4 Men 1 Lady

a lifestyle blog about the persuit of bringing beauty to a house full of men.

Seasonal maintenance + ACE card giveaway.

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I am part of the ACE Hardware blogging panel which sponsored this post and product. 

A few weeks ago I announced my joining the ACE blogger team. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them.  I’ve always felt that ACE has the mom-and-pop shop feel which has gone by the way side.  Every time I walk in I’m always greeted by someone eager to help and walk me to where I need to be.  No wandering through a store trying to figure out where things are and what they’re used for.  Quality products + helpful employees.  Fist bump ACE!

Today I get to kick off my first ACE sponsored project.  Our task this month was to complete a project centered around weatherizing your home.  I decided it was high time to give some attention to all the wood trim on the exterior of our home.  As the temperatures fluctuate from season to season the wood on your home expands and contracts.  Unfortunately it can leave your once perfect seams and joints separated.  Three years ago we updated the front exterior of our home by adding a column and siding to the bay window.

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Everything was perfectly built, caulked, sealed and painted at that time.
Fast forward to 2015 you can see just how much damage changing temperatures and a little bit of seasonal weather has caused…

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The wood trim has come apart everywhere on the house.  Our house has started to venture in to the frumpy zone.

IMG_5803 with logo

The cracks around our new windows has also allowed air to come in making it not very energy efficient.

IMG_5808 with logo

Another problem we’ve encountered is nesting insects.

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While inspecting all the cracked and separated trim we found that bees had begun to make a hive under a section of hollow trim.
Suffice it to say there was an “Oh he$@ no!” uttered.

Fortunately, repairing separating trim is really not that difficult with a few simple steps.

Repair and recaulk wood trim

1. Cut as much existing caulk away as possible.  This can be done with a utility knife.
2. Remove any other debris and dirt from the area.
3. Sand all flaking paint and uneven surfaces.  Wipe and clean well.
(Use caution when sanding paint that may have been applied prior to 1978 as it may be lead based and can cause very serious health problems).
4. Using some exteirior caulk apply a bead down the cracked surface.
5. I picked up some Dap Clear Caulk at my local ACE Hardware.  You can also use white or paintable caulk depending on your surface.
6.  I use my wet finger to smooth down the caulk in to the crack which makes a tight seal.  After it has dried, reapply if necessary so there are no other cracks.
7.  Once the caulk as dried you can paint.
“Caulk and paint make a carpenter what he ain’t”.

Re-caulking around windows is especially important.

window caulking

Brand new windows don’t make that big of a difference if they aren’t sealed properly around the frame.

After seeing just how much the wood trim has separated we’ve now officially added this task to our spring and fall yearly maintenance list.

ACE Hardware wants help you weatherize your home by giving one lucky reader a $100.00 gift card to their store.

This giveaway has closed.  Congratulations to Cindy Kreb, winner of the giftcard!

Comments

  4. I would use the $100 Ace Hardware giftcard to buy a nail gun. I am working on putting crown molding throughout my condo.

  10. We recently moved into a new with every wall painted light green. I would love to get some paint and supplies to make the house more of our home.

  19. Thank you for this information. This month has been consistently frigid and we are feeling it in the house, so I’m thinking the hubby and I better check our caulking.

    I would use the gift card on materials to fix up our dining room — patching & painting supplies. We love our local Ace.

  23. That would go toward the spring repairs I have waiting for me when things thaw out in a few weeks, sand for the kids sandbox, resealing gaps around our crawlspace and foundation. So much to do when it stops being -11 degrees.

  26. I would LOVE to win this gift card! We are getting ready to do an overhaul of all our beds in our yard, and our local ACE sells the mulch we’d like to use.

  29. I wish our snow would melt, You did a great job, and now I’m anxious about what I have to do. 🙂 Also, on Ace I would buy a paint sprayer, I need one!

  30. I love ACE! Our store even has a popcorn machine so you can snack while you shop. And I NEED paint. Gotta end table that needs some work!

  31. I would buy seeds for our future garden (even though it is covered in a foot of snow) and paint! My basement is in NEED of a fresh coat of paint!

