Home improvement can be an important part of your life because you are personalizing your home. You should read up on stuff so you won’t get ripped off or do more harm than good. Here are some tips and tricks that can help you get started.
It’s a good idea to use many fans during the summer months. You can cool a room by utilizing ceiling fans as these will keep the air moving. Fans are a cheaper alternative to air conditioning units so this will save on your electric costs.
Weather Stripping
Weather stripping installed around doors and windows can make your home energy efficient. Weather stripping allows your cooling and heating unit to operate more efficiently by locking in cool and hot air. You will notice the difference on chilly nights.
You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. You may need to do it from your basement or even the crawlspace, but this is one improvement that is worth the effort. Use a caulk gun and apply glue on both sides of each floor joist.
Turning off the water is important when you are working to improve your kitchen or bathroom. The first step in working on water pipes in your home is locating the shutoff valves. This step will help you prevent a flood.
A great home improvement job to focus on is the porch. Your porch is your home’s first impression on visitors. Throw away any junk lying around and beautify it with plants, furniture, and new lighting. This helps add some property value.
If you have cords on your blinds, cut of the extra. You can avoid a disaster by a child or pet becoming tangled in them and potentially strangling. Make sure that you leave some length so that you can open and close your blinds, though not any more than you need. Simple safety fixes like this one are free, fast and may even save a life.
Avoid hiring an unlicensed contractor at all costs. Every state requires you to possess some kind of certification if you’re a general contractor or a sub-contractor. Although having these requirements does not mean they are very skilled, they’re still required by law. It’s important to realize that if a contractor doesn’t have proper licensing, he probably does not have proper insurance. This is a big risk for you.
Consider the “age-in-place” method when making a major renovation. Age-in-place is simply a design philosophy which takes into account how homeowners age while they own the house. Age-in-place additions will increase your comfort both now and in the future, whether you are planning to sell your home or not.
Necessary home improvements are more likely to get done when homeowners set aside money for them in advance. A person who is prepared to spend money on their home on a regular basis, is the one who will have the nicer house overall. If there is money left in this budget at the end of the year, it can be saved for bigger home improvement projects in the future.
Avoid listening to everything a contractor tells you. Even the most experienced and reputable contractors have been known to exploit homeowners who are indifferent, naive or easily manipulated. Go with your gut if something does not seem right get a second opinion.
When you are planning to do home improvement projects, do plumbing and wiring first. As these repairs will actually cause damage to your home, you should do them first. It’s easier to do plumbing and electrical repairs when you already have access to pipes and wires while doing renovations.
If your window blinds look torn or battered, replacing these can add to the appearance of your home. Over time, blinds become faded by the sun or damaged by little hands and paws or other mishaps. Installing new blinds is cheap, fast, and simple, and you’ll be surprised with just how significantly it can improve a room’s appearance.
Home improvement projects can be laborious yet rewarding. Regardless, if you know what to do and how to properly and safely improve your home, you can create the house of your dreams. Save yourself the cost and heartache of regret by doing your homework first.