You are renovating because you want your house to look more attractive and feel more comfortable. Consider these Reddit home improvement tips from persons who have undertaken one home renovation project or the other and are willing to share their experiences.
To show you how important house renovation is, Housebeautiful has it that U.S. homeowners spend more than $300 billion a year on renovations and repairs.
Before we go on to list the home improvement tips, here’s a brief overview of what home improvement entails.
What Is Home Improvement?
The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one’s home.
Home improvement can comprise projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), the exterior (masonry, concrete, siding, roofing), or other improvements to the property (i.e. garden work or garage maintenance/additions).
Most persons carry out home improvement projects for a number of different reasons; personal preference and comfort, maintenance or repair work, making a home bigger by adding rooms/spaces, as a means of saving energy or to improve safety.
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Why Your House Needs Renovation
Home renovation enhances the aesthetics of your home. It will make your space more attractive. It also results in improved comfort in the house, which will also result in more enjoyment at home.
Furthermore, renovation increases your asset value, so if you happen to sell your property in the future, you will generate higher revenue. It will also lessen the costs of utility and maintenance. The electrical problems, plumbing issues, leaks from roofs, or any cracks in any place, are addressed and repaired while renovating homes. Henceforth, it improves and ensures the overall safety of your home.
Top 10 Reddit Home Improvement On Home Renovations
We headed to Reddit and checked out the top posts of the year on some homeowner and DIY subreddits to see what home improvement tips will be useful to you. Carefully read through.
1. Research
Once you begin your investigation, you will be shocked at the number of possibilities available to you. The lovely lamp you saw at a high-end store can also be found for a lower price somewhere else.
So, if you’re renovating your home on a budget, keep in mind that if you do your homework to discover the furniture, paint, or decorations you want, you’ll probably be able to find most of the goods for a reasonable price. Make use of online shopping, thrift stores, and used furniture stores to see how far you can stretch your budget.
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2. Have a plan
Renovations rarely go according to plan, but that doesn’t mean you should go by the seat of your pants. Last-minute modifications are stressful and costly, so work out the non-negotiable aspects first. At the very least, this entails knowing what outcomes you desire and how much money—and time—it will take to attain them.
In the planning phase, modeling and design tools like Floorplanner are extremely useful. Create a few distinct variants of the same project, then add a 10-15% buffer to your budget estimations to account for unforeseen costs.
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3. Work on the most important first
If you’re not sure of where to begin with home improvements, prioritize initiatives that will boost the value of your property. Updated kitchens and bathrooms, as well as any upgrades that add square footage, such as completed basements and decks, are almost always a solid idea.
Buyer preferences differ by market, so pay attention to what’s popular and valued in your area rather than nationwide trends.
4. Have a structure in mind
When considering a total house renovation, it’s critical to consider any pre-existing structural difficulties before getting started.
A home improvement is an excellent opportunity to address any issues that may be ailing your property, such as a poorly insulated roof or defective plumbing.
Consider this: how often will you have the opportunity to dismantle your home and analyze its fundamental construction in the future? If you make little improvements on flimsy foundations, you risk having to undo all of your hard work in the future to remedy a problem that could be fixed easily. Therefore, set aside money from your total budget to address any structural flaws that could jeopardize your home’s efficiency or safety.
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5. Let the easy things come first
There are some house upgrades that are more important than others. Move a project to the top of the priority list if it can save you money right away or avert catastrophic damage in the future. This is especially true for simple improvements like closing drafts and replacing filters.
6. Know the cost and your financing options
According to popular opinion on Reddit Home Improvement, knowing your financials will help you make plans on how to meet the cost of the home improvement.
If you can’t afford to pay for the job in full with cash, you should be aware of the various options for financing your home improvement without jeopardizing your house.
Personal loans and credit cards, depending on the interest rate and terms, might be useful for small-to-medium projects, whereas home equity loans (HELs) and lines of credit (HELOCs) can help finance major restorations and repairs. Private mortgage insurance payments can be reduced by making improvements to your house’s worth, but keep in mind that you’ll have to pay to have your home evaluated on top of everything else.
7. Don’t hire a pro without checking what it will take to do it yourself
Who doesn’t like a cost-effective DIY project with a safe margin of error?
