Life-Changing Upgrades for Your Old Home

Life-Changing Upgrades for Your Old Home

There’s no denying that older homes have their own charm and character that makes them attractive to a wide range of buyers. However, they often come with a number of issues that need to be tackled in order to be kept practical, functional, and more importantly, safe. Some problems may pose minor inconveniences or slightly affect the cost of your monthly utilities. On the other hand, serious issues such as aging pipes, leaking roofs, bad repairs, or outdated wiring are just accidents waiting to happen. While tackling both major and minor issues is a must, it’s important to prioritize. Here’s a list of four life-changing upgrades that will make your home look and feel as good as new while also saving you money in the long run.

Updating the old and dated plumbing

The thing about old homes is that they were built using materials that aren’t used nowadays or the pipe system isn’t configured in the most optimal way. Some materials that were used in the past may even cause harm (e.g. lead pipes that were used to carry waste from the house) which calls for modern and safe replacements. Also, to be able to meet modern-day building codes, vents need to be installed near drains, which usually isn’t the case with old homes. To prevent any plumbing disaster from causing damage to your household (and making a dent in your wallet), be sure to update the old, out-of-date plumbing as soon as possible. Rely on experienced, licensed professionals to do the work properly and ensure your plumbing is modernized and brought up to date.

Having your roof repaired

Having a roof over your head is a necessity, but what’s even more important is keeping that roof functional. There is no point in upgrading your interiors if the old, worn-out roof fails and destroys all the items you’ve invested your hard-earned money into. Roofs, like all things, have their lifespan, and it’s important to keep them up-to-date in order to get the most out of them. Extreme weather changes that are more apparent in countries like Australia have many homeowners updating their roofs to ensure durability and resilience, with many turning to experts for roof repairs in Sydney as a way of providing a safe structure for themselves. With the help of these roof specialists, they manage to preserve the existing structure for years to come.

Bringing your insulation up to date

Another important aspect of functional home is proper insulation. Heat loss during colder months translates to higher utility bills, which is why you need to bring insulation of your old home up to date and into the 21st century. Old houses often have unfinished or unconditioned attics, so consider laying insulation batts and combine them with blown-in cellulose insulation for maximum effectiveness. If there is a basement, you can use the same method to insulate the floors above. By applying the same insulating technique on the stud bays of the floor joists, you’ll ensure your floors feel more comfortable throughout the year.

Upgrading old windows and doors with energy-efficient ones

In addition to insulating the attic and the floors, some other areas that may require insulation are doors and windows. Old ones often leak air and the result is cold air sweeping through the house, thus increasing your heating bill. Not only will you have to pay more, but you will also be letting in moisture as well as uninvited guests and critters through these uninsulated spaces. Upgrading your old windows and doors with energy-efficient ones will help save some money during heating and cooling seasons, but you can also try weatherstripping, re-caulking, or applying window film to draught-proof your existing doors and windows.

Charming, quirky period details and attractive, rich architecture – there are many reasons why many people fall in love with pre-war homes and decide to move into one. However, there are a couple of nuisances that come with moving into an old house, but if you manage to resolve these issues effectively, not only will you be able to trim the costs of living in an old home, but you’ll also help bring it up to standards needed for a modern lifestyle while still preserving a piece of history, which is in itself priceless.

 Guest Contributor, Chloe Taylor

Remodeling Your Home in 4 Easy Steps

Remodeling Your Home in 4 Easy Steps

No matter how big, new or fancy your home is, renovating it from time to time is something you simply have to do. Even though most people don’t like doing that, these things will take your home’s visual appeal to a whole new level, and make it more practical at the same time. However, not all home renovations are the same, and you need to pick the right ideas first. Doing that might take some time, so here are a few remodeling ideas you might want to look into.

Make it eco-friendly

More and more people realize that our planet is heading towards an ecological disaster, which is why they’re getting ready to do something about it. While you can’t do much on your own on the global level, you can certainly make a difference in your own area. Making your home eco-friendly and sustainable is one of the things you should do. Turning this idea into reality is easier than you think, so start simple, small and easy. Place your light bulbs with those LED ones, install double glazed energy-efficient windows, add solar panels to your roof, and switch to eco-friendly appliances. These things don’t look like a lot at first, but they’ll make a massive change, so start exploring them straight away.

