As the buds burst on flowering shrubs and the birds sing in the trees, spring cleaning is a grand tradition that signals the end of a long winter. Do-it-yourself home improvement goes hand-in-hand with spring cleaning, maximizing this time of rejuvenation and motivation. As you’re washing windows inside and out, cleaning under and around furniture and appliances, wiping down sliding door and window tracks, dusting light fixtures and crown molding, beating rugs, sweeping off the porch or deck, reestablishing the outdoor furniture, and all of the other associated chores, give the house a close inspection down to the tiniest nooks and crannies.
A Fresh Finish
There is a reason that paint companies start running ads about now, and local painters hang tags on door handles offering spring specials—they know that nothing brightens up a house for summer like a fresh coat of paint. This goes for interior rooms as well. But there’s no need to hire someone when this is an easy DIY job, especially if it’s done in sections and paced over a few days or even weeks.All jobs start with good prep. Indoors, this can be as simple as cleaning the walls to remove grime, cobwebs, dust, and stains. Outdoors, it’s time to get out the pressure washer (which is actually quite fun!). As a happy bonus, a thorough cleaning/pressure washing may be all that’s needed to give the home a refresh. But if it’s not, or a change of color is desired, it can still be a DIY task.
Have a hard time bending and rolling? Wagner Power Rollers attach to either a 1-gallon or 5-gallon paint can to provide paint at the press of a button (and stop the flow just as easily, so there’s no drips), but one doesn’t have to have aching joints to use it. By eliminating bending and rolling in a paint tray, the system makes painting go significantly faster, but be sure to save time for a thorough cleanup of the hose, valves, and pump housing after each day’s work.
One step up in efficiency—and the skills required—is to use a paint sprayer, which can replace both a roller and a brush in most situations. A great example is exterior wood siding. A paint sprayer takes a fraction of the time required for good siding brushwork.
Where the time and attention to detail comes in is the prep—there’s no cutting corners here. All adjacent surfaces need to be properly protected from overspray. This is way beyond the typical drop cloth and occasional blue painter’s edging tape of most projects. Windows, doors, porch railings (or cabinets, when painting indoors), door knobs, and any furniture left in the room need to be covered with a flexible masking film and sealed with masking tape. Another option is the more rigid pre-taped masking paper, which is commonly used to cover adjacent floor boards when painting a wall or the entire floor if spraying a ceiling.
Up-Top Pit Stop
While the paint ladder is out, it’s a great time to clean the gutters and give them a close-up inspection to check for signs of rust or cracking. Make sure that they’re still secure. Gutters that are ripped away from the house because of heavy ice can lead to leaks indoors. If the house is surrounded by trees, consider adding a gutter guard. There are three main styles: a stainless-steel fitted micro-mesh gutter guard, a flexible plastic mesh gutter guard, and a gutter brush that looks like an oversized bottle brush whose bristles rise above the gutter to repel debris while letting rainwater through.Horizontal Surfaces
Clear the porch or deck area and sweep it thoroughly. Use a L-hook or putty knife to clean between boards. Next, clean it by applying a deck cleaner product and scrubbing. To remove caked-on dirt, as well as any surface mold and mildew, use a pressure washer set to the low-pressure setting. Then inspect the deck—this may be all that’s needed.If it needs resealing, leave the power painting toys in the garage, as both translucent and opaque deck stains will gum up their works. Instead, opt for a deck stain brush, a speed mop and stain pad, a paint roller for decks, or a hand-pump deck stain sprayer for thinner deck stains, which can be cleaned and reused or simply tossed after the project is done. Turn on the tunes to make it fun.
