Getting Your Home Close To Maintenance Free
You’re tired of sealing that wood deck, painting that picket fence, or climbing up a ladder to clean out your gutters—and, let’s be honest, no one likes doing that backbreaking work. So maybe it’s time for an upgrade!
We always try to give you tips for your whole home. Not just your roof. But we know, it’s work, every year. However this time we wanted to give you some ideas to help get your home as maintenance free as possible.
Get Your Metal On
Metal roofs have come a long way from the corrugated tin of the past. Available in a host of different colors and styles, from the classic standing seam to wood-look shakes, today’s metal roofing material looks great and are virtually maintenance-free.
Coated roofing panels can withstand high winds and heavy snow loads without rust or fade. And, because it’s so durable, metal roofing carries some of the best warranties in the industry.
Side It and Forget It
If just thinking about painting your home’s siding every few years wears you out, upgrade to low-maintenance vinyl or plastic siding. The newest options in vinyl siding are durable, with color infused throughout to prevent fading. You’ll get all the charm of traditional lap or shake siding without all the weathering, your house will look as good in 10 years it did the day the siding was installed.
Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter
Tired of climbing up that ladder to clean your gutters? There are many types of gutter guards you can go with to help you keep the ladder in the garage. We would warn against the type that look like a mesh that covers the tops of your gutters. While it does keep leaves and the like out of the gutters, it tends to collect on top of that mesh and can sometimes make the water totally miss your gutters and just roll off the debris on top.
A Deck is for Relaxing On
Traditional wood decking must be sealed annually, and even then it can splinter and warp. Composite lumber decking, on the other hand, combines wood particles and plastic to achieve the look of wood with far less maintenance.
Impervious to insects, rot, mildew, and stains, this composite lumber requires only an occasional hose-down to keep it looking good—after which you can go right back to lounging on your deck.
Get Off The Fence
Do you dread the prospect of replacing warped boards or painting the fence yet again? Today’s top-notch PVC fencing is available with a reinforced structural core, and its color won’t fade or yellow over time.
PVC is resistant to termites, rot, and warping, you won’t have to replace damaged panels, and—unlike wood—PVC fencing looks trim and polished on both sides of the fence. Choose your ideal privacy structure from a number of prefabricated designs and colors,
Your Window of Opportunity
Cladded windows—windows constructed from wood and then covered with vinyl or aluminum—are both high quality and low maintenance. Indoors, you’ll enjoy your windows’ beautiful hardwood finish; outdoors, you’ll appreciate never having to sand or paint the vinyl or metal cladding. And, though you’ll still have to wash the panes occasionally, if you opt for casement windows or tilt-in sashes, you’ll be able to tackle this chore in the comfort of the indoors.
