Home Maintenance - DDIY Painting Services

DIY Energy Saving Home Improvement We Approve Of!

Our motto at DDIY is “Don’t do it yourself, let us!” but there are a few DIY projects that we do approve of our clients doing for themselves. In this case it is stopping up the heat loss that comes from the air leaks around your outlets and light switches.

One source we found estimates that 2-5% of our home’s heat loss is due to air leaks around our switches and outlets. Even in my relatively new home here in Lynnwood, when the wind blows I can actually feel air coming in around the cover plates. It may not seem like much, but if cold air is getting in, it has to push warm air out. Warm air that you paid good money to heat.

The solution? Easily installed foam outlet and switch sealers. For a few cents each, you can install these on your switches and outlets, cutting down significantly on how much air is getting in around them. It made a difference in my home!

You can pick outlet and switch insulators online or at your local hardware store. Prices vary but they aren’t expensive. If your home has drafts coming in around the outlets, it is worth it to try and seal them up!

Have bigger concerns about the insulation and air leaks in your home? We can help out with those projects! Just give us a call at 425-320-3353.

For everyone in the Seattle area, the start of the school year is the heralding of cooler wet weather to come. The question is though, is your home ready to get wet?

Failed caulking allows moisture into your home!

Fall home maintenance can be a pain, but it is absolutely essential for maintaining your home. Wind driven rain loves to sneak in around windows which should be caulked up tight to the siding. Unfortunately most homes have small gaps where caulking is missing or has failed.

“My home is only three years old, it is fine!” you may be thinking. This is 100% not true! Most newer homes we see were caulked with extremely low grade caulk that hardens and shrinks as it ages. This means that it will not flex with the temperature changes that your home experiences and will eventually pull away from your siding and windows leaving a gap for water (and bugs) to enter.

Don’t be cheap when choosing your caulk!

A high quality elastomeric caulk will run you several dollars a tube, and yes you can find cheaper products, but you will find yourself replacing it more often which is a major piece of false economy. One premium exterior caulking is Big Stretch®. It is a water-based product for caulking and sealing doors, windows and siding. Big Stretch won’t crack and fall away — it just stretches — over 500%! Big Stretch accomodates the movement all houses go through as temperature, wind and seasonal changes occur.

Be sure to remove all your old loose caulking as you go around your home and keep your caulk lines as tight and clean as possible. Remember, less is more when you are talking about caulking. Put enough in to fill the space, not make a hill around your windows and doors.

Now this might all seem like a pain, but consider the moisture damage that water can do to a home over time and it becomes well worth it. Water seeping into your walls can cause mold, dry rot and even insect damage as they follow the moisture into your home and set up camp in damp areas.

Caulking your home sounds like a pain???

Not feeling like climbing up a ladder to check the caulking around all your windows and doors? I understand, it can be a pain. To that end we are more than happy to come out and take care of it for you! Our trained professionals will remove any loose caulking around your windows and doors, and reseal them with high grade elastomeric caulking. We can even paint them up and make it pretty when it is dry too!!!

Not sure if your home needs caulking or repairs? Call us today for a free Winter Readiness Inspection. We will do a complete walk around your home and make a list of any items that need to be corrected or addressed before the Seattle rains come again. Call today at 425-232-4811 or email us at DDIY@Comcast.net to set up your FREE inspection!