Hector Seda - Home Repair That Pays Off: 150 Simple Ways to Add Value Without Breaking Your Budget

Weekend
Projects
Anyone
Can Do!

Home
Repair That
PAY$ OFF

150 Simple Ways to Add Value
Without Breaking Your Budget

HECTOR SEDA,

America's Home Improvement Coach

Avon, Massachusetts

Copyright 2009 by Hector Seda
All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by
Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.

www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-59869-802-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-802-2
eISBN: 978-1-44051-333-6
Printed in the United States of America.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their product are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

To my parents, Hector and Dolores Seda, and my sister, Yvonne Jones.

Acknowledgments

Nothing in life is really ever done alone and for this reason I would like to thank the following people for their friendship, support, and advice:

To my good friends, Emery and Sheila Wilson and August and Tammy Cardella

To my family, James and Annette Seda, Dinah Curkin, and Elisa Seda

Special thanks to my agent and friend, John Willig of Literary Services, Inc.

And to everyone involved at Adams Media, especially Paula Munier, Director of Acquisitions and Innovation; Brendan ONeill, Associate Editor; and Elisabeth Lariviere, Layout Artist and Designer.

Contents

PART I
Your Homes Exterior

Part II
Your Homes Interior

Introduction

Regular maintenance preserves a homes value. Not only does it keep it functioning efficiently, but proper care helps to increase the equity you have in your home as well as keeping hard-earned cash in your pocket. Homes, for the most part, appreciate in value on their own. One way to maintain appreciation is by proactively and systematically doing minor routine maintenance tasks, and making simple improvements. These simple tasks help to keep a home safe and keep it operating at peak performance throughout the year. Changing rotted lumber, adding a decorative path, and keeping your furnace clean are all little things that make a big difference in terms of property equity. Completing such simple home repair tasks is easy and smart.

Automobile owners know its important to take the time to change the oil in their car in order to keep it running properly. This preserves the lifespan of the investment. Considering the cost of a house, shouldnt homeowners take care of their home just as much? Scheduling regular maintenance is key to keeping your home in optimal shape.

Major home catastrophes can easily be avoided if homeowners take just a few minutes to do some simple routine tasks. Losing the air conditioning, heat, or hot water can be very unpleasant in the midst of a party. Dont think it cant happen? Remember Murphys law. In addition to avoiding unpleasantness, being proactive can save you loads of money. Purchasing a replacement item is usually much more costly than paying for simple maintenance. Dont get caught in a bind; set a schedule for routine household maintenance.

Think of preventative maintenance as a powerful tool that can save you hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of dollars. The object is to have the components that make up your home reach full life expectancy without costing you unnecessarily and depleting the equity in your home. Not only will proper home maintenance save you money, it can also earn you money. The better you maintain your home, the greater its value will be. By devoting a few hours to completing these tasks, your equity will grow. Proactive home maintenance is a no-brainer.

Home Repair That Pays Off teaches you what to do and how to do it. I will show you some simple home preventative maintenance tasks and projects that you can do to keep your home running like a fine-tuned instrument. (Well keep it simple, brief, and as painless as possible.) Each chapter is made up of individual tasks for certain areas of your home. At the start of each individual task, youll find easily recognizable icons that will denote the SKILL LEVELand estimated time needed to perform each one. And at the end of each chapter, dollar-sign icons will summarize the equity you save by completing the chapters tasks.

DIFFICULTY

Each project requires a different level of experience. Therefore, each task has been rated on the following SKILL LEVELscale. If you are new to home improvement projects, its best to start with SKILL LEVEL1-rated tasks to develop experience.

SKILL LEVEL1: NoviceNo prior home repair or maintenance experience

SKILL LEVEL2: IntermediateSome prior repair and maintenance know-how; semi-skillful with their hands

SKILL LEVEL3: ExperiencedA seasoned do-it-yourselfer

TIME

Time per project can vary due to a number of factors. Therefore, each project has an estimated time of completion, ranging from one hour for smaller projects to up to ten hours for daylong projects.

MONETARY RETURN

Each chapter comes with an estimated MONETARY RETURN that falls within one of the following ranges:

$500$750

$750$1,000

$1,000$1,500

$1,500$2,500

Having been a homebuilder, home improvement consultant, and homeowner, I cant stress enough how important it is to keep your home in good physical shape. Taking just a few minutes a day to implement the tasks found in this book can help you from unnecessarily throwing buckets of hard earned cash out the window and saving you from pulling out your hair from the stress of a needless emergency. From simple do-it-yourself tasks to contracted improvements, you will know what to look for, what is needed, and how it should look when complete. Weve got work to do. So, put on that tool belt and lets get going!

PART I
Your Homes
Exterior

Chapter

Exterior Upkeep

The combination of hot and cold temperatures with wind and water over time can cause exterior finishes and surfaces to become dull, worn, and unstable. The purpose of this chapter is to give you simple solutions to a variety of issues that arise in the areas outside your home. Whether theyre maintenance suggestions to avoid costly repairs or installations to increase your home's worth, the tasks in this chapter will have you outside enjoying the fresh air and adding value to your home.