  32. We just bought a house and still have so many little (and a few big) maintenance things to complete.

  33. Awesome giveaway! We are building a home for our little family so it would be used on building material.

  35. We have a horrible bush we want to get rid of and I would love to add pavers in its place to create a small sitting spot in the front yard.

  36. What a well timed post! We’ve recently been debating whether this a job that we can do ourselves and it looks like we can!
    Thanks!

  37. As a kid, my dad did a lot of maintenance and building projects around our house; his dad, my grandpa, was very handy with all kinds of tools and had flipped several houses over the course of his life. My dad, being the equal-opportunity housework slave-driver that he is, tried to “interest” me in his fix-it and building projects when I was younger. I had none of it. Fast forward fifteen years, and now all the sudden I wish I’d been paying attention all those years ago! I’m currently building up my tool arsenal, and I would really like a nice sander. I think that’s what I would pick up with the $100!

  38. I’d probably put my $100 towards the table saw I’ve been dreaming about for a while now! (We LOVE our Ace store!)

  40. I would rescreen a few of our window screens (ahem, children’s rooms, ahem scissor incident and toddler fingers poking around) There are also a few windows that are frayed from previous hail damage. Lovely midwest storms 🙂

  41. I would use the $100 Ace Hardware giftcard to buy paint. I am selling my house and need to change the colors.

  47. We love our local ACE! They know us by name and always have a treat for our dog! We try to buy as much as possible there when it comes to home products because we like supporting neighborhood businesses. This time of year, we’re spending most of our money in their garden section!

  52. Oooohhhhhh! I would put it towards buying one of those hanging/sliding barn door kits for our shed!

  53. Yep, it’s definitely time for our house to be re-caulked! I’d purchase caulk (you can’t ever have enough) and maybe some fertilizer for the flowers.

  62. I would save the gift card until spring time and buy things for my garden and backyard like soil, seeds and flowers.

  65. I would stock up on their bird seed (Ace has great birdseed at a good price!) and get new gardening tools for my spring planting. I also need some paint!

  72. I would buy Benjamin Moore paint to help my newlywed daughter and her husband
    paint their new “fixer upper”!

  73. I would buy Benjamin Moore paint to help my newlywed daughter and her husband
    with their new “fixer upper”!

  74. I’d love to get a fire pit but I know I should do exactly what you just did… decisions, decisions…

  78. I would use it towards paneling for my livingroom walls which needs to be covered thanks for the chance to win

  84. Definitely some new tools! The hubby has really gotten into woodworking later and I’m loving all the results of it 🙂 So tools and some stain to keep up his hobby!

  85. WOW! who knew … so much to do in spring … good thing we’re *springing ahead* tonight … more daylight hours to work fingers to the bone … LOL LOL … serious, this would be an awesome win and we would love it … we rent (first time in 37+ years!) and are moving in summer and this place (with 9 people — 5 kids/boys) surely needs some fixin’ up before the move-out-inspections …….. paint, put trim back on the *heathens* broke off, spindles on the stairs, fix — not cheap!! yea,great prize … pick me, pick me, pick me! ;-))

  86. I need this to spruce up our back yard – my son is graduating in a few months and I plan on throwing a big party for him! This would be a lifesaver:)

  87. This Spring we are FINALLY FINISHING our bathroom!!! 🙂 I would love to have the extra money to put towards making it my dream bathroom. Thanks for the chance!

  95. I’d buy caulk for my windows and trim too! Plus, materials for a DIY coak rack. 🙂

  97. We have SO many projects for our new-to-us house I don’t even know where to start, but we also need to weatherize!

  99. I would get a new kitchen faucet. Mine leaks and has been repaired so many times it’s not funny. or attractive.

  101. I would use the card to buy some paint we need to paint the bathroom and master bedroom!

  103. I would get a motion-detector sprinkler to try and deter the stray cats from using my flower beds as a litterbox. yuck!

  104. What a great give-a-way. I am ALWAYS buying paint at our ACE. It would be fun to look around and venture in to another area. We moved into a new home on November 1 and so have yet to see our spring and summer residence. I’ve been wanting for some rope LED lights for our 3 season porch.

