away (sorry!) and there will suddenly be a load of us turning on our heating for the first time in the coming months and coming a cropper.
This can be an extremely busy time for plumbers and heating engineers so you really don’t want to have to wait in the cold. Whilst you’re already on the Rated People website, why not look one up near you and get your system serviced before the mad rush.
