10 Spring Home Maintenance Tips

(originally posted April, 2015)


FINALLY!  It seems old man winter has loosened his grip and it’s time to make sure your home is prepared for those April showers, along with the heat and humidity that soon follow.

Some tips for preparing for the long awaited spring and summer seasons:

1. Before the first mow, make sure to sharpen the cutting blade and change the engine oil in your lawn mower.

2. Repair any exterior paint that is cracked or peeling.  Paint provides a protective barrier, so make sure your home is protected!

3. Power wash outside surfaces such as decks, fences and driveways.  Inspect the surfaces for damage and repair if necessary.

4. You know you want to open those windows, so make the most out of the fresh air and beautiful views by cleaning not only your windows, but also your screens!  Gently scrub with soapy water and inspect for any holes in your screen. Getting the gunk off of your screens helps improve air flow and your views. Patch any hole larger than a dime that can allow insects through.  Save an old screen for patching other screens later.

5. While we’re talking windows, make sure to check the caulk or seals around your windows and repair or replace as needed by scraping off the old and re-caulking.  This can help with A/C bills as well as prevent water damage to your home.

6. Clean or replace your HVAC filters.  Dirty filters make your system work less efficiently, increasing cost and wear and tear to your unit.

7. Clean your gutters. It’s important that all the water from those April showers is directed away from your foundation and roof.

8. Drain your water heater to remove sediment that builds up in the tank.  This can reduce your electric bill and prolong the life of your water heater.

9. Trim overgrown hedges, trees and vines to help prevent mold and mildew growth as well as to help keep pests away.  A good rule of thumb is to keep branches at least 7 ft. from your house.

10. Check your foundation.  If you see any cracks, you’ll want to call in a professional.  Foundation cracks can’t simply be caulked.


For help with your next home remodel project, contact us.  We are happy to help!

Spring Home Maintenance Tips

(Originally posted March 2014)

Spring is ALMOST here.  The first robins have been spotted, daylight savings time is upon us and the first of the early spring flowers are starting to poke up out of the ground.  With each new month, there are different home maintenance tasks you can perform to keep your home in tip top shape.  Spend a little time each month doing different home maintenance tasks and you’ll save a lot of money in the future.

1. First things first, when you change your clocks, change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

2. Test your water heater. Bad valves can cause major problems so open the pressure and temperature relief valve and allow some water to flow out. If little or no water flows out or it doesn't shut off, replace it.

3. Prepare for those April showers by making sure your sump pump works.  This is easy to do by simply pouring some water into the pump silo to raise the float.  If the motor doesn’t turn on, you have a problem.

4. Inspect grout and caulk around tubs, showers and sinks.  If you spot mildew, clean the grout with a mildew removing household cleaner.  If you can’t remove the stain, remove the caulk and replace it with a mildew resistant type.

5. Remove pop up drain plugs and drain traps under sinks and give them a thorough cleaning.

Check back regularly for more home maintenance tips, design trends and ideas.  As always, feel free to contact us if we can provide any assistance with your home building or remodeling needs.

Preparing Your Home for Extreme Cold

(originally posted 1/6/14) on samsbrothers.net)

I am about to type the most redundant statement of the day, "It's COLD!"  It's not just your normal January cold; it's an extreme, frozen tundra kind of cold.  Is your home prepared to handle it?  One of the most common problems with this excessive cold is frozen pipes. Do you know what to do if your pipes freeze or even worse, freeze and burst?  The best thing you can do is be prepared.  Make sure any exposed pipes are covered with insulation, plastic or newspaper.  In addition, confirm that you know where your home's main water valve is located.  Check the line coming into your house to ensure that it isn't rusted or blocked by debris preventing you from turning the valve in case a pipe does burst.   

If you haven't had the opportunity to prepare your pipes, leave your faucets on a slow drip during the coldest temperatures to help prevent freezing.  You can also open cabinet doors to allow heat to get to pipes under sinks that aren't insulated.  In addition, make sure you know  how to shut off the main water line to your house.  You can find simple, step by step instructions with pictures, here.  Make sure to leave water faucets turned on when you shut your main valve off.

As always, feel free to contact us if we can help with any winter preparation or emergency repairs, we're happy to help!

Fall Home Maintenance Tips - Preparing to keep warm

Originally posted on www.samsbrothers.net on August 27, 2013

Can you believe it's already time to start preparing for fall?  Fall home maintenance is an important step to prevent any unpleasant surprises during the cold of winter.

A few items to make sure you check are:

1.  The chimney - Make sure to inspect your chimney annually for creosote build up. Creosote accumulates in your chimney and can cause a disastrous fire, even if you don't use your fireplace frequently.