  108. I would buy some new screening materials to replace old screens and mulch for my gardens!

  111. This came at the perfect timing, as i was just thinking about recaulking around my house.

  122. what wouldnt i do! there is so much! but i would really like to get rid of the 1970 bathroom wallpaper and paint and possibly a new vanity! what matches greenish yellow tiles?

  123. what wouldnt i do! there is so much! but i would really like to get rid of the 1970 bathroom wallpaper and paint and possibly a new vanity!

  127. i just bought a house…thanks for reminding me of one more thing i need to do! 😉

  128. With $100 from Ace I would buy caulk and paint to fix seams on my porch posts as you did here. Thank you!

  135. This is a great reminder that all of our windows and doors need to be re-sealed. And I have been putting off caulking the baseboards we installed years ago. lol

  136. With the spring season coming, I would buy some fertilizer and grass seed to get my lawn ready for summer.

  138. I’d buy flowers once we get past the frost date! (May 12 can’t get here soon enough!)

  139. Hopefully I can remember all of the little yearly things I will need to do when I own my own house!!

  140. I would use the 100.00 and buy paint to update our laundry room and cleaning supplies!

  141. I would use the ACE gift card to recaulk our house using your easy instructions. Thanks for the giveaway!!

  143. I really need to buy some paint to repaint my bedroom and I just love ace’s selection.

  154. I love Ace for the same reasons! Reminds me of going to the hardware store with my dad or grandpa as a little girl 🙂

  155. Oops! Didn’t read through the requirements of the blog comment 😉 I would purchase paint and wood stain, caster wheels for some random diy projects!

  156. I would definitely use it spruce up outside for spring!! Bring on the warm weather!!

  157. We have cracks in our crown molding that need to be patched. Thanks for the giveaway!

  158. I will be painting the exterior of my home this summer and will be doing the same thing!

  159. I think you are very wise to fix little exterior problems before they turn huge later on. with a gift card, I’d work to organize my garage with metal shelving and tool organization.

  161. We have an Ace Hardware in our town but have never been. It would be great to go see what they have to offer!

  162. We are redoing the front of our house and $100 would be spent on a few colorful accessories! Thanks!

  168. My husband needs some tools for work. He has started a new construction job and needs to bring his own tools. Even the basics like a really good hammer and a nail gun.

  169. I would buy some storage boxes and shelves for my laundry room, its almost time to put away winter clothes and I have no space or where to put them.

  170. I would buy some paint for the outside of our house… Long overdue painting needs to be done!

  173. Ahhh – we need to do this! And bees! We had some a couple summers ago and since they’ve died off… at least I hope so!

  174. Our front door desperately needs stripping, sanding, restaining…important weekend project!

  177. Oh I would love to buy some things to help seal the draft that comes through my front door and front window.

  178. I would purchase gardening supplies, pots and plants for my new apartment patio.

  179. We need to do some caulking as well. And repaint our front door, which is peeling. So I would use it for supplies for those projects.

  185. we just bought our first house, and we would use it for caulk for our windows as well as for paint for the exterior wood that needs to be protected from the elements.

  186. Your post reminded me of this scripture-Ecclesiastes 10:18 Through laziness, the rafters sag;
    because of idle hands, the house leaks. As a real estate agent in Tucson I often see this :^(. I will say that it is often a case of too much to do in life and not enough funds. At least that is my excuse! Fortunately, a tube of caulk from Ace is affordable!

  187. I would buy paint to repaint the bathroom! And maybe a new nail gun because those things are awesome.

  190. We are expecting our first baby and need to get the nursery ready so we would use it on paint!

  192. I’d purchase a new ceiling fan for my living room. Thanks.
    partymix25(at)Hotmail(dot)com

  194. I’d buy caulk, paint and a paint sprayer. Mmm…or a pressure washer or a nail gun…or some cute bird feeders they have there. Ugh…sometimes the pull between pretty and practical is too much 😉

  197. I need to replace the screen on our patio because our giant puppy jumped through it. I also want to do a faux board and batten in my kitchen!

  201. I would buy some paint…. my walls are all white, which is nice… However, with 8 kids in and out at all times and 4 grandbabies as well, it seems like I’m always washing off fingerprints…. Though I would still need to do it, of course, a little pop of color won’t make them look so obvious!!! Plus… it would brighten up my room(s).

It is nice to meet you!

Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!

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