Saturday, March 10, 2012

Raise The Value Of Your Home With These Tips

By Steve Rian


Many people think that home improvement is impossible to do by themselves. Every year, month, week, and day people try to make improvements to their homes, only to fail miserably. Home improvement is not as difficult as people think. This article contains many easy ways to improve your home.

When doing a major home makeover and renovation to the interior, remember to be consistent with your hardware throughout the house. If you are going to have brushed nickel for your hinges and doorknobs, install similar hardware on your bathroom cabinets, towel bars, and drawer pulls. It makes for a more consistent and appealing look.

To make a small, cramped kitchen look larger, use lighter finishes for flooring, cabinets, counter tops, and walls, and leave the windows untreated or minimally treated to let in more light. All of these tricks help to create the illusion of a larger room, and the brightness will add further appeal while you spend time there.

After some initial use, your kitchen cabinets can start to lose their luster. You can shine up kitchen cabinetry by using car wax. Apply some car wax liberally to a towel and wipe your cabinets down in a circular motion. This can make your cabinets appear like they're new and shiny.

Try painting the inside or outside of your home. A simple coat of paint can refresh or clean up your walls instantly and a different shade can make an entire room appear redesigned. Also try painting old furniture and your skirting boards for a cheap, simple, and effective way to spruce up your home.

If you are planning on improving the exterior of your home by adding a deck, make sure to check on local laws and ordinances before putting out any money. Local codes can vary from city to city, and may affect the size and height of your deck, or how close you can put it to the property line. Also, be sure to check with the local homeowners' association as they may have policies regarding decks as well.

Today there is a new danger to look out for during home improvement projects. Avoid purchasing drywall (i.e. sheet rock, wall board) manufactured in China. Since 2005 a great deal of the drywall used in the US building industry has been sourced from China. Much of it suffers from unacceptable quality control. In extreme cases, Chinese drywall gives off harmful gases that can corrode wires in the walls.

When working on home improvement, it is important to get views on your ideas before you go and start the work. If you do not have completed and worked out ideas, the project could turn into a major mess and not be completed in a smooth and timely manner. Make sure that you have your ideas properly worked out!

You want a flourishing lawn and plants in your yard. One of the best ways to attain this is to fertilize them in the fall, before the first frost. This will give them a boost when they start to grow again in the spring. This extra feeding will bring rewards all of the next summer.

If you are the proud owner of a home with a slate roof, a good thing to do is clean it regularly. Do what you can to keep it in good condition and it can last 75-200 years. It is not nicknamed 'the hundred year roof' for nothing.

So, before you commit to just any home improvement project, do your homework and carefully select a project that your whole family will be able to enjoy for many years to come. By using these carefully selected home-improvement tips, you can choose a suitable project with maximum impact for yourself and your family to enjoy.




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