2.  Inspect your furnace - Have your furnace inspected each fall by a professional, before the heating season begins.

3.  Furnace filter - make sure your filter is clean.  A clogged filter makes it harder to keep your house warm, increasing your utility bill.  In addition, a dirty filter can't trap all the dust in your air, thereby increasing the amount of time you have to spend dusting your furniture!

If you have any questions about fall home maintenance, you can trust the professionals at Sams Brothers, Inc.  Contact us, we'd be happy to help!

Helpful Tips for Your Holiday Guests

Planning on having guests stay over during the holidays?  We all want our guests to enjoy their stay, so here are some tips to help make their stay even better!

Create an “In case you forgot” basket to keep in the guest room, stash easily forgotten necessities such as:

- A toothbrush  - Mouthwash
- Toothpaste - Disposable razors
- Soap - Floss
- Shampoo
- Pain Reliever
- Lotion
- Makeup removing wipes


If you can’t entertain or be the tour guide for your guests the entire time they are visiting,  include in this basket a local map, brochures for local attractions, a calendar of local events, etc. so your guests can have all the information they need to get out and about on their own if they need or want to.

Create a shelf in your pantry just for your guests and show them where it is. This way, they can help themselves to often needed items whenever they like without feeling guilty or like they need to ask permission.  Keep on your guest shelf items such as:

- Coffee - Chocolates
- Tea - Nuts
- Sugar/sweeteners - Trail Mix
- Honey - Crackers
- Fruit - If they brought a pet, pet treats

Keep the guest room simple and free of collectibles/knick knacks so that it’s easier to clean in preparation for company. If you store your collection of 500 miniature snow globes in the guest room, that’s a lot of cleaning to be done prior to your guests arriving. When cleaning in preparation, spend the most time on the guest bedroom and bath.  Your guests aren’t going to rummage through your bedroom closet, inspect under the sofa or do the white glove test on your furniture, so don’t stress about getting these areas sparkling.  Speed clean those areas and focus more on the areas your guests will be using.  

Most importantly, don’t sweat the small stuff, just enjoy the time with your company.  We at Sams Brothers would like to wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving and holiday season.  

For help with your next home remodel project, contact us.  We are happy to help!

Summer Home Maintenance Tips

(Originally posted July 2013)

Now that we are in the "Dog Days" of summer with high levels of heat and humidity, it's important to think about what effects the weather has on your home.  More specifically, the interior of your home.

Interior humidity can promote rot, attract pests (such as ants, dust mites, termites and cockroaches) and produce mold growth.  It's best to run air conditioning and/or a dehumidifier in the summer to reduce these risks. However, if you aren't able to do these things, there are other options to reduce the humidity level in your home/

Make sure you use the ventilation fans in your home.  You should have one in each bathroom, over the stove and in your attic.  In addition, ceiling fans or box fans can help bring down humidity levels.

If you have area rugs and are able to, store them during the summer.  Carpets reduce air quality and trap moisture.

Stay tuned for more home maintenance tips and home remodeling trends. As always, feel free to contact us if we can help with any of your building or remodeling needs.

Home Maintenance Tip - Attic fans

Don't forget to check your attic fan to make sure it is in proper running order. While checking your attic fan operation, also check your roof mounted turbine vent.  Help keep those Christmas decorations from melting! As always, feel free to contact us if we can help with any building or remodeling needs, we're happy to help!

2013 Home Remodeling Trends - Glass Backsplash

You know the saying, what goes around comes around. About a century ago, glass subway tiles were all the rage and now, they're back! While porcelain and ceramic mosaic tiles are still popular, the preferred trend when it comes to the kitchen backsplash is definitely glass tile. With a wide variety of color and size options, glass tile suits an array of design preferences.  From solid, to mosaic to the extremely popular subway tile, glass is in!

Another trend when it comes to the backsplash - bigger is better! Years ago, the kitchen backsplash was only about 4" in height, now it's normal to see a backsplash two to three times that height and even entire walls covered in backsplash tile.

We hope you are enjoying our series on home remodeling trends.  For help with your next home remodel project, contact us.  We are happy to help!

2013 Home Remodeling Trends - Open Floor Plans

Continuing our series on the most popular home renovation and remodeling trends of 2013, this post focuses on open floor plans.

After the housing market crisis, homeowners decided to focus on more functional spaces and less on luxurious spaces.   A decade ago, the spotlight was on grand master suites and luxury kitchens. Today, multi-purpose rooms and functionality come first, hence the popularity of the open floor plan. Open floor plans work well in homes with less square footage, which have also been more popular since the housing crisis.  In addition, open floor plans increase views and natural light.

If you would like help designing an open floor concept, you can trust the professionals at Sams Brothers, Inc.  Contact us, we'd be happy to help!

