Owning a home takes work and money. It is not uncommon to project costs of 1-3 percent of the home’s value in annual improvements. Luckily, there are ways to lower these costs.
It’s crucial that you change the air filters in your home. Doing so keeps the air in your home cleaner and helps your heating and cooling systems run more efficiently. Many repair calls are due to dirt accumulating in a furnace or air conditioner due to a messy filter.
You can make your ceilings appear higher by following two simple tips. Either use a floor lamp that is tall or paint stripes. This will create a unique optical illusion. This can even make your room appear bigger and more spacious than it really is.
Throwing out an old sofa can be very tempting when it no longer looks new and clean. However, with the same effort it takes you to throw it out, you can buy some nice slipcovers and throw it on your sofa. Slipcovers are available in a myriad of designs and can spice up an old sofa very easily.
Keep your partially used can of drywall compound from drying out between uses! All you have to do scrape and wipe the insides of the can down to the surface of the remaining drywall mud. Next, pour just enough water onto the mud to cover its surface. Before you use it again just pour off the water and it will be as good as new!
Fix floor squeaks with a few drywall screws. While a second person waits below in the crawl space or basement, walk over your floor and locate where the squeaking is occurring. Signal to the person below where the problem is. They can insert a drywall screw through the sub floor and into the flooring to stop the squeak.
Roof improvements can be an excellent choice for a home improvement project. Consider choosing white tile to re-do your roof. Tiles that are lighter in color can reduce the amount of heat that is pulled into your attic. This helps to save you money on your energy bills in the summer.
You can stop heat loss from your hot water heater easily by covering it in a jacket. The jacket, which can be found at any hardware store, stops heat loss by 70%, making your home more energy efficient.This saves you money in the long run, as you can quickly regain the cost of the jacket in as little as 6 months.
One way to save money and energy is to buy a programmable thermostat if you don’t already have one. A programmable thermostat will allow you to specify what temperature you want your house to be at any given time or day throughout the week, even when you are away from home.
Now that you’ve come to the end of this article, you’re more likely to improve your home without damaging your budget. Through saving money and still making great home improvements, you can continue to enjoy your home and have some extra padding in your wallet to boot.