Customize Your Home With These Home Improvement Tips
As any owner is aware, it is expensive to own a home and it takes a lot of work! Homeowners spend on average 3% of what their home is worth on home improvement every year. Of course, smart people will figure out how to spend less so read on to get the best bang for your buck.
If you have the available funds you should choose real hard wood floors rather than laminate. Even though laminate does look like real wood, and in many cases it can be simpler to clean and take care of, but you cannot refinish these floors. In a decade, perhaps two, you can hand the home down to a new owner and you want them to be appreciative of the work performed.
Prior to installing paneling, paint stripes on the old wall. This will ensure that any small gaps don’t become glaringly obvious. In order to lessen this showing, measure the meeting point of the panels. Paint the walls at these joins with a color that matches your paneling.
Make sure that the home improvement work you do can be easily seen. A potential buyer will judge your home by its outward appearance, so unsightly features can make a sale fall through. It is very true that a lot of home improvments cannot be seen but you need to take care of the ones that can be seen first.
It is always best to plan ahead when working on any home improvement project. When you jump into a project with little or no planning, it often leads to a disaster as a result of indecisiveness and poor decision making. By planning ahead of time, it will be easier to do the work and accomplish the result you are looking for.
Motion Detector Lights
Consider installing motion detector lights on or near your front door. This lowers your electricity costs by automatically switching off the outdoor lights when no one needs them. Motion detector lights can help you stay safe in your home by deterring thieves.
Any area in the home that experiences moisture, such as the kitchen or bathroom, should should have water-resistant wall board installed. These “green board” panels can absorb more water than regular ones, and will prevent mold from growing, both aspects of which are ideal for the area you are placing the panels in.
A new danger looms in the home improvement industry, thanks to our neighbors across the Pacific. Do not buy drywall, sheet rock, or wall board that is made in China. Much of the sheet rock used in construction in the US has been imported from China since 2005. Unfortunately, this is very poor quality wall board. Sometimes drywall from China has noxious gas that may hurt your electric wiring.
An unsightly air conditioning unit may be less than attractive, but in many parts of the country it is a necessity. You can safely and effectively camouflage with a wooden trellis or latticework. You can also use pampas grass or other ornamental yard grasses, do not plant them too closely.
Hopefully, the suggestions you’ve received here will send you off to the hardware store with a little more confidence (and some great ideas for saving money) the next time you tackle a home improvement project. When you choose good home improvement projects and handle them well, you can significantly boost the value, comfort, and appeal of your home without spending huge sums of money.