Update your kitchen

This is one of those expensive and complex projects out there, but it’s one of those that make the most sense. Updating your kitchen and making it look amazing takes some time and energy, but it’s all worth your while. You can stick to simple projects like repainting your cabinets and replacing handles, or you can do something a bit more expensive. Remodeling your kitchen includes getting new cabinets, countertops, and appliances, but don’t forget to opt for energy-efficient models only.

Designing a home theater

This is one of the most exciting projects out there, and something every member of your family is going to appreciate. Turning a spare bedroom into a home theater isn’t just a great way to get your family another hangout spot, but will also boost the value of your property. This is particularly important, especially if you’re trying to sell your home in the future. Still, before actually creating a home theater, you need to get ready – logistically, financially, and emotionally. Doing this is quite hard, but if you spend some time preparing for a partial home renovation, you’ll be all right. Try to learn as much as you can in advance, and figure out what needs to be done, and your renovation will be smoother than you think.

Fix the façade

This is one of the most important features of every luxurious home, and it’s also something that will boost your curb appeal and make your home even more inviting. But, before you can enjoy your home better than ever, you need to check the façade and figure out what to do with it. Most people don’t do this and end up finding out about mold, ants, and other dangers only after purchasing the property. That’s why you should fix the façade – on your own or call a guy – and make it more appealing than it’s ever been. This will take your home to the next level, and introduce a new dose of luxury to your already luxurious place.

Regardless of their size and age, all homes require love, care, and attention, and your home is no different. If you put your mind to it and find a few projects that can go a long way, you’ll be making the right decision and spicing up your living space once and for all!

 Guest Contributor, Diana Smith

Building Your First Home: The Essentials

Building Your First Home: The Essentials

Since the real estate market is currently not quite blossoming, many people actually decide to build their first home rather than buy it. Aside from the fact that this enables them to flat out create a house of their dreams it also allows them to choose the materials their new house is going to be built from, among other things.

That being said, building your first home is no easy job. Aside from making sure that you have the necessary budget for the project you also need to ensure that you’ve picked the right area, contractors and materials. With that in mind, let’s see what the essentials of building your first house are.

The budget

As mentioned earlier, you need to ensure that you have enough resources to see your project through before you actually get down to organizing it. This will require you to do some thorough research and try to find out the estimated prices of things your budget will need to cover. Chances are that you probably won’t have that amount of money stacked and ready to go, which means that you will most likely need to find some alternative budgeting options. This will probably require you to apply for a loan which means that you’ll also need to ensure that your credit history and credit score are healthy and optimal.

The location

Aside from securing the funds, you will also need to find the perfect location. First, you should check out all the available pieces of land and see which location suits you best. Here, you should assess how far away you’d be living from your job/your kids’ school if you were to build your home at a particular location. This will help you significantly with the elimination process. Another thing that can help you when choosing a piece of land is how much work will it require in order to connect your home on the water and electricity grid. The more work the piece of land requires pre-building, the more expensive the project will be, so keep that in mind as well.

The contractors

The contractors you choose for the job also play a huge role in this type of projects. By ensuring that you’ve found the best possible fit for the task at hand, not only will you guarantee quicker and more seamless completion but you’ll also ensure that everything’s done the way it was originally intended. With that in mind, in some countries, such as Australia, hiring different contractors for different parts of the project is actually quite a common practice. That’s why so many Aussies chose to hire professionals in Sydney Commercial Carpentry when building their homes to ensure that all their desires are being met – and sometimes even exceeded – and all the right materials are being used.

The materials

Finally, when it comes to choosing the right materials, the majority of homeowners want to ensure that they’ve gone green and sustainable as much as possible. It’s important to mention here that if green and sustainable is your goal as well, aside from looking at the material’s stats and traits, you should also see where it is from. What this means is that while bamboo, for instance, is a very sustainable material, the place it originates from is Asia. So, when you account for the distance it needs to travel to get to you, it will actually lose quite a bit of sustainability. That’s why it would be best to focus on finding salvaged and locally-sourced materials for your building project.

These were just the essentials of a house building project you should keep in mind when building your first home.  Aside from them, make sure you think ahead of time when deciding on particular features, layout and similar things because who knows? The fact that you’re building your first house doesn’t have to mean that you’re also building your forever home. So, consider including some popular elements in your house design that will boost your property’s value and make it more appealing to potential buyers if you ever decide to sell it.

 Guest Contributor, Diana Smith