5 Benefits of Home Maintenance

Maintaining your home in Fort Collins can be a demanding, tedious, and complex process many of us like to avoid or perform only when we need to. However, if you invest only a small amount of time, money, and effort into performing these chores or hiring your go-to professional for home maintenance services, you’ll see amazing results. From improving your home environment to preventing costly repairs and larger problems in the future, there are numerous benefits.

To show you some of them, we’ve prepared a list of 5 important advantages of maintaining your home.

Why is home maintenance important? 

Why is home maintenance important

Here are some reasons why performing important home maintenance tasks is one of the best ways to stay on top of things:

Saving money

If you perform regular home maintenance you’ll save thousands of dollars on sudden replacements and repair bills. When it comes to frequently checking the appliances that require electricity and gas to operate, you’ll save on utility bills, too. Checking the condition of your roof, water heater, HVAC system, and other areas are your short-term expenditures that will pay off in the future. 

Reduced damage

One of the most important benefits of regular home maintenance is making sure you eliminate the risk of damage to your appliances. Avoid the mistake of maintaining your home only when a problem occurs. Instead, take the time to mitigate the possibility of unwanted scenarios such as a flooded attic or broken water heater. If you detect a smaller problem and nip it in the bud, you’ll ensure it doesn’t lead to costly and greater damage.

Improved quality of life

Your home is the place where you and your family spend the most time together. Therefore, it’s essential to make sure it’s a comfortable, healthy, and functional place. A well-maintained home will not only improve the quality of your life but also give you peace of mind. Performing only a few home maintenance chores will ensure you live in the sanctuary you deserve. Apart from that, by thinking in advance, you avoid the stress and hassle of frequent and sudden problems. 

Extended lifetime of your appliances

It’s normal you want to make sure your appliances are operating properly and smoothly for an extended period of time. This is why you should make sure you perform simple upkeeps of your appliances on a regular basis. From washing machines to refrigerators, every item is important for your day-to-day life. Extending the life of your appliances and keeping them in good condition will save you from buying new ones in the recent future.

Increased home safety and value

If you want the highest return when you decide to sell your home, make sure it’s well-maintained. A home with a documented history of repairs and updates is more likely to boost resale value. If you take care of your property, you’ll also increase its safety. By performing regular home maintenance checks, you reduce the risks of accidents while if you take care of your yard, you’ll eliminate overgrown bushes perfect for burglars. 

Where in Fort Collins can I find dependable home maintenance services?

If you want an experienced and knowledgeable crew to keep your home in good shape, look no further than Handyman Connection of Fort Collins. We boast years of experience in providing our customers with a broad array of quality home maintenance services. We’re very picky when hiring new staff and we make sure every member of our team is rigorously trained and insured.

Whether you need us to repair your window or replace batteries in your smoke detector, you can rely on our experts to streamline the whole process in no time. You can rest assured they’re devoted to performing the job efficiently and meticulously.

Whether you’re located near Edora Veteran Memorial or in the vicinity, call us or request a free price estimate today!

Important Parts of Home Maintenance

By regularly checking and repairing your plumbing, HVAC, and other systems, you’re making sure your home is in good condition. Knowing what tasks should be on your maintenance checklist will help you ensure your place of residence is looking its best and providing you with the comfort you and your family need and deserve. It’ll also help you communicate what home maintenance services you need from your provider in Fort Collins and the area.

So let’s take a look at the list of some of the most important parts of home maintenance. We’ve prepared it just for you!

What are the most important home maintenance tasks?

What are the most important home maintenance tasks

Here are some of the most important chores homeowners and their hired professionals should perform in order to prevent long-term damage or extra costs:

Gutter clean-up

It’s essential you perform regular gutter cleanings to prevent the debris from accumulating throughout the year. If not performed at least two times per year, it can cause leaks, rotting, and other problems that can cause expensive damages. You should thoroughly clean dirt and debris, replace missing caulk, and fill any cracks or holes. You should also bear in mind that if you have trees near your home, you’ll have to repeat this process more often. 

