The most popular time for home improvement projects is the spring and summer. After all, who wants to paint their house or put on a new roof when snow is falling? That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t many projects you can tackle in the winter. In fact, you can even save money by undertaking jobs in the off season.
Since business slows down in the colder weather, contractors and home and garden stores often have specials this time of year. Of course, you don’t need to spend a ton of money to make your home look (and work!) better.
Many home improvement projects can be done by a homeowner with a do-it-yourself spirit and a small budget. While some jobs are best left for the warmer months, many jobs are well suited for working indoors, and don’t require you to be outside in the elements, thus can be pursued in the winter.
For example, you may want to paint the inside of your house. Modern paints are not as toxic as they once were, and they do not give off fumes as strong as in years past. You can beat the lines at the hardware store and rent the equipment you need to make indoor painting painless. Power sprayers are available for rent or borrow in every city and turning up the heat can help the paint dry more quickly.
If you can handle your own carpeting, installing a new color can be done during the winter without the aid of a carpeting crew. Carpeting prices may also be cheaper during the winter.
There are many indoor maintenance projects you might want to consider now too.
Burst pipes can cost a fortune, and the old standby of letting water drip slowly doesn’t always work. Installing heat tape on your pipes is easy to do yourself, and is cheaper than having a plumber do. The tape, which is actually a cord more often than not, wraps around exposed pipes that may freeze. You plug it into a standard outlet and it warms up the pipes, preventing them from freezing. Heat tape must be plugged into an outlet with a ground (3-plug) to work properly.
Changing light fixtures can obviously be performed indoors and provides an excellent opportunity to add higher efficiency lights and seals. Installing lights and fans is a fairly simple process and fans can be purchased on line, eliminating the need to drag them home through the snow. Simply put in the order, and they will be delivered to your doorstep.
