The heat has arrived and it’s here to stay for the next several months. Before you fire up the grill and start woking on your tan there are a few things you should get done this month.

Inspect Brick & Stone Walkways

Cold temperatures can wreck havoc on hardscape surfaces made of loose brick, stone, and concrete. So it is a good idea to check to see if frost heave and erosion have caused pavers to shift, rise, or sink. If you come across an uneven surface the repair is fairly easy. You just have to pry up the paver, smooth and even out the bed with fresh sand, and then replace the paver. It’s better than paying a handyman $30-$60 an hour.

Feed The Lawn

April and May are Florida’s driest months out of the year, and you have probably noticed your lawn has started to look rather dead. However, June our rainfall doubles so May is the perfect month to start fertilizing. All you need is a push-powered broadcast spreader. You will find spreaders suitable for an average suburban lawn for $35 – $100. If you have a compost pile, you can substitute homegrown compost for commercial fertilizers. A lawn care service will spray on chemical fertilizer for about $40 an application.

Repair Wood Fences & Gates

Cycles of cold and wet weather can cause wood to move, twist, and warp. That can make garden gates fall out of alignment, and can cause fence pickets to loosen of fall off. A cordless battery-powered nail gun makes quick work of refastening pickets and fence supports. Use only galvanized nails for outdoor work. Use a power drill fitted with a screw tip or a hex driver to remove or tighten loose screws and bolts in gates.

Mulch The Garden

To prevent evaporation is the hot Florida sun make sure your flower beds and vegetable garden has about 2-4 inches of mulch. A landscaping service will put mulch in for around $250- $560 for 500 sq ft.

Wash Windows

Windows collect a ton of dirt and grime over time. Have a partner clean the outside while you do the inside of the same window. That way, you can identify which side of the glass contains lingering streaks and smudges. Plus misery loves company.

Get the Grill Ready

Everyone knows that summer is filled with hamburgers and hot dogs so you are going to want to make sure your grill is in tip top shape. So check your gas hoses and connections. You are also going to want to make sure that your grill is clean. No matter what type of grill you have, invest in a grill brush. Remove the grates and metal plates beneath them and soak them in hot soapy water for 5-10 minutes. Then scrub like your life depends on it. Finally, spray everything down with a hose.

Next, cover the area where the grates usually go with foil and use a stiff grill brush to clean grime from the hood and inside walls. Use a grill safe cleaner for the surface and then reassemble all parts.

Make Sure Your AC is Cool

There is nothing worse than losing your AC in the middle of a Florida summer. So check and double-check your AC unit and make sure it is in working order. Hook up a garden hose and spray the outside of the condenser to remove any dust that has settled on the unit and connections. Also be sure to change the filter. Calling in the pros is going to run around $100 to $250 and it includes cleaning the condenser and lubricating the fan motor.