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Refresh Your Garage This Spring

In most households, the garage serves many important purposes. It keeps your car safe from weather, theft, and other damage. It provides a storage space for your outdoor equipment and other things. In some homes it even provides a crawl space or attic access. Despite this, however, the garage is often one of the last places many homeowners think of when trying to come up with spring home improvement projects. If you think that your garage might need a little extra love this spring, here are a few things that you could do to give it a refresh.

Enhance Your Storage

One way that you can reinvigorate your garage and make it a much more useful space is to add additional storage options within it. Depending on how your garage is currently set up, this could be as simple as installing a few shelves or adding a couple of cabinets to give you somewhere to put items that might otherwise just be sitting around or cluttered together. You could even add a cabinet with a lock to give you a secure space to store chemicals or other items that you don’t want children or pets to have easy access to.

There are a few ways that you could take this a bit further if you really want some nice storage solutions, though. A pegboard can be a great addition to your garage, especially if you need a place to store tools for easy access; you can even trace around the various tools with a permanent marker or paint pen to make it obvious what goes in which space. Other storage options include a rack to hold a bicycle to keep it out of the way, corner shelves with a lazy Susan for storing small components out of the way, or under-shelf bins to hold small items like screws, nails, and other fasteners.

Fix Up That Floor

Your garage floor takes a lot of abuse, and over time it can really start to show. Stains, discolorations, and cracks are all common in garage floors, and over time the floor can really start to degrade. While it will probably take a while before the damage gets so bad that you have to start making major repairs, having a messed up garage floor can make you less likely to use the garage, and beyond a certain point can even affect the resale value of your home. Luckily, this is usually pretty easy to fix.

Concrete crack fillers can smooth out the surface of your garage floor, preventing further damage and giving you a uniform surface again. In many cases, these fillers can even roughly match the color of your existing garage floor so that the filled cracks aren’t overly obvious. A variety of concrete cleaners are also available to help remove stains and discoloration from the floor as well. If you want to really enhance the look of your floor while protecting it from further damage, epoxy-based sealants and floor paints provide you with a hard coat on top of the cleaned and filled concrete that will resist leaks, stains, and everyday traffic to keep your garage floor looking good for years to come.

Revive Those Garage Doors

Have your garage doors seen better days, or do you not have doors on your garage at all? Either way, installing new garage doors, or even just replacing the door opening mechanism, can give new life to your garage. Modern garage doors help to protect everything in your garage and provide a decorative enhancement to the look of your home. In many cases the openers can even be connected to smartphone apps or other smart home components to give you more control even when you’re away from the house.

If you think that installing new doors or updating your garage door hardware is a big step to undertake on your own, HomeKeepr is here to help. Sign up for a free account today to connect to garage door installers and other home improvement pros in your area that can get this, and other jobs, done just the way that you want.

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Is Your Yard Equipment Ready for Spring?

As spring finally starts to arrive, there are likely a number of tasks around the house that will be kicking off in the coming weeks. Whether you’re mowing the lawn, prepping the garden, or refreshing those flower beds, it’s time to break out your equipment and get to work. One question, though: Is all your yard equipment actually ready for spring?

If you’re like a lot of people, at the end of the year you just clean up your equipment a bit and put it into storage. If you don’t do anything else with it, though, this can actually shorten your equipment’s life and increase the likelihood of breakdown during the busy spring period. Before you dive into all those spring tasks, here are a few things you should do to keep your mowers, tillers, and everything else running smoothly.

Change Those Fluids

When was the last time you changed the oil in your mower? How old is the gas in your trimmer? As the spring arrives, you should start your equipment out with fresh fluids. Not only will this ensure that your engine is properly lubricated when you start your various spring tasks, but it will also prevent potential problems that can result from old gas breaking down over the long winter months.

Depending on the equipment you use, this can also be a great time to lubricate other moving parts or grease any bearings that might have dried out while things were in storage. Check your owner’s manuals to see if there are any other fluid or lubrication recommendations for your equipment while you’re working on your spring prep. If you can’t find the owner’s manual, check the manufacturer’s website or other online resources for tips.

