Why Home Improvement Has Surged And How It’s Changing America

75 Home Improvement Tips Easy Ways to Makeover Your House

We’re painting the house, retiling the kitchen and completing upgrades that we previously outsourced. “We’re seeing more people opt to install their own flooring,” says Cheryl Royer of Torlys. It may not be possible to tackle all the projects on your spring to-do list at once, so choose the ones that are most important first. Anything that is damaged and can let the elements into your home needs immediate attention, like roof leaks or blocked gutters.

  • These openings really can make a big difference but adding an extra feature to them like an arched top makes them more appealing to the eye…
  • Choose an appropriate stain and give your hardwoods new life!
  • Use it to clean off your deck, patio and any other surface you’d like on or around your house.
  • In fact, “some home projects can actually decrease your home value,” says Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Angi, the contractor search service and house renovation site.
  • Home Equity Loans can help you finance your home renovations, like the backyard, flooring and kitchen upgrades, using fixed-interest rates.

This extra “room” comes in handy when entertaining or in the summer months when warm evenings are best spent outdoors, drink in hand. More than placing a grill and a table, this project is about creating an outdoor experience. Designing an exterior kitchen involves setting up a fully functional space that can work without requiring homeowners to step indoors to complete their meals. Whether it’s from a fallen branch, a pair of over-eager paws, or simple wear and tear, sooner or later most window screens will require a repair. And it’s possible to patch a small tear, but you can also replace an entire screen. This is a great beginner DIY home improvement that will help keep insects out of your home and make your windows or screen doors more attractive.

Any openings in the slab or foundation are sealed to keep out radon. Motion detector lights are a proven crime deterrent, and standard hard-wired models cost as little as $15. If running a power supply would be difficult, buy ones that run on solar power.

If you can get on a pool-building company’s busy schedule, the ROI of this project has increased in the past couple of years which may help you justify the cost. But that doesn’t mean you should stop investing in your home. If you haven’t noticed, real estate values have performed amazingly well during the pandemic — CoreLogic found an overall increase in homeowner equity of 32.2% in Q compared to a year earlier.

After you’ve poured so much time, money, and energy into repainting, re-flooring, re-siding, and renovating…your house truly becomes your own. Renovation addicts go on a journey with their house, complete with both frustration and love. Next, you’ll need to account for any subsequent capital improvements you made to your home. Let’s say you bought your home for $200,000 including all closing costs.

Perhaps it’s time to craft that handy garden shed that you’ve always wanted. Garden sheds can be great for storing all of your outdoor landscaping tools or serve as a serene work or carpentry area. Concrete can be simplistic yet beautiful on its own, but you don’t have to stop there. To update your outdoor or indoor concrete flooring, look into staining or stamping.

Grand Designs

Lisa Montgomery has been a member of the Electronic House editorial team for nearly 20 years; most of that time as the Editor. There’s also the need for privacy in the bathroom, especially when large windows are part of the design. By adding motorized shades to windows, especially hard to reach windows like those above a bathtub, you can cover the glass at the top of button on a keypad. These shades are available in a variety of fabrics, colors, and weaves to suit the style of the room. Refinance your existing mortgage to lower your monthly payments, pay off your loan sooner, or access cash for a large purchase. Use our home value estimator to estimate the current value of your home.

Home improvements

If you have enough equity in your home, a remortgage could give you plenty of cash to invest in your project. If you need a higher sum to finish your project, a secured loan can give you access to up to £100,000. In most cases, you’ll also be able to renegotiate your instalments or pay off the debt in advance without facing a fine. Most of the time, you will not be able to renegotiate your instalments nor pay in advance without facing a fine. While you won’t put your assets at risk, know that unsecured loans also come with higher interest rates than secured loans.

Sober-minded individuals tend not to consider the possibility of a big gain at some later date, either. After all, you’re not supposed to think of a home as an investment, even if the I.R.S. does in this particular context. Our mini guides provide House & Home Improvement visual clarification of the permitted development rules for specific projects. Read our guidance about improving the interior and exterior of your home, how building regulations may apply to the changes you make and retrospective consents.

Turn every day into a spa day simply by swapping out your showerhead. For less than $50, you can recreate this high-end look at home with a matte black rain head and matching extension arm. Add a quick and easy dose of style by framing a builder-grade plate glass bathroom mirror with decorative molding. Give outdated floors a refresh with our step-by-step guide to painting and stenciling ceramic tile. All you need are a few basic supplies and a free weekend to totally transform the look of a laundry room, bathroom or anywhere in your home that’s plagued by old or dirty tile. You can do it all for less than $50 and with no special equipment.