What to expect when you're expecting......a remodel

There are all kinds of handbooks to prepare you for a variety of major life events you may run into during the course of your lifetime. From how to deal with pregnancy, to child rearing for dummies, to how to start a business, and so on and so on.  But, do you really know what to expect during a remodel?

When you think about it, remodeling your home is a major life event.  If you’ve ever lived through one, you’ll agree.  It takes thought, preparation, time, patience and money. Those requirements are the same things you’ll need when deciding to expand your family (granted, not all of the time, but most of the time).  Your home is part of your family, or a large part of the family dynamics and after all the hard work, a huge reward that will make the process worth it. This is why we consider it a major life event.

At Sams Brothers, we will do everything we can to make the renovation/remodel process as easy as possible for you.  However, there are some things you should expect to encounter during the process. So, what should you expect when remodeling?  Here are a few things to be aware of:

1. It’s dirty!  Be prepared for dust in places you never thought dust could collect.  Even with plastic walls sealing off the area being remodeled, dust will escape and move throughout your house.  Your contractor will do everything they can to control it and keep it to an absolute minimum, but be aware; it will spread beyond the construction zone.

2. It’s noisy!  Construction requires tools.  Some tools are extremely loud and use air compressors (which are also loud), like nail guns, sanders, saws.  Some are just annoyingly loud, like the banging from a regular hammer.  If you need to work from home, you may be able to get away with it if your office space is far away from the construction space, but if it is close by, consider working somewhere else during construction.  If you work nights and want to sleep during the day, you may consider going somewhere else, or getting some really great ear plugs.

3. Expect the unexpected.  Things like weather and supplies on backorder can happen.  Let’s not forget that once you get behind the walls there is no telling what you’ll find, especially in older homes.  Anything from asbestos to termites to faulty wiring can be lurking behind your walls and until they are ripped down, you really have no way of knowing.  Be prepared for this with your budget and remember, your contractor can't always control unexpected things (like the weather) and doesn’t like breaking this bad news to you.

4. Changes.  Every single remodel has changes.  EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.  Why?  Because of the unexpected, because once the old is ripped out you see so much potential that you feel inspired and decide to upgrade.  Or, the opposite.  Once the unexpected occurs, you find you don’t have enough in your budget for the heated tile floors and decide to go with hardwood instead.  Maybe the new window creates a different light and you decide the paint color should change. There are lots of reasons for changes to occur and they will.  It’s important to be flexible and realistic with your budget and expectations.

5. Delays.  From the unexpected and the changes you can expect delays.   The contractor doesn’t like this anymore than you, but they are a fact of life when it comes to construction.  Knowing and expecting this from the beginning can help you to be prepared when it happens.

6. Frustration.  From the dust to the delays to having all those people in your house, a remodel can be frustrating and tiring.  Again, knowing what to expect from the beginning can help you be prepared.  So, take a deep breath, focus on the end result and spend as much time away as possible.

7. JUBILATION!!  When the project is over it will have been worth every single minute!  It will be worth it all.  Your home will be fabulous; your life will be more organized and functional.  Your home will be your new and improved soft spot to land, your safe haven that you enjoy going to at the end of the day.  You will want to throw a party so everyone can come see, so do it!  Enjoy!  And, invite your contractor.

To make sure your next home improvement project goes as smoothly as possible, contact the professionals at Sams Brothers, Inc.

Spring Home Maintenance Tip - Look up!

Now that spring has sprung (albeit on a temporary basis according to the weatherman), it's time to work on some spring home maintenance.  We will be posting reminders and tips over the next few weeks to help remind you of what should be done around your house each spring to keep it safe and in great condition.

While you're outside soaking up the sun, make sure you look up (just not directly at the sun)!  Instead check your gutters and downspouts.  It's important to keep debris from accumulating in order to avoid rainwater from pooling around your foundation and  leaking into your basement or crawlspace.  Not only will clogged gutters promote leaky basements, they can also cause costly damage to your home's foundation.

Stay tuned for more spring home maintenance tips and, as always, feel free to contact us if we can help with any of your building or remodeling needs.

Under Stair Storage Solutions

Need a mud room, storage room or even office space, but don't have the money for an addition? Have you thought about the empty space under your stairs?  We have innovative storage solutions to help get you organized!

For more helpful tips and ideas, check out and like our Facebook page.  If you'd like a free estimate on creating under stair storage solutions, contact us, we're happy to help!

Spring Deck Maintenance

Spring is almost here! Is your deck ready? Make sure you check under your deck, the posts, the flashing, railings, as well as the obvious areas for water damage, decay, rust, missing screws and/or nails, etc. Be sure your deck is safe! Let us know if we can help!