HVAC system inspection

If you want to extend the lifetime of your heating and cooling system, you should maintain it regularly. Do full and proper maintenance at least two times a year, in the summer and before winter. You should change your filters monthly, especially if you have pets. Make sure to sanitize the condenser or heat pump, too. You should also call in a professional once in a while to check how your system operates. By doing this, you’ll make sure you’re preventing unnecessary breakdowns.

Water heater draining

Many people make the mistake of forgetting to drain their water heaters. You should drain the water out of your water heater at least annually. Minerals from the water will build up over time and the sediment at the bottom of your heater trunk will cause it to work harder. That’s why clearing the sediment and refilling the heater will cost you less than eventually having to replace the whole item due to the malfunctions.

Window inspection

Windows, if not taken care of, can cause trouble. For example, keeping your window wells clean and water-free is of the utmost importance if you want to avoid breakage or suddenly having a wet basement. On the other hand, if not regularly cleaned, the weep holes of your window can get clogged with debris and bugs. When this happens, the water can fill up the channel and overflow into your house. 

Who offers reliable home maintenance services in Fort Collins and the surrounding area?

If you need a group of reliable professionals to take care of your home repair and maintenance needs, Handyman Connection of Fort Collins is your choice. We have the experience and knowledge necessary to assist you with a wide arrange of home maintenance tasks and challenges. 

From caulking and gutter cleaning to hanging mirrors and holiday lights, you can rest assured that we hire only vetted and trained handymen who will complete the job in a hassle-free and efficient manner. On our user-friendly website, you can request a free price estimate so you know exactly what you pay for. You can rest assured that satisfaction is 100% guaranteed with us.

Whether you’re near Poudre River Whitewater Park or in the vicinity, you can count on our crew to arrive promptly at your doorstep. Get in touch with us today!

Tile Floor Installation 101

New floor tiles, aside from being practical, durable, and easy to maintain, can also be a fantastic way to breathe new life into your living space, make it reflect your personal style, and improve the overall look of your home.

Although the choice of tiles is something you can and should do yourself (after consulting experts) to make sure you’ll end up with the result you’re satisfied with, the actual tile installation is something you should leave to Fort Collins professionals. 

However, if you’d like to tackle the task on your own, just follow the steps below and you will be tiling like a pro. Let’s dive right in!

How Do You Install Tiles?

How Do You Install Tiles?

Make no mistake – tile laying is not an easy job – it requires serious preparation and time. Most tiles are not flawlessly made – sometimes the patterns don’t match perfectly when you put individual tiles next to each other, or they might not be ideally flat which makes creating a level surface quite challenging. Various unpredictable issues may arise and cause even the best professionals to make mistakes – luckily, they know how to fix them fast.

It’s also worth noting that removing the existing flooring is quite messy, and some of the chemicals used can be dangerous, so protective gear is necessary to avoid compromising your health. During the removal of tile and thinset mortar, particles of carcinogenic crystalline silica dust are released into the air and can be inhaled. Additionally, cutting and grinding ceramic tiles exposes you to dust that may cause various diseases. Even an acute inhalation can cause respiratory disease.

What Are Common Mistakes When Laying Tiles?

Being a quite demanding process with a lot of variables, floor tile laying can easily go wrong during every step of the process. Some of the most common mistakes that people make when trying to lay the tiles themselves are:

  • Insufficient preparation and not planning the layout properly.
  • Choosing the wrong type of tiles. Indoor and outdoor tiles are different, as well as floor and wall ones. Most floor tiles can also be used on the walls but wall tiles are thinner so they wouldn’t be able to sustain the same weight.
  • Failing to prepare the laying surface properly.
  • Uneven spreading of grout across the entire surface.
  • Using the wrong adhesive material (particularly important when tiling surfaces that get wet, like bathrooms).
  • Not having or not using proper tools.
  • Buying fewer tiles than you need – you should always get 10% more as some get broken during cutting. You might also need to keep some extra ones so you can replace a potentially damaged tile in the future.
  • Buying the wrong size – large surface tiles are better suited for bigger rooms, while smaller, or mosaic styles are better for bathrooms or kitchens.
  • Opting for lower price instead of quality. Low-cost tiles will most likely need to be replaced sooner so you’ll end up spending more money overall.
  • Trying to do it yourself. Unless you have extensive experience with tile laying you should hire a professional.