Sharpen Your Blades

There are many pieces of yard equipment that feature blades or other cutting surfaces. These can get dull as time goes by, and in some cases may even pick up a little bit of rust over the winter depending on where you live. This can cause some serious problems heading into a new year, resulting in uneven cuts and potentially even contributing to blade damage or other failures. Before you fire things up for the first time this spring, spend a little time sharpening those edges to make sure that everything’s working like it should.

Of course, not all blades can be revived by simple sharpening. While you’re checking them out, look for cracks or other signs of damage in the blades that can’t simply be buffed out or sharpened away. If a blade is cracked or damaged, replace it completely instead of trying to sharpen it. Cracked or damaged blades can break while under the stress of use, potentially causing damage or injuries in the process. The cost of a new blade is a small price to pay for staying safe while working around the house.

Other Equipment Maintenance

Depending on the equipment you have, there may be other maintenance tasks you need to perform as well. Changing oil filters, fuel filters, and spark plugs are great beginning-of-spring maintenance activities that go a long way toward getting your year off on the right foot. If you use electric equipment, test-charge any batteries to make sure that they can still hold a good charge after being in storage for the winter. Pneumatic and water hoses should be checked for leaks before use, and any nozzles or sprayers should be cleaned to remove dust and other gunk.

If you find that there’s more to do than you have time for this spring, you might also consider hiring a landscaper or other professional to cover a few of your normal spring tasks. HomeKeepr can help you find the perfect pro to meet your needs. Sign up for a free account today to find professionals who have the skills (and the equipment) to take some of these tasks off your plate… and you can bet that their equipment will be well-maintained and ready to roll.

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What Are Smart Locks?

Home security is important. As smart technologies continue to grow in popularity, an increasing number of homeowners are turning to higher-tech solutions to meet their home security needs. While options like smart cameras and connected doorbells are becoming much more common, not as many homeowners realize that it’s possible to upgrade their doors with smart locks as well. These locks come in a variety of designs, offering some pretty interesting options to those who want to take their home security to the next level.

What Are Smart Locks?

As the name implies, smart locks are door locks that have “smart” connected functions. This means that you can lock and unlock the locks remotely without the need to physically unlock it with a key. They often offer status monitoring as well, allowing you to see whether your doors are locked or unlocked (and in some cases, even whether the door is open or closed.) While there are fully electronic smart locks available that can only be opened remotely, the majority of consumer smart locks feature a physical keyhole and/or a numeric keypad for access as well.

For most smart locks, you can lock, unlock, and monitor them using a smartphone app or a connected hub device such as Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Remote key fobs (similar to those you see with most cars) may also be used to control the lock remotely. Some locks also incorporate biometric features, allowing you to lock or unlock the device by touching a fingerprint reader.

Smart Lock Advantages

There are a number of benefits to installing smart locks on your doors. By allowing you to unlock the door remotely instead of having to use a key, you can get into or out of the house faster when your hands are full or in emergency situations. This remote feature also comes in handy if you realize that you forgot to lock the door when leaving the house or if you need to have someone stop by and pick something up for you while you’re away.

Smart locks also give you a greater degree of control over who can and can’t access your home and when that access is granted. Many models connect with other devices such as smart doorbells or connected camera systems, letting you see who’s at the door before making the decision whether to lock or unlock. In many cases you can even include the smart locks in smart home routines that you’ve programmed on other devices, having them lock or unlock at certain times or when certain routines are run. This can improve the overall security of your home, allowing the doors to lock automatically when potential threats are detected or at times when no one should be visiting.

Installing Smart Locks

Most smart locks aren’t much more difficult to install than standard lock units, though they are likely to have more post-installation setup required. Many smart locks function as a deadbolt, though they may incorporate the doorknob and standard door lock as well. Depending on the model of smart lock being installed, additional components such as a solar panel and battery unit may be included in the installation as well. These components may be integrated into the lock mechanism, or they may be separate.

