Improvements to your home can add resell value to your home. They are also essential in the maintenance of a home. There are many things that you can do to enhance your living space, and some projects are more complex than others. Read this article for some suggestions.
Install radiant heat under your new tile floors. There are kits available for the do-it-yourself homeowner, and it's really not rocket science. It will make a dramatic difference in the "wow" factor of your home both to guests and to potential buyers. Invite them to take their shoes off and feel the heat!
A great way to add ambience to a room is by lighting a candle. Candles are a romantic gesture in any setting, but also give off a warm glow providing a room with the feeling of warmth and coziness. If your candle is scented, it also gives off a nice scent in the room while making you feel relaxed.
If you have small holes in your wall, you can repair them by using spackling paste. Simply apply the paste to fill the holes and wait for it to dry. The paste may expand and crack, so you can apply a little more paste if needed. When dry, sand away any excess until the dried spackle is flush with the wall. Then paint the wall any color you desire.
Sometimes traditional and economical methods of dealing with squeaky doors may work for you. Here is a cheap alternative that you can try: Remove the hinge pin as normal, and rub it with regular bar soap. Then replace the pin and open and close the door to let the soap disperse on the hinge parts.
If you want to replace locks, you can replace the entire knob or just the cylinder. The cylinder is the part of the lock that performs the locking action. If your keys are lost, a cylinder replacement is a simple one. If you are seeking to just improve the look of your door or add additional security by upgrading the lock, then the entire unit should be replaced.
Whenever your home improvement projects call for installing or replacing light switches, spend a little extra money to equip each room's primary lights with a dimmer switch. Not only will you yourself enjoy the increased flexibility offered by good dimmers, the expenditure will pay off in terms of a little added market value if you ever sell your home.
It is a very good idea to own your home. Most people want to decorate their house and make improvements to fit their lifestyle, but when you rent you need to ask for permission to make certain improvements. It is much better to do that in your own property, as it doesn't make any sense to spend thousands of dollars to improve someone else's property.
If you have furniture that is dull, faded, or even peeling its original paint or finish, don't dump it. Stripping off whatever finish was on the furniture will give you a clean slate to refinish it however you would like.
If you have the money then you should try and add a master suite to your home. While having a nice large bedroom is great it will tremendously help during resale if the bedroom area includes a bathroom and/or a sitting area. The majority of buyers tend to lean toward homes that have master suites.
If your room is small, or the ceilings are low to the ground, give them the illusion of space. Flood the room with light. Paint the walls a nice, bright color the grabs the eye. To make the ceilings seem higher, simply position the curtain rod, drapes and valances, higher up on the wall above windows.
Clean kitchen counters can help to sell a house. Remove everything except your coffee pot, a nice set of knives, and perhaps a bowl of fruit. The cleaner your counter tops are, the more organized your kitchen will appear. Your kitchen will also feel larger and more user friendly.
Brighten up your kitchen or bathroom with a mosaic backsplash. Backsplashes serve two purposes: they are both utilitarian and a style element. Most people use regular square tile clay for their backsplash, but a mosaic design creates interest and allows you to express your personality. Fortunately, you can buy mosaic tiles on a mesh sheet, saving the time that it would take to lay each tile individually. This provides you with an intricate pattern without having to cut any tile, which can be tricky.
When moving any type of furniture through your home, it's important that you protect your floors. A lot of people with hardwood floors will definitely make sure to protect them, but you also need to protect carpet. Most carpet can easily tear if you're dragging heavy objects across the surface.
Watch out for local weather. If rainy or windy days are common, investing in a nice patio or outdoor kitchen may not be so wise. You could add a roof and wind-breaking elements to help with the issue, but they are going to cost you much more money that you may not want to invest.
To prevent animals like birds or squirrels from nesting in your chimney, install a chimney cap. These devices feature mesh sides that allow smoke to escape, but the solid top prevents animals from entering your chimney to build nests, which can ignite and cause a chimney fire when you use the fireplace.
Purchase your building materials at re-use stores such as Habitat For Humanity's Re-Store. When you do this, you are saving resources and recycling your money by investing it in your own home and in providing homes for the homeless. If you hire a contractor, make sure s/he does not throw out usable materials. Either re-use them yourself or donate them to the Re-Store.
Do not choose the cheapest contractor bid you get for home improvements under the assumption that you can hire someone later to fix his mistakes. As Mike Holmes will tell you, the repairs will end up costing you twice as much or more than the original work! Hire a reputable contractor with great references despite how much higher the quote he gives you is than someone else's.
In summary, there is a lot of information on the Internet to sort through and determine what is legitimate. Hopefully you not only found this resource useful but you learned something new about home improvement. With the tips that we provided and some self motivation, you should not average home remodel cost be far off from being an expert.
