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Ways to Refresh Your Home Before Listing

Ways to Refresh Your Home Before Listing

by | Sep 19, 2024 | Checklists & Guides, Helpful Guidance, Maintenance, Residential Renovation

When preparing to list your home, clearing out and modernising the space can make a significant difference. To help you boost your home’s appeal to buyers, we’ve put together a list of simple yet effective ways to refresh your space.

All of the services below are offered by our team here at 5 Star Building &  Construction. For more information, contact us here.

Remove Personal Items and Declutter
Clearing out excess items and family photos helps create a neutral environment, allowing potential buyers to envision their own lives in the space more easily.

Deep Clean
A clean home is far more attractive to potential buyers. Even if your property isn’t the most modern, a spotless space can make it feel comfortable and inviting. Pay extra attention to high-traffic areas like kitchens and bathrooms, and ensure windows, skirting boards, and ceiling corners are dust-free.

Painting
A fresh coat of paint can instantly brighten up a room. For homes going on the market, it’s best to choose light, neutral colours such as soft whites, beiges, or light greys. These shades tend to have a more modern and universal appeal.

Tidy up garden
A well-kept garden can greatly enhance your home’s curb appeal. Trim hedges, plant flowers, and power-wash walkways and the driveway. Adding a new doormat or placing bright flowers around the porch is also a nice touch.

Minor Repairs
If your budget allows, consider making small repairs, such as fixing loose cupboard handles or repairing leaky faucets. These minor fixes can go a long way in enhancing the property’s overall feel and prevent it from falling into the ‘fixer-upper’ category in a buyer’s mind.

Lighting
Maximise natural light by opening curtains and blinds. Replace dim bulbs with higher-wattage ones to make rooms appear larger and more welcoming.

Preparing Your Home for Peak Hurricane Season

Preparing Your Home for Peak Hurricane Season

by | Sep 5, 2024 | Checklists & Guides, Hurricane Preparedness, Landscaping & Outdoors, Maintenance

September has historically been the peak period for hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin. While there was reduced activity around the end of August and forecasters have revised their predictions for the level of activity to be lower, the forecast remains unchanged for September and predicts a busy month. It is therefore crucial to prepare your home.

Ideally, you should always ensure you are prepared for the season, making sure you have regular property maintenance checks scheduled throughout the season. However, with everyone returning from summer breaks and the back-to-school rush, we understand that sometimes, there can be delays in getting things fixed around the home. Hurricanes can cause significant damage with high winds, the potential for flying hazardous debris, as well as heavy rain and flooding. Therefore, addressing any home issues now, before going further into September 2024, is critical.

Key Areas to Focus On

We have created a list of some key areas around your home to get checked for damage or repairs as soon as possible.

Roof and Gutters

  • Loose shingles: It’s important to check for loose shingles on your roof. Some damaged roofs and loose shingles look more obvious, but other shingles may be loose without appearing so. Either way, it’s important to get a professional to inspect them. While shingles might not have fallen off or do not appear damaged, they could have been loosened earlier in the year, for example, by winds from Hurricane Beryl, making them more likely to slip and become potentially hazardous debris if we have another storm.
  • Clean gutters: It’s vital to ensure you have your gutters regularly cleaned to ensure proper water flow and to reduce flooding around your home. Clearing them out before a peak storm period is especially important, so if leaves fall into the gutters, there is as little build-up as possible from before.

 

Windows and Doors

  • Seal cracks and repairs to surrounding walls: If you haven’t already, take some time to inspect your doors and windows for any cracks, gaps, or water leak bubbles. It’s important for these to be addressed and sealed before the next storm, or it could potentially make cracks bigger or allow more water to seep in, causing further damage.
  • Shutter checks & risk reports, or installing plywood: If you already have shutters installed, it’s always good to have a shutter check and risk report done by professionals to make sure there’s no damage. If you’re do not have shutters, it’s important to know where to get suitable plywood and have a plan in place for who can install it. However, many newer condos and homes have hurricane-proof windows, so you may not require them.

 

Landscaping and Exterior

  • Trim trees and remove weak branches: This helps prevent branches from being swept up by the wind and potentially damaging the exterior of a house or car.
  • Securing items in outdoor spaces With summer winding down, we’re sure many have had outdoor gatherings, BBQs, and, for those with kids, many toys, swings, or blow-up pools around the garden. It’s important to have a plan for safe storage to ensure everything is packed away in good time if a storm were to arise.

