By Zoe Papadakis
Winter has its charm, but spring is the time for rebirth and renewal. Sprucing up your manufactured home maintains its value — especially if you plan to put the place up for sale. With spring around the corner, now is the time to make a checklist. When the weather warms up, get to work!
Skirting
Homeowners cannot overlook the skirting around a manufactured home. Skirting protects the house from unwanted pests like skunks, opossums, rats, and raccoons. It improves energy efficiency and keeps rain and wind from entering your home. Knowing how to install and maintain skirting is useful for DIYers. Choose materials like brick, metal, cinder block, vinyl, stone, or masonry.
Yard and Flowerbeds
Green grass, colorful flowers, tantalizing vegetable gardens, and ornamental shrubbery beautify the outside of your home. Whether you prefer to plant a garden around the perimeter or set up containers on a sunlit deck, nothing says “spring” like flowers and greenery. Shrub, hanging baskets, window boxes, and small shade trees color up the front of the house. A well-manicured lawn, native plants, and a birdfeeder draw feathered friends to your serene setting.
Front Porch Living
Think of it … sitting on the front (or back) porch with your favorite beverage in hand, fireflies in the yard, and that summertime sound of crickets. Sounds nice, yes? Now’s a good time to invest in a swing or rocker, a small patio set, or some lawn chairs. If you don’t have a deck or porch, build one! An outdoor deck is a nice place to stargaze.
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Mailbox
As part of your home’s curb appeal, a clean, painted, undented mailbox adds to a rural or suburban setting. Replace or repair broken mailboxes and plant some flowers around the post. Mailboxes don’t cost a lot of money, and you can find all kinds at your favorite home improvement store.
Indoors
Overhaul your home’s inside – do it all at once or one step at a time. Pressure-cleaning, painting, and new window coverings are a start to giving the house a dynamic new look.
- Artwork gives you something colorful to look at every day.
- Tear out old or moldy carpeting and lay some new linoleum, vinyl, or wood flooring.
- Update lighting with energy-efficient bulbs to brighten up each room. On that note, new light switches and switch plates give your home a modern look.
- Crown molding provides elegance to ceilings.
- Replace flat inside doors with stylishly carved ones.
New doors or a paint job on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets gives them a fresh look. Replace old cabinet hardware with new pulls to complement the décor.
Updating your manufactured home will cost a few bucks, to be sure. But home maintenance is part of the ownership package, so whether you plan to sell the house or live in it for years to come, it makes sense to make it work.
Zoe Papadakis is a retired financial adviser and an avid do-it-yourselfer. She enjoys doing yard work, building furniture and remodeling projects around her house. She recently built a new gazebo for the backyard.
