Plenty to do over the summer months

Summer is just about here — we’re only a few weeks out from the official start of the season, and I couldn’t be more excited. Why? Well, summer is always a busy time for our construction crew — and in my down time (what down time?), it’s the perfect opportunity to get out on my boat.

Even though summer vacation is almost here, you can’t take a break from your home’s maintenance. Summer is the perfect time to take care of these jobs around the house.

RESEALING, REPAIRING YOUR DRIVEWAY

The best time to reseal your driveway is during the midsummer. That’s when things will be at their hottest, so the sealant will dry quickly. Not only that, as our driveway material expands in the summer heat, it will be able to absorb more sealant, leading to a better job overall. While we can’t predict the weather, try to schedule your sealing job during a stretch where you’re seeing a lot of sun in the forecast, so that sealant can do its work quickly.

How often you’ll need to reseal your driveway depends on a few factors: climate, the driveways wear and tear, and what kind of material you used. A good rule to follow is that it should be resealed every three years or so, but this is a guideline — you may need more, you may need less.

You may not need to reseal the entire driveway, but a long winter of snow, sleet and ice may have revealed some new holes or cracks. In most cases, when they’re still small, you shouldn’t require any major repairs.

Most hardware stores will have cement or asphalt repair products you can use to fill in those holes before they become bigger issues. This goes for your walkways, too. Keep them smooth and easy to navigate. It’s a safety issue if people can’t easily get to and from your front door.

If the holes are really deep, or there are a lot of them, you may have a bigger issue — so in those cases, I recommend calling in a pro.

MAINTAIN GOOD AIR FLOW

Changing your HVAC filters is something you need to be doing regularly. During the spring and fall, you can probably get away with changing them once a season, but in the summertime, you should be changing them monthly at minimum. This helps ensure that your system is working at its peak level of efficiency when we’re expecting it to keep us cool all summer long.

Summer is also a really busy time for renovations — if you’re having some work done, try to refrain from running the HVAC through the duration of the project, to attempt to keep construction dust more localized (though this is really difficult). You should be changing your filters every two weeks during your renovation. And I would recommend calling a professional cleaner in to make sure all that dust and debris is thoroughly cleaned.

Now’s a good time to schedule a maintenance checkup for your air conditioner. Even better would have been six weeks ago. Demand for maintenance is about to go up — so better to schedule your maintenance early so that when the heat waves spike in July, you know your system is in tiptop shape.

Any ceiling fans in your home should be switched to rotate in a counterclockwise direction and to run at a high speed. This will create a cooling effect as the fan pushed air down toward the floor.

Ceiling fans only have an effect if you’re in the room to feel it. When you leave the room, switch the fan off and save yourself the energy.

I know we’re all excited to get outside after a long winter — don’t put off your summer maintenance jobs. If you get them out of the way now, you’re in for a clear season of fun in the sun.