Once a smart lock is installed, it still needs to be configured to work with your app or other devices. This is usually a pretty straightforward process, similar to pairing a device with your phone via Bluetooth, though some users may experience problems during installation or integration into an existing smart home setup. After setup is complete, the locks should function without issue, using encrypted digital keys over a wireless or Bluetooth connection.

If you need help picking out the best smart lock for your home or getting it installed, HomeKeepr can get you that help. Sign up for an account today to connect with pros in your area who can help you pick the perfect lock for your home and make sure that it’s installed and set up correctly. It only takes a moment and best of all it’s free.

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Drop Ceilings: Pros and Cons

Humans have long had a love/hate relationship with ceilings. On one hand, they help to hide the structure that keeps the rain out; on the other, they can be a pain to install and maintain over time. So when the idea of the drop ceiling started gaining momentum, it followed that two very die-hard camps formed almost immediately. But drop ceilings have changed dramatically since the first patents were introduced in 1919 and subsequent improvements made in the 30s and 50s. Today’s drop ceiling, while building on these same principles, is a very different creature.

Drop Ceilings Aren’t Just for Offices

Most people get their first exposure to drop ceilings in their office or schools, where two foot by four foot styrofoam rectangles are set in a grid, along with harsh fluorescent lights, in place of a more traditional plastered or drywalled ceiling. Because these drop ceilings can be very severe in appearance, the very phrase has become suspect. But there are other drop ceilings that aren’t quite so industrial, and can actually really add to your home’s design and unique interior space. These may mimic stamped tin ceilings, coffered ceilings, or a number of different kinds of decorative wood patterns like beadboard. You may not even recognize a modern drop ceiling simply from looking at it, and that’s really the point.

Pros and Cons of Drop Ceilings

Looks aside, drop ceilings are not for everyone. They aren’t even for every kind of space, contrary to what some people may believe. It also really depends on the installation style you’re working with whether or not a drop ceiling in question is going to be the best choice for your home. But in general you can expect the following truths about drop ceilings.

They’re simple to install. Drop ceilings are popular with a lot of DIYers because they’re easy to install and don’t require expert drywall skills to get a good result. Unlike drywall, which must be hung, the joints sealed, sanded, primered, painted, and painted again, a drop ceiling comes as a kit and is put together much more like flat-packed furniture. Follow the instructions and you should have the ceiling you expect.
Maintenance is minimal. Drywall and plaster crack, it’s a fact. It’s also a reason a lot of older homes have newer drop ceilings installed over the originals. Regular patching of ceilings as a home ages and shifts ever so slightly is a headache. Styrofoam ceiling panels have much more give and can flex as a house moves. Bonus points for areas like basements where wood may shrink and swell throughout the year.
They provide small amounts of insulation. Depending on how a drop ceiling is hung and what type you choose, you can expect a very small amount of insulation gain from them, as well as noise dampening. They’ve been used in homes with tall ceilings successfully to lower the heated envelope of the home from 10 feet to a more energy efficient seven to eight feet across the country, but by doing this, you can also interfere with the way the home’s air exchange was designed to work. Take caution when dropping ceilings dramatically.
Head space is reduced. Even when you’re using a drop ceiling in a very minimalistic way, there’s going to be loss of headroom. This is because drop ceilings generally have to be hung on special brackets or dropped within a hanging framework. You may not lose a lot of headspace, possibly only inches, but in areas like basements where inches can be too much loss, it’s a serious consideration.
Lighting solutions can be tricky. You’ll need to plan your lighting carefully when installing a drop ceiling. Because of the gap that tends to be present, even if it’s just a few inches worth, mounting lighting can require a great deal of planning and care. You may have to use special supports or choose different lighting types when you change a ceiling to a drop ceiling, or carefully design lighting if adding a drop ceiling to an area that’s never had a ceiling in it before.

Having Trouble Deciding?

If you don’t know what way to go with your future ceiling, you don’t have to go it alone. Just look in HomeKeepr for a recommendation for ceiling and interior design experts in your area. They can walk through your home with you, and help you choose the best option for your house, your budget, and your lifestyle.

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