Tool time as home improvements start

Early summer is an ideal time to complete home-improvement projects. Whether it’s a landscape update, installing new siding or replacement windows, or building a new deck or sunroom, no project is too big or small.

Get a head start by walking around your house to see what repairs need to be done and make a list. Get your kids involved with cleaning up the yard and making minor repairs. Kids can easily see whether there’s wood rot around the porch. Ask them to play detective and look for cracks in the driveway or loose planks on the deck.

Let’s look at three easy home-improvement ideas.

1. Window repair: Adding caulk around windows and doors can help you save on energy bills and make your home more comfortable. This is a fairly simple project that just requires caulk, a caulking gun and putty knife.

2. Deck/porch updates: Another simple project is nailing down loose deck boards. Loose boards can be a hazard, but they’re easy to fix. Using a nail or screw that will go through the board and into the framing, refasten any loose boards with a hammer or screwdriver.

3. Landscape improvements: Updating your yard is an inexpensive way to add curb appeal to your home. Add some colorful flowering plants such as asters, daisies, dahlia and iris. The “coreopsis grandiflora” or “sunray” is a bright-yellow perennial that will brighten even the darkest corner of your yard. Be sure to trim bushes and trees that require it.

The Marysville real estate market is and will remain very hot. Pending sales will reach their highest levels during May and June. This is a normal seasonal trend. So if you are planning to make those improvements to sell your home or just spending quality time outside in the yard make sure to be safe .

Todd Fahlman writes a monthly real estate column for this newspaper.