One Reddit user discovered the hard way that they had overspent on a job that they could have completed themselves: “When we first moved into our property, we saw that several of our blinds were broken and needed to be replaced. Because ‘the proportions are so critical,’ a coworker advised me to go through Costco rather than an online blinds business or a big-box retailer.
I chose three firms (one of which was the Costco preferred installer) after a quick search on Angie’s List and requested estimates. Later on, I figured these were all competitive because the estimates were all within $50 of each other.
I did not check out the big box stores or online vendors which was the root of my mistake.
Today, I notice that one of the big box stores online has the same shade custom fit to your measurements for $110/window. Removing the old shades, I note that the shade installation involves properly placing 4 screws per shade. Which essentially breaks down to paying some $100 per screw.
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8. Find the perfect contractor
Finding a good handyman or contractor you trust is just like finding the right dentist or therapist: Harder than it sounds, and with extremely high stakes.
You can find and vet your choicest contractors carefully using these criteria:
- Word of mouth: Ask friends, family, and neighbors for recommendations—especially if they have industry connections
- Check for complaints: Look up your state’s consumer protection office and your local building inspection office
- Learn which licenses and permits are required in your area for contractors, electricians, plumbers, and painters
- Get proof of insurance: Ask contractors to provide you with their insurance details so you can verify it with the provider
- Ask for references, then actually check them out
- Meet with every potential candidate so you get a feel for their style
- Get quotes—and track them with a spreadsheet or other list
For even more detailed questions you should ask, check out the Federal Trade Commission’s guide on hiring a contractor.
9. Think energy different
Another tip gotten from Reddit home improvement is the idea of saving cost on energy consumption.
If you want to go the extra mile to save money on energy and also protect the environment, consider heating your home with solar panels!
If you live in a hot region, solar panels are great. They will deliver a safe, long-lasting supply of renewable energy directly to your home. Solar panels can be installed on your property’s roof or on the grounds for best results.
Consider the types of appliances you purchase for your home if you want to become green both inside and out. Replace goods like washing machines and dishwashers with smart kitchen appliances if you’re renovating an older home’s kitchen.
To save money on electricity, choose things depending on their energy rating.
10. Use an air compressor to do the quick cleaning
A keyboard cleaner isn’t the only thing an air compressor can do. Use compressed air to your advantage, as this Redditor did:
“I’ve always detested cleaning my dryer vent, and as a result, it’s always been pushed off until ‘later.'” I opted to try pressurized air because the silly snake/brush things usually get stuck and take forever. I began by relocating the dryer and disconnecting the exhaust vent. Then I took my air hose from the garage into the laundry room, wrapped it in a towel, and stuffed it through the vent to form a tight seal. Then I blew the pipe out with compressed air. It was blown out cleaner than if it had been cleaned by a professional.
11. Manage your kitchen space well
Utilizing your kitchen to its maximum capacity can help reduce your storage problems. In order to do this on a low budget, you can either go for DIY kitchen cabinets or storage from recycled material at your house, or take advantage of thrift shops in your area.
No one knows your kitchen space better than you do. Building DIY storage kitchen cabinets will not only help you save money and reuse old materials at your house but it will also ensure that you’re building exactly what you need. If you already have cabinets which are enough for storage then you don’t need to replace them you can just repaint them to make your kitchen look as good as new.
FAQs On Home Improvement
Property renovation can help you as a property owner to add value to your property, improve its appeal and appearance, get more sense of satisfaction, or even improve your lifestyle.
Although you can’t deduct home improvements, it is possible to depreciate them. This means that you deduct the cost over several years–anywhere from three to 27.5 years
If you’re selling an older home, updating appliances, roofs, furnaces, and water softeners will help buyers get over the age.
Conclusion
The questionable wisdom of the masses isn’t always the best solution. But in some cases, all you need is the gentle hand of someone who’s walked the home improvement path before to guide you, rather than the expense of paying a contractor to tell you to turn it off and turn it on again.
Please note that the most valuable home improvements are those that increase your home’s worth in fair relation to the amount you spent on them.
References
- housebeautiful.com – Is Your Renovation Actually Worth It?
- lifehacker.com – Top 10 Home Improvement Tips Every Homeowner Should Know
- apartmenttherapy.com – 8 Seriously Brilliant Home Improvement Tips, According to Reddit
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