 

At 5 Star we’re here to help with all of your home and garden needs, including home preparations for hurricane season. For more information visit: 5 Star Hurricane Preparation Services

Please note: We kindly ask that you allow us 2 days ahead of a storm to carry out any works. This is to ensure we can complete the works in a careful, comprehensive, and safe manner. However, we also understand that sometimes issues arise suddenly too. We do offer emergency maintenance services (additional costs can apply—more information is available on our hurricane preparation page).

Plywood vs built-in shutters: What’s the difference?

Plywood vs built-in shutters: What’s the difference?

by | Mar 3, 2024 | Checklists & Guides, Helpful Guidance, Hurricane Preparedness, Maintenance

Prepping Windows for Hurricane Season

When preparing for hurricane season, installing some form of shutters whether it’s plywood or built-in shutters is an important part. However some wonder, ‘what’s the difference between the two?’, ‘it is better to get built-in shutters or can plywood suffice?’. In this article, we break down some of the differences below.

Materials & Durability

The materials for built-in shutters vs plywood differs. Built-in shutters are normally made from metal, aluminium or other durable materials made to withstand storm-force winds or flying branches and other debris.

Plywood can be used to shield windows and can block some of the debris but there is not always a  guarantee as they are not shutters professionally built for purpose. Still, it is a good option for scenarios where you have shorter notice and don’t have time to build the shutters.

Cost

Plywood is cheaper than getting built-in shutters. However, while it might be pricy to install, built-in shutters are usually more durable. Plywood will have greater wear and tear and will usually need to be purchased each hurricane season.

As a result, the purchasing of the plywood over the years might end up being greater than the cost of the built-in shutters.

Convenience

Similar to the point above, with built-in shutters you only need to open and close them during the storm season. Having plywood takes greater time in terms of placing an order in for the wood and getting it installed and removed each season.

On the other side of the coin, as mentioned in the first section, when installed correctly, it can be a quick way to keep your windows safe with short notice.

Appearance

When judging options for aesthetics, naturally having built-in shutters installed will make for a more cohesive look for your home. Plywood will usually be quite bare and may stand out and not match the home.

Whatever the decision at this time, the team at 5 Star are here to help! For more information on our hurricane shutter installations (includes temporary shutter installation, installing plywood and recommendations of what’s right for your home) click here. While the season may not start until June, it is vital to start early! Measurements, ordering materials and installation can take time so it’s best to start well in advance of the season.

This is one of the main things to prepare for leading up to the hurricane season. View our other article which includes a Hurricane Preparedness Checklist for your property, providing some other advice and tips on what to get organised before June.

Hurricane Preparedness 2024: Property Maintenance Starter Checklist

Hurricane Preparedness 2024: Property Maintenance Starter Checklist

by | Feb 29, 2024 | Checklists & Guides, Helpful Guidance, Hurricane Preparedness, Maintenance

Hurricane Season Property Prep

 

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from the 1st of June to 30th November.

While we are only in February, the time to start 2024 hurricane preparations, particularly 2024 hurricane preparations for your property, is now! Home repairs and preparations needed before the hurricane season can take weeks or months in some cases to ensure quality results. Therefore doing it at a time before the season and heavy rainfall/winds helps reduce interruption of inspection work and preprations, ensuring a good job and minimsing risk as much as possible.

Here are a few things to consider getting inspected and prepared before the hurricane season:

Roof Inspections

It is recommended that you have a roof inspection of your home at least twice a year, with one of those inspections being pre-Hurricane season. Having your roof inspected is an important step in hurricane preparations. This can help to check the durability of the roof, looking to see if there are any loose shingles or problem points which need to be addressed. Addressing and repairing these not only helps with minimising damage to your home during storms e.g. preventing water from getting through, but also preventing any of the looser shingles being picked up during heavy storm winds and becoming hazardous debris.
5 Star offers roof inspections for single story and double story properties.

You can book your appointment for roof inspections now.

Installing Shutters or Buying Plywood

After roof inspections, installing or checking up on your shutters or getting plywood is another key preparation step. If you currently have shutters, it’s good to get these inspected before the season to ensure there’s no damage and they’re able to be closed properly. For those wishing to install shutters or getting plywood, the installation process may take one to two days or less, but enough time should be left for measurements, purchasing of materials, which sometimes require pre-ordering from overseas.

Deciding whether you should get shutters or plywood? We offer more detail in our article here on the benefits of each, the differences and what might work for you.

Tree trimming and removing any other hazardous debris

Ensuring overhanging or dead branches are trimmed and removed is also essential. These branches can easily be removed in strong winds and pose risk to your property, car and other areas. The same applies for any other broken parts around the house such as the gutters, garden tools or debris.

