Last week, we shared some indoor home improvement project ideas perfect for our northern Nevada peeps—indoor because of the cold, wet weather that February and March bring. This week, we are turning our attention to outdoor home improvement projects for our southern Nevada friends—outdoor because it’s not blazing hot yet.
With no further ado, we give you Winter-Friendly House Projects: The Southern Nevada Edition. (Keep in mind that when spring and summer hit, these weather-driven projects can trade places, as northern Nevadans will want to tackle outdoor projects, and southern Nevadans will be happier and cooler taking on indoor projects.)
Project #1: Painting Outside
Ideal outdoor temps (between 50-90 degrees) combined with low average precipitation totals for the Las Vegas area point to March and April as being the ideal months to paint the exterior of your home. Typically, February’s not too shabby either if you’re an eager beaver.
In addition to choosing a new color that is more pleasing to your eye, the reasons for putting a couple coats of paint on the exterior of your home include proper home maintenance to ward off the damaging effects of Ma Nature; curb appeal for you and for potential buyers down the road; and increased value to your home.
For helpful tips on DIY exterior painting, This Old House is one of many valuable online resources. However, if just the thought of being at the top of a 10-foot ladder is daunting, consider hiring a professional.
Looking for color inspiration? HGTV and Houzz have you covered. (Keep in mind that if your home is governed by a homeowner’s association (HOA), your color choices will mostly likely be pared down for you. Be sure to get the HOA’s board approval before taking on any outdoor projects. They can legally make you redo or undo anything that’s not within the CC&Rs.
If your home was built before 1978 (the year lead paints were outlawed in the U.S.), you need to check for lead paint before proceeding. If the lead paint test comes up positive, you’ll need to budget for an abatement team to remove the hazardous paint.
Project #2: Lighting Outside
Want to add ‘wow’ to your yard or patio? Let us shed some light on the subject, quite literally. The truth is, balmy summer evenings and beautiful outdoor spaces were made for each other. Exterior lighting can help make your backyard the place to be this summer. One option is to put up string lights, which are popular these days for two reasons: they bring festivity to daily life and they are easy to hang yourself. Be sure to map out your design and measure before buying your lights.
There are many other easy-to-install, easy-to-love lighting options to consider to lighten the mood in your outdoor space. (Yep, pun intended.) They include solar powered and battery-operated outdoor lights like Malibu lights, Japanese paper lanterns and even good ol’ fire-powered tiki torches.
Project #3: Adding Coolness To The Mix
Las Vegas ranks as the country’s second hottest city during the summer, both in highest average highs and the highest average lows. The way we see it, heat doesn’t have to stop you from enjoying your backyard or patio. It is an extension of your home, after all, which brings us to the next winter project: The mister.
Water mister systems happen to work best in warm climates with low humidity. (Nevada pretty much owns that.) You can either buy a mister kit, or build a system from scratch. Either way, a mister allows you to enjoy the great outdoors more throughout the hot summer months. Before you get started, make sure the area in question has access to a water source, and that you can install the system eight to ten feet in height, and far enough away from windows so as not to cause water spots.
Read about Winter-Friendly House Projects in Northern Nevada
Share Your Great Home Improvement Projects
The more we dig, the more fun outdoor projects we dig, like building a water feature and hanging outdoor art. While the list of home improvement projects goes on and on, we’re going to stop right here. For now.
Whether you’ve tackled one of the projects above, or one of your own, please share your #DIYbrag on Facebook or Twitter.
