Handyman & Home Improvement

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  • Add drama to a staircase with distinctive railings or embellishments.
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  • Rather than flipping an entire house, Olson focuses on renovating and refurbishing single rooms and bringing the owners’ visions for interior decor to life.

Replacing carpet or repairing flooring is an improvement that 26% of homeowners make, according to Zillow. If you’ve got lots of rooms with many types of flooring, you might want to bite the bullet and invest in new flooring for all, to create a seamless feel throughout the house. Wood floors, or even faux-wood floors, are preferable to carpeting even though those options can be more costly, Matke says. If, however, you can’t afford to upgrade to wood, new carpeting is still a major selling point.

King Viserys’ 10 Most Shocking Decisions In House Of The Dragon

The front door is the first thing a potential buyer will see when coming to visit your property so make sure it’s clean, and if needs be, give it a lick of paint. Eye-catching front doors might be handy if you have guests coming to visit but may be off-putting to potential buyers, so keep it neutral. Once your house becomes a home, you’re probably more focused on the inside than out. Stand on the kerb and appraise your house like you’re seeing it for the first time – is there peeling paint or cracked gutters? If the answer’s yes, it’s time whip out the paint and ladder.

Paint or Paper a Wall

Maintain everything to keep the expensive repair pros away. The single best way to save money around the house is by sticking to a maintenance schedule for as many of your home’s systems as possible. Beautifully highlight a coffered ceiling with colorful paint, and keep the trim white for a bold visual effect. Placing a ceiling medallion around a fan or light fixture is another way to add architectural flair overhead.

A common DIY home-improvement mistake, especially when finishing a basement, is making access to essential plumbing valves difficult. When you remodel, leave space or an access door to the main water valve, exterior spigot valves, water heater valves and any others your home may have. It’s probably less expensive and certainly more convenient to install a backyard shed or hire a handyperson to create access to hidden places in your house than renting space long-term. Many homes in rural parts of the U.S. rely on well water rather than city water. But well water has pros and cons that city people may never have considered. Aluminum foil is one of those everyday kitchen items that we don’t really give much thought to, but it can be used for a lot more than wrapping leftovers.

Specialist Home Improvement Centres

Lenders typically require you to maintain 15 – 20% equity in your home after a cash-out refinance. This can limit the amount you can access for home improvements. The best time to refinance your mortgage is when interest rates are low. The lower the interest rate you secure, the bigger your savings will be over time and on a month-to-month basis. Check out your home’s basement, and where there are I-beams or wooden support beams in the ceiling, that’s where the home’s weight rests and you can’t remove walls above it. Replace a traditional ceiling light with tracks if you want to direct lighting on multiple spaces — like shelves, work surfaces, or gathering spaces — in a room.

The most important thing to remember when installing grab bars is to find the studs and mount the bars directly to them. Miss the studs and you’ll be pulling out more than the bars when you put your weight on them. Create extra storage in a snap with kits for bookcases, shelving, or cabinetry that you assemble yourself. Try a combination of open shelving and cabinets for a mix of storage and display space.

Fixer Upper focuses on the design and transformation of homes in the Waco, Texas area while highlighting the power couple’s built-to-last love. Alternatively, you may want to consider a home improvement loan. An unsecured loan, such as those provided by Admiral, can be used for anything from a new boiler to loft insulation without any financial risk to your home. Expanding the amount of physical space available in your home is one of the more expensive improvements but can also increase its value.

Please remember that we don’t have all your information. Therefore, the rate and payment results you see from this calculator may not reflect your actual situation. Rocket Mortgage offers a wide variety of loan options. You may still qualify for a loan even in your situation doesn’t match our assumptions. To get more accurate and personalized results, please call to talk to one of our mortgage experts. Some jumbo products may not be available to first time home buyers.

By sambo