Welcome Tech High School Visitors!
When you are done completing the self guided tour of Tech High School this weekend, stop in and visit the Stone Gate Neighborhood! Lumber One welcomes you to your new home!
How to Get Your Home Ready For Winter
Winter cold spells can be very hard on your home. Avoid emergencies or uncomfortable experiences by getting your home ready for winter with these tactics.
Replace Caulking and Weather Stripping
The cracks and spaces around windows and doors create drafts and heating inefficiencies. Cracks less than 1/2” wide can be filled easily with caulk and painted over. For larger gaps and spaces between the door jams, apply weather stripping. If you can see outside through the crack, it should be sealed up.
Install a Programmable Thermostat
Your heater does not have to work overtime. If you are gone for a significant time each day – say when your family is at work or school – program your thermostat to drop its temperature to the lower 60’s. You can even drop the temperature at night during the hours you sleep. A programmable thermostat installed in your home can save you enough money to pay for itself in just a couple of years.
Replace Your Furnace Filter Monthly
When it gets cold, we rely heavily on the machines that heat our home. Be sure to have your furnace checked and tuned up at the beginning of the season if you are concerned about leaks. It is wise to replace furnace filters monthly to keep airflow unhindered in your house.
Prep the Plumbing
Before the freezing temps cause an issue, be sure to drain your outdoor faucets and shut off the water supply leading to them. If you have anti-freeze outdoor faucets installed, you do not have to worry about this step. However, it is still wise to prepare the plumbing in your home by wrapping insulation sleeves over pipes to prevent heat loss.
These simple steps can ensure your home is all set for the winter cold! If you’re in the market for a new home or property, contact the experts at Lumber One.
How to Stay On Top of Home Improvements
Owning a home comes with a lot of responsibility. The largest responsibility is not mowing the lawn, keeping the floors clean, or checking your fire alarm battery. The largest responsibility should be keeping up with your home improvements!
Time and use will deteriorate everything in your home from siding to appliances to windows. Neglecting to update these items when needed will eventually leave your home in disrepair.
Here are some tips for staying on top of home improvements and being responsible about home ownership.
Schedule Maintenance
JD Roth from the blog Get Rich Slowly has the great advice to create a home maintenance schedule customized to your home. You can even align your home maintenance schedule with your calendar and get notified when it’s time to change the furnace filter! It can be easy to forget annual chores like cleaning the gutters, flushing the water heater, vacuuming the dryer hose, or trimming the trees. However, this regular maintenance prevents serious problems in the future on expensive repairs to your home.
Budget For Improvements
Although you should always have an emergency fund of savings for other aspects of life, it is also wise to budget and save for home updates. New windows, for instance, is unlikely to be an emergency situation, but if you set aside 1-5% of every paycheck toward a home improvements fund, you can replace and update windows when it’s best for you.
Celebrate Progress
Rachel from the blog Small Notebook suggests documenting your home improvement progress in photos or even videos. Any time you make a change to your home—however small—it is motivating to see the before and after. This process also benefits your records in the event of an insurance claim. By photographing your home improvement projects, you will be encouraged to do more and appreciate how far your progress has come.
Put into action these three tips to boost your productivity and resolve in improving your home. For all of your home improvement projects, contact the professionals at Lumber One.
How to Choose the Right Materials for Your Deck
There are plenty of ways to enjoy the great outdoors – Especially in Minnesota – but only a few ways to enjoy it from home. Few summer activities are as relaxing as spending time with good company on your deck.
When building or updating your deck, there are lots of different materials to choose from. Thankfully, the experts at Lumber One are always ready to lend a hand!
We’ve created a guide to decking materials to help you find the right fit for the memories you’ll be making this summer:
Treated Decking
Of all the options available, treated decking is very common. It’s durable and affordable, combining natural materials with man-made ingenuity for a deck that is made to last. Features of this option include:
- Economic materials
- Chemically treated Lumber that resists rot, mold, and insects
- Low overall maintenance
Cedar Decking
We can all agree that there’s nothing like the smell of cedar. On top of natural oils that resist rotting, it also acts as a natural repellent to insects while looking absolutely gorgeous as a deck material. We recommend regularly staining cedar to extend the life of the deck while restoring its natural luster. A few benefits of cedar decking are:
- Strong and lightweight
- Possesses rot-resistant natural oils
- Naturally repels insects
Composite Decking
Composite decking brings the best of both worlds to your deck, with a few added features. They require the least amount of maintenance, are the most durable, are heat-resistant, and can last a lifetime. This family of decking materials is broken into two categories:
- Synthetic blend of wood flour and plastic with a PVC cap
- Diverse color options and variations of wood styles
- Heavier compared to PVC decking.
- Mimics a more natural feel of wood
- Requires no maintenance
- Scratch, mildew, and stain resistance (same color all the way through)
- Diverse color options and variations of wood styles
- Lighter in weight compared to Capped Composite decking
- Absorbs little to no heat, keeping your deck cool
We hope these options provide valuable information to use on your search for a new deck. Choosing the right materials to use based on budget, appearance, durability, and climate can be overwhelming without help from the experts – but making the right choice can yield an enjoyable experience and an increase in curb value for your home.
If you’re drawn to composite decking, we encourage you to act soon. Purchase any composite deck/railing in the month of May and receive treated framing materials for free!
