Home improvement is something that appeals to many of us. It’s an opportunity to improve our standard of living, and to bolster the value of our homes for later resale. But it’s fair to say that not all improvements are equal in value or importance. It’s worth therefore prioritising the ones that really make a difference, at the expense of those that aren’t quite so impactful.
Why are home renovations worthwhile?
For many homeowners, renovation is something that’s rarely considered. It might be that the cost of a given project is too daunting, and that the expense and hassle are enough to delay action, or even avoid it altogether. Then, there’s the risk that we’ll make the wrong decision, and undertake the wrong project – or execute the right project in the wrong way.
In spite of these risks, the value of a home renovation tends to far outweigh the potential costs of not renovating. This goes especially if the house has been untouched for a long period of time, and if you’veinvested incontract works insurance, which will help to mitigate some of the risk. In the case of functional improvements, like loft insulation, then you can perform a simple cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the changes are going to be worth making.
What should I focus on?
Home improvement is done for a range of reasons.
In some cases, it might be aesthetic concerns that are driving you. You might hate the way that your hallway looks, for example, and spend a weekend stripping away the wallpaper and repainting it. There’s also the look of your home from the outside, which will determine the property’s so-called ‘kerb appeal’. Changing the front door and exterior brickwork can make a big difference, here.
On the other hand, the energy performance of your home might be a concern, in which case you might replace the boiler. Energy efficiency is something that’s concerning to many homeowners, given the price of energy and the environmental cost of producing it. In some cases, you might be able to obtain assistance from the government to make your home more energy efficient.
You might also seek to modify your home so that it better meets the needs of your household. If you’ve just moved into an older property, you might find that it lacks features that will make life easier for you. For example, you might knock an interior wall down, so that there’s no physical barrier between the kitchen and diner, or diner and lounge. You might also install modifications to make it easier to get around, like a fold-down ladder for the loft. Then there are changes which might help to deal with moisture, like a more powerful extractor fan for the bathroom, or an electric dehumidifier for any area where clothes are being hung indoors.
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