The summer months are a good opportunity to spend time on home renovations and according to DIY experts, certain investments could save us money.

A study conducted by MyToolShed concluded that odd jobs and maintenance on the outside of our homes could save us up to £5,000 in future bills.

They said that if you don’t maintain your home to a good standard, you could run into a number of issues, which in turn lead to unwanted bills and repair costs.

Since then they have developed a list of nine home projects that come to a maximum of £196.53 with the promise of future savings- some are even free to do yourself.

Nine money-saving jobs to do this summer

These are the external jobs we should be focusing on that will save us a fortune.

Remove any ivy and growth from damaging the bricks and mortar

While ivy can look nice on the eye to some, it can actually do a lot of external damage to your home.

As well as stealing nutrients from other plants in your garden, ivy can also damage the bricks and can send unwanted moisture into cracks.

While it is often recommended that you hire a professional for ivy removal (for around £350), you can undertake the task yourself as long as you follow the right health and safety measures.

Cost of Tip: £0 (doing it yourself). Potential Cost if Ignored: £350 (hiring a professional). Saving: £350

Painting external walls

A new coat of paint on the exterior of your house may seem like a big job but it can be well worth it, with experts demonstrating a 5% increase to your home’s value, which translates to around £12.5k in the UK.

Hiring a labourer to do this could cost you an extra £1.5k.

Labourers require up to £300 a day and the average house needs 3-5 days to paint.

You can get 30 litres of exterior paint on a budget of £100 so what better time to do a bit of painting outside than in the summer months?

Cost of Tip: £100. Potential Cost if Ignored: £2000 (hiring a professional). Saving: £1900.

Make sure the roof is in tip-top condition

The toughest time for the exterior of your home will be the 6 months after summer ends, so do a quick check of the roof while things are clear before it’s inevitably covered with snow in a few months.

The average cost to get your roof tiles replaced is £170 (for up to five broken tiles), presuming the replacement tiles can be easily sourced and there are no access issues.

Checking this yourself could save you £165 with tiles costing around £1 each.

Cost of Tip: £5. Potential Cost if Ignored: £170. Saving: £165

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Ensure there are no trees or large plants whose roots could grow underneath the house

Trees growing their roots underneath your home can cause several issues, such as cracks in the foundation’s floor or walls, uneven door and windows and frames, and buckling in the floor’s surface.

It’s best to either hire a tree surgeon to remove the tree and its roots, with costs varying widely depending on size, from £75 to £3000 for full tree felling.

Or, you could preemptively install a root barrier before planting a tree.

Cost of Tip: £32 (root barrier). Potential Cost if Ignored: up to £3,000 (full tree felling). Saving: £2,968.

Review lofts and gutters for any signs of wasps nests or bugs

Sometimes preventing bees, wasps or bugs from building a nest attached to your home may not be possible, but there are measures you can take to lower the possibility of it happening.

One of these is to seal any openings or holes that are a quarter of an inch or larger with caulk or mesh.

Always check with the council before removing any nests as there are specific rules in place, and make sure no harm will be coming to the wasps or bees.

It can be a costly process though, as an example, removing bees from a wall can cost up to £1,000.

Cost of Tip: £2.27 (buying caulk). Potential Cost if Ignored: £1,000 (bee removal). Saving: £997.73.

Ventilate the home to let fresh air in

As temperatures can increase to their highest levels in the summer, make sure to ventilate the home as best you can. Though there are different issues than in the winter, problems such as mould can still occur.

Cost of Tip: £0. Potential Cost if Ignored: £800 (full house mould removal). Saving: £800.

Clean your fridge and freezer

A replacement for both could cost over £400.

Keep your appliances in good shape with a bit of summer cleaning.

You don’t want to be forking out for a brand new fridge and/or freezer when you shouldn’t need to.

Cost of Tip: £5 (cleaning materials). Potential Cost if Ignored: £400 (replacement fridge freezer). Saving: £395.

Seal tile grout in the kitchen and bathroom

As mentioned, an easy enough job to undertake yourself if you’re confident enough to do so.

Cost of Tip: £2.27 (buying caulk). Potential Cost if Ignored: £20 per hour (sealant and grouting professional). Saving: £17.73.

Trim branches of trees and shrubs

If you allow tree branches or large shrubs to become overgrown, they could cause problems such as leaving scratches on your windows.

In many cases, this will then mean the window in question will need to be replaced, which is a cost you could easily avoid by trimming the branches during the summer months.

Cost of Tip: £49.99 (purchasing shrub shears). Potential Cost if Ignored: £120. (double glazed window replacement) Saving: £70.01.

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