How to Find Dependable Tile Installation Professionals in Fort Collins?

The main conclusion we can draw from the abundance of mistakes that can happen at any stage of the tile laying process is that you should hire professionals for a job this complicated. With Handyman Connection of Fort Collins at your corner, you can rest assured your preferences and needs will be met. We have a team of dedicated and seasoned experts ready to make your home work flawlessly.

Installation usually takes a few days, so you should take this into consideration as you’re not supposed to walk on the floor for at least 24 hours. You can turn this into an opportunity to get out of the house and do something fun. Choose one of the relaxing recreational activities, like going on a hike in one of the Fort Collins natural areas, like the gorgeous Fossil Creek Trail while tile installation experts do what they do best. Get in touch with us today!

How to Find the Right Tiles for Your Home

If you’ve ever gone through the adventure of a home improvement project, you already know that it involves a lot more work than you initially expect. You might have many creative ideas about how you’d like your new floors to look, how they’d perfectly complement the rest of your home décor, or you might wish to make significant changes to your current setup.

Whatever the case, picking out the perfect floor tiles is about much more than just aesthetics and creativity. There are a lot of technical details you should familiarize yourself with if you’re a hands-on type of person. However, no amount of research can replace professional knowledge and experience. This is the main reason why most people turn to reliable floor tile contractors in Fort Collins. Read on!

How Do I Choose the Right Tiles for My Home?

How to Find the Right Tiles for Your Home

Even though installing floor tiles should be left to professionals, most people want to choose tiles that fit their taste and aesthetic sensibility, but they should also satisfy certain technical requirements.

The main factors to consider when choosing your new tiles should be:

Size. Tile size, while adding to the aesthetic composition of the space, is something you might want to consult professionals about as there’s the issue of wastage to consider. Larger-sized tiles are better suited for spacious rooms, while the smaller ones work better in bathrooms and kitchens.

Design. You already know that floor tiles come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, ornamental or elegant patterns – or you may prefer plain single-color ones. Choose according to the effect you wish to achieve. 
Calmer, and softer colors are used in bathrooms to create a relaxing feel, and more lively and colorful ones are used in kitchens. When it comes to outdoor ones, you could go either way – you know what you like.

Material. This is also something you may need to consult professionals about, but the final decision is naturally up to you. You can choose between ceramic tiles that are generally durable and more affordable but tend to crack or chip when you drop something heavy on the floor, for example. The porcelain ones are stronger and scratch resistant.

Finish. There are usually three types of tile finish to choose from: matte, gloss, and semi-matte. Gloss finish ones are shiny and make the room seem more spacious, but they might not be the perfect solution for bathrooms as they get slippery when wet.
Matte finish is slip-resistant, and since they’re non-reflective, stains and dirt are less noticeable. Semi-mattes ones are somewhere in between, they’re not slippery when wet, and a bit shinier than the fully matte ones.

Cost. The cost of your new floor tiles will naturally depend on the quality of the material and the size of the floor you’re covering. However, you should also keep in mind that there’s usually about 10% of wastage as some tiles get broken or need to be cut in specific ways to fill out corners and edges of the room.

How to find expert floor tile contractors in Fort Collins?

Want to give your floor a fresh look but don’t know what tiles to choose? No worries, that’s where Handyman Connection of Fort Collins comes in! We’re established floor tile installation professionals with years of experience under our belt, that know how to listen to your ideas and wishes, and suggest certain adjustments if necessary for technical reasons.

Count on us to do our best to incorporate your wishes into the technical requirements of tile installation. You can trust our capable hands to handle any task while you’re having a great time on one of the Fort Collins famous brewery tours, like the Odell Brewing Company one.

Give us a call today to learn more about our long-lasting solutions!