5 Star’s landscaping services includes tree trimming, garden cleanup and more. For more information about these services, click here.

This is just a snapshot of some of the areas of your property to check and get inspected before the hurricane season. If you have any questions about hurricane preparedness for your home or want to learn more about what’s covered in the inspections or appointments, contact us here.

Make sure to also check out Hazard Management’s website caymanprepared.ky for more information on a hurricane preparedness checklist for yourself and your family along with a list of hurricane shelters and the latest news and guidance from the Cayman Islands Government.

Power Washing homes in the Cayman Islands: What you need to know

Power Washing homes in the Cayman Islands: What you need to know

by | Jan 19, 2024 | Checklists & Guides, Maintenance

Power Washing Services

 

Power washing is one of our many 5 Star maintenance services available for residential and commercial properties in Grand Cayman.

Power washing is an effective tool to remove years of mold, mildew, stains, and dirt whether on your external walls, driveway, or garage. It’s a great way to refresh your house, to make it look brand new.

At 5 Star, we offer a tailored experience for maintenance services such as power washing. To ensure best results, there’s a few factors to consider, depending on the property. Some of these include:

House is near the water

Being an island, we have many properties near the water!

Whether it’s oceanfront or near canals, having a property near the water may lead to greater moisture in the area, which can cause a buildup of mold or mildew on the walls.

Usually, this means your property will need  more power washing sessions to keep everything well maintained.

Proximity of vegetation

If your property is near to bushes, trees and other vegetation, the walls or driveway may get stained by leaves, tree sap and thus more power washing may be needed than other homes.

How close the trees or shrubs are to the house is also important for determining the power washing chemicals used. At 5 Star we always suggest a site visit before starting services and will review how close the trees are and the best way to proceed.

Sun Exposure

Adding to the previous point, proximity of vegetation or other objects can block the property from having direct sunlight, thus impacting the service as well. For those more in direct sunlight, the drying time after power washing can be quicker and thus help prevent new growth of mold. For those with properties more in the shade, there will need to be considerations for the fact it can take longer to dry after the service  – especially in our climate that is very humid.

With this in mind, we also suggest trying to get the majority of your power washing sessions done outside of the hurricane season in Cayman to avoid power washing periods in heavy rainfall.

If your property fits any of the above, we would normally recommend you do power washing every 3 months. However, we always find a site visit of your property is best to ensure we tailor the service to fit your property’s needs, ensuring your property remains in great shape year round! To learn more about our power washing services click here.

Don’t Panic Moments: What to do when a pipe bursts?

Don’t Panic Moments: What to do when a pipe bursts?

by | Nov 29, 2023 | Checklists & Guides, Maintenance, Urgent Help

Emergency maintenance issue?

 

Your pipe bursts.

It can be a moment of panic, especially if it’s outside of normal hours.

However, the most important thing is to remain calm and follow the instructions below swiftly to ensure the least amount of damage and issues for your home.

We have created 5 immediate steps below to follow in the event your pipe bursts.

1. Turn off the main water shut off valve

There is an internal stop valve for water in many houses in Cayman and these might be found in garages etc. However, as a first step, especially where there is extensive flooding, it’s best to use the external main water stop valve.

Unlike the internal stop valve, this will shut off all the water supply going into your home meaning the water will stop regardless of if the leak is coming from an internal or external source.

This main shut off valve is usually outside along the perimeter of your home.

2. Find the source of the leak

The leak may be easier to find in obvious places such as the ceiling, bathroom pipes or pipes under the kitchen sink.

It’s important to do a thorough check of nearby rooms if there’s not a clear source, especially if it’s near to another door. For example, water heater leaking out from storage room into the next room.

Any water near entrances to another room should be followed to ensure there is no further leaking or water damage.

If you still aren’t able to find the source, not to worry as the maintenance team can help. We only suggest you try to locate it in the interim so you’re able to soak up water as soon as possible (see next point).

3. Soak / gather up the water

Use buckets, cloths or towels to gather up any excess water in the interim of a professional team arriving to minimize damage as much as possible.

4. Note down the damage and area

Whilst waiting on the plumber/maintenance team to arrive this is a good moment to make a note and take photos of any extensive damage that may require an insurance claim.

5. Contact 5 Star on their urgent helpline

At 5 Star we help with a range of emergency maintenance situations including burst pipes.

To learn more about out urgent help services click here.

Also make sure to download our printable PDF that is a condensed version of this article for what to do when your pipe burst to have it on file or share with family and friends.

Download PDF here