Things are starting to heat up and summer is almost here. That makes now the perfect time to start thinking about what you should do to improve your home in time for summer. There are some key upgrades that will really help you get the most out of your home in those hot summer months. These eight tips should give you the inspiration you need to make them.
1. Lighten Window Coverings
The window coverings in your home will also make a bigger difference than you might realise. They should be light and white during the summer months. There are a few reasons for this. A light colour can lead to less solar heat gain. But if they are not too heavy, they will still allow the light to pass through, so get the best of both worlds. You can buy these kinds of window coverings from any departments store, so there shouldn’t be any problem getting your hands on them.
2. Install a Skylight
When the sun is shining, you want to make sure that your home is bright and positive. One great way to do this is by adding a skylight to one of the rooms in the home. This is something that is commonly done in the bedroom. But the design of your home will dictate which room you choose if you do decide to do this. Once the skylight is in place, you will instantly notice the difference it makes to the home. Much more light will be flooding into it than ever before, and this will make the room a much more pleasant place to be during the summer. It’s especially useful in rooms that have small windows.
3. Improve the Guest Room
During summer, many people have friends and family members coming over to visit them. So, maybe it’s time to think about improving the spare room in your home. Is it full of junk and cardboard boxes? Many people use their spare room as storage space but this takes away its functionality as a bedroom for guests who come to stay. Having a functional spare room is a great thing to have when you have an extended family who you don’t see too often. The first thing to do it is have a big clear out of the things that are in there. You can move some things to the attic and get rid of anything you don’t really need.
4. Paint the House
The build up to summer is the best time to paint your home if you haven’t done so for a long time. When the sun is blazing, it will damage your paintwork even more if it’s getting old. But if you paint the home it will look fresh and renewed in time for the summer months. You don’t want your home to look disappointingly grim and dull when the weather is great. And now that things are brightening up, it’s the perfect time to paint the home because it can’t be done in the rain. You’ll need a lot of paint and a large ladder if you’re doing the work alone. If you really put in the hours, it’s something that can be completed in a weekend.
5. Build a Deck
The outside of your home is just as important as the inside, and this is especially true during summer. That’s why you should definitely think about building a deck in your garden. When the weather is good, you will be able to spend a lot of time out there with friends and family. You can build a decking area by yourself if you want to or you can hire someone else to do the work. But if you know how to create a basic wooden structure and platform, it’s not that hard to do. When it’s all done and in place, it will make your summer evenings a lot more enjoyable, so it’s worth the investment.
6. Repair the Roof to Keep the Heat Out
The roof of the home is one of its most important features of your home, so it needs to be kept in good shape. One of the functions of the roof in hot climates is to keep out solar heat. But your roof can only do this if it’s in good condition. If it’s not, the task becomes impossible. So, you need to think about checking your roof and its condition before the summer actually arrives. If you find any problems that need to be dealt with, you should contact a company like Mr Roof. Those repairs need to be dealt with swiftly if you want to keep your home in the best possible condition during the summer.
7. Create Shade Around the House
Another way in which you can protect your home from heat is by creating shade around your home. This will block the sunlight a little and keep the home cool during the hottest days of summer. If you live somewhere where the heat can become too much for you, this is a great trick. So, how can you create that shade? It’s pretty simple. You just need to plant some large trees in the garden that can block the sun. Of course, you don’t want to stop any sun reaching your windows, so you should plant these trees strategically. It’s a pretty cheap and easy thing for you to do though.
8. Make Changes to the Windows
If you want to stop heat from the outside coming into the home, you should also think about the windows of your home. You could completely replace them with energy-efficient windows if your current ones are very old. This is not always completely necessary though. There are other options that will have a similar impact on your home’s windows. For example, you could add some low-e film to your existing windows. This will make the windows more efficient, keeping heat in the home but not letting too much more heat in from the outside. Alternatively, you could use infills which fills the space between the window panes to make them more efficient.