Winter in Greenwich, CT can feel like a time of dormancy and stillness, but this season can also provide a wonderful opportunity to make progress on the performance, aesthetics and market value of your home. This time of the year, after the holidays and before the warmer months, provides the downtime needed to focus on the home maintenance and home repair projects you’ve been meaning to tackle.
Another reason winter in Greenwich, CT can be a smart time for home maintenance and remodeling projects is that tradespeople are not as busy as other times of the year. In busy renovation months, like spring and summer, even simple renovations can take months to complete. Reach out to Duffy Home Solutions property management team to discuss the following projects.
There are likely a number of unfinished spaces in your home that would be excellent candidates for refinishing. Attics and basements, for example, can be remodeled quite efficiently. These spaces are perfect for a home office, gym, playroom, pantry or media room. Storage is also something to consider. Finished, climate-controlled rooms are excellent for storing items, particularly those of value.
The residential property management team at Duffy Home Solutions provides full build-out services for unfinished space. Our professional team of luxury home remodeling and home design experts can handle the full scope of your project including conceptual planning, project execution and fully fitting out your new space.
According to HGTV columnist Kathy McCleary, “kitchen or bath remodeling is a sure-fire investment, often returning more than 100 percent of the cost.” And winter is a great time to tackle a bathroom remodel.
The Duffy Home Solutions property management team can guide and facilitate Greenwich homeowners through bathroom renovations of any scope. We will ensure the project is handled with efficiency and an eye for detail. Our streamlined process ensures that you avoid the headaches associated with coordinating unreliable contractors, changing timeliness and unexpected costs. Our team will provide:
Your project can also be coordinated and scheduled around an upcoming winter or spring vacation for increased efficiency and convenience.
It doesn’t take long for a kitchen to lose its luster or simply go out of style. And sometimes you just want the space to function better as your needs evolve. Oftentimes kitchen renovations don’t require a full gut job. Kitchen remodels can be effective with just a refresh that may include new countertops and/or backsplash, additional cabinet or island space, fixtures or new cabinets. Items such as flooring, moldings, and plaster or wallboard can remain in place in a refresh.
This winter the Duffy Home Solutions Design-Build team can help you strategically scope a kitchen refresh project that will update the style, comfort and functionality of your kitchen without the expense of a full renovation.
Given today’s extremely long lead times on new furniture, it may make sense to repair certain existing pieces. The Duffy Home Solutions Property Management team’s in-house designers can orchestrate the repair and updating of your existing furniture. Re-upholstering otherwise good quality chairs, sofas and headboards can be a fun and exciting way to upgrade the look and comfort of your favorite furniture items. We can also oversee the repair and refinishing of your wood furniture using expert furniture finishers.
Paint color is one of the most obvious design elements that can make a room look dated. Newly updated color-schemes can dramatically enhance the aesthetics of your home. The Duffy Home Solutions Property Management team can guide you with a new palate for a particular room or for the entire home. We also coordinate accessories to tie it all together! The cold winter months in Greenwich, CT are an opportune time to repaint while painters generally have less work.
Winter in Greenwich, CT means that trades are more available for renovation projects. When you’re a Duffy Home Solutions property management customer you have one point of contact for all of your home renovation, remodel, repair and maintenance needs. Handling home maintenance work this way provides peace of mind, makes things run easier and smoother, and ensures that all of your home projects will be handled by local experts in their field.
Doors and windows are constantly being opened and closed, and sometimes not so gracefully. Wear and tear can lead to issues. Some are minor, such as squeaking or misalignment. Some problems, however, can lead to water infiltration or loss of warm or cool air. At Greenwich Home Management our residential property management team has repaired and replaced numerous doors and windows in and around the Greenwich, CT area. Home renovation can be an excellent time to replace windows and doors, but sometimes you just need a quick fix. Let’s take a look at some of the more common issues.
If your doors are making squeaking noises, the solution may be as easy as applying WD40 to the hinges. If noise persists, and you’re also experiencing rattling and/or the door is not opening and closing smoothly, then you may need to tighten and/or adjust the hinges to realign them. These are the types of jobs that a property management company can help with.
Door and window parts break down over time, particularly in the Greenwich, CT climate. Homes are subject to ever changing conditions such as heat, cold, snow, ice and rain across all seasons. Door weather stripping can degrade and come off. Doors can also become misaligned, allowing gaps at the bottom that let air in. Window sashes, gaskets and weather stripping can shrink and degrade and older window glazing can break down and fall off.
If you’re conducting a home renovation, this is a great time to have your property management team install new, energy efficient windows and exterior doors. Making an investment in high quality products will make all the difference here. If you’re just looking to repair a single drafty door or window, call your residential property management team. For short term fixes they can replace glazing and weather stripping or make adjustments to the door to eliminate gaps.
Interior or exterior doors can become stuck, making it a challenge to open and close them. One of the main causes of a stuck door is summertime humidity. The wooden door absorbs moisture and swells. Fixing this issue starts by identifying where the door is getting stuck. If the point of contact is the door jam, your property management team may shave just a bit off with a hand planner. Sometimes the door hinge mortise’s may need to be deepened to pull the door away from the jam a bit.
When planning wood from a door, it’s important not to remove too much. The wood will shrink back in the wintertime. Also, to help avoid moisture from getting into the door again, any unfinished wood surfaces should be painted – including the top and bottom of the door. Sometimes it’s just more efficient to replace a stuck door. Just make sure all sides are sealed with paint before the door is hung.
Several issues can cause window condensation. If you’ve just built a new renovation or home addition the space may be too air tight. This can be good for keeping warm and cool air in, but the downside is lack of ventilation. Warm, humid air from cooking or showers can cause condensation on the inside of windows when the moist air hits the cold glass in the wintertime. If homes are too tight, trapped moisture, in places other than on windowpanes, can cause mold. Home ventilation systems can help circulate the air and eliminate the issue.
If condensation if building up inside multi-pane windows, you likely have a broken seal. If the windows are relatively new they may be covered under warranty. If they are older windows they’ll likely need to be replaced. Check with your residential property management company to help assess and repair any moisture issues.
The ever changing and harsh climate of Greenwich, CT can make even high quality windows and doors function improperly over time. Greenwich Home Management provides year round residential property management services. For jobs large and small we’ll bring in a skilled handyman or experienced local tradesman to help get the problem fixed.
