New Year's Resolution
Ever made a resolution that was just too hard and you only made it a week? Ever start a home improvement project that was just (a little…..) too ambitious? Do yourself and your home a favor this year and set some simple, focused goals to maintain your home and improve your home owner experience. Here are just a few ideas on some simple things you can do!

Replacements
Replace older faucets with new ones.
Replace your shower head…. (ever just stop and wonder why you have been putting up with a shower head that drips water and sprays your whole bathroom when you turn it on?) We replaced ours a year ago and it still is the best home improvement investment I have made to date.
Want to spruce up the appearance of your home? Take a look at your front door, it is amazing what a fresh paint job or a new door can do for the look of a home. 
Replace your door knob. We switched to a key coded door knob a couple years back and it is amazing how convenient it is not to have to fumble around for your keys all the time. (you don’t have to own a million dollar home to enjoy some of the luxuries a home like that gets you ) 

Home Maintenance ideas
Take a look at your deck! Take a cup of water and pour it out on your deck, wait about 5 minutes and take a look at the puddle. Has the puddle seeped into the wood at all? If it has, it is time to get your deck resealed. Rotting decks are one of the biggest causes of injury related to homes, make sure your’s is protected.

Remember those HVAC filters that collect dust? Those need to be changed regularly. The cheap kind need to be changed once a month, with the thick pleated ones needing changed at least every 6 months. Important Note: These filters primary function is not to keep the air clean for you but to keep it clean for the HVAC system itself. Failure to maintain those filters can cost you thousands in repairs and significantly decrease the lifespan of your HVAC unit. 

If you're anything like me, aesthetics are important when you look at your home. I always thought it looked really solid to have your gutters drain down neatly onto these decorative cement pads. Little did I know the damage these things can do and how they do the opposite of what they are designed to do.

​A splash block is supposed to divert rain water away from your house and most importantly your foundation. In reality they divert all the water directly to the base of your house and the foundation! It would actually be less damaging to your foundation to have no gutters at all then to have all the water diverted to a splash block. The best way to drain rain water is a pipe that takes the water at least 5 feet from the side of the house or a complete underground drain system that your drain pipes are connected too.

​- Josh