When the cooler weather sets in, we can be more inclined to hibernate and leave home maintenance for Spring and Summer. But if you tackle some of these Winter jobs now, you’ll be heading into Spring with less home maintenance to check off and a much tidier, safer and healthier garden. Check out our list of Winter maintenance projects below.
Here’s some Winter maintenance tasks for this weekend
CLEAN GUTTERS
Now that the deciduous trees have dropped all of their leaves, it’s a good time to clear the gutters of your house. Don’t forget that the gutters on your house perform a highly important role of channeling water away from the foundations, so they shouldn’t be overlooked. Cleaning the gutters ensures they are clear of debris and able to work efficiently in the event of a Winter storm or heavy rain, avoiding costly damage to your home. If you have a water tank, removing blockages will also mean more valuable water can flow to storage rather than overflowing and being wasted.
How to clean your gutters
Cleaning your house gutters is a fairly simple job and can be done yourself provided you have the right equipment. Make sure you’ve got the basics covered, such as gloves, dustpan brush, paint scraper and a bucket at the minimum. Using a ladder, especially if your house is double-storied, can be dangerous and also potentially cause damage to your gutters if you’re leaning it up against them. You might prefer to hire an EWP, Boom Lift, Cherry Picker or 4WD Scissor lift to make the job safer and easier. Working in small sections, pull out the debris with your hands and use the scraper to remove any stubborn bits. Once you’ve removed all the large leave litter and debris, use the brush to sweep the gutter. Rather than climbing up and down the ladder to offload the leaves and debris, it is usually easier to just drop it on to the ground below (if safe to do so), then rake it up later before disposing of it in compost or green waste bins. It’s probably impossible to completely remove all of the small debris and dust but this will eventually be washed away with rain, so don’t stress too much. An even easier option is to hire a Pressure Cleaner and use it to blow all the leaves and sticks out of the gutters, then clean up the mess down at ground level.
TRIM TREES & HEDGES
Winter is the ideal time to trim shrubs and hedges, while they are dormant. This will help them to grow back stronger and lusher come Spring and Summer. It’s also the best time to prune deciduous fruit trees, opening up the branch canopy and allowing more sunlight in. By trimming away the upper branches and letting the light in, the tree will be less susceptible to disease and fungus during the wetter, cooler months. In late winter, prune shrubs and plants that normally flower in Summer. This includes plants like impatiens, fuschias, and hibiscus. Modern roses also need pruning in the Winter months, but make sure you wait until mid-Winter or at least until they finish flowering. If you need to trim high-reaching branches, Coastal Hire & Sales has a range of equipment suitable for the job, such as chainsaws, pole-pruners, as well as hedge trimmers. For those extra hard-to-reach spots, we also recommend hiring an EWP, Cherry Picker, Scissor Lift or Boom Lift from our access range.
CLEAN DRIVEWAYS & PATHS
Stay on top of this job and you’ll definitely have less work to do come Spring, and you’ll be much safer too. Pressure clean the paths and driveways around your house to ensure they are free from moss or weeds that can make for slippery terrain. Don’t forget about decks and verandahs or even the front steps up to your house – any surface that can attract moss or mould should be cleaned regularly to avoid damage and to make them less hazardous. If you don’t have your own surface cleaner, Coastal Hire has a pressure and surface cleaner available for hire which you can view here.
REVAMP YOUR LAWN
Aerating your lawn stops the soil under the grass from becoming compacted. By aerating the soil, you will help the lawn to soak up more nutrients from the surface, as well as letting water get deep down into the roots. This will make your lawn more resilient over time and mean less watering in the long term. A win-win for all! Did you know that Coastal Hire has a lawn roller (with spikes) for hire? As Winter comes to a close and Spring draws nearer, it’s the ideal time to give your lawn a makeover. Coastal Hire has a Rotary Hoe that is perfect for digging up lawns and turning the soil in preparation for laying new turf. You can also hire our lawn roller to compact the soil prior to laying the turf down. The lawn-roller is a water-filled unit so is lightweight for ease of transport.
CLEAN YOUR HOUSE EXTERIOR
Just like your driveway and garden paths, the exterior walls of your house can be vulnerable to mould and damp during the Winter months. Get on top of this during winter by giving the walls a clean throughout winter. If you need to hire a surface cleaner, get in touch with the team at Coastal Hire and we’ll be happy to provide a quote based on your needs. If you’re feeling particularly energetic, now is also a good time to re-seal or re-paint any areas that need a touch-up, while the surfaces are clean. Exterior painting can be a big job and take up a bit of time if you don’t have the right gear. We recommend hiring a mobile scaffold system, EWP, Boom Lift or Scissor Lift, and Air Compressor for your paint gun from Coastal Hire and making your job much quicker and easier!
That concludes our list of Winter maintenance jobs
We hope that this list is helpful in getting you inspired to get outside this weekend and getting your house and garden in tip-top shape. Don’t forget that by doing it now, you’ll reduce your workload during the rest of the Seasons and ensure your house is safer and less susceptible to the elements in the long run. If you need a quote to hire any items to make your job even easier, feel free to contact the Coastal Hire & Sales team and we’ll be happy to help with a weekend hire rate. Happy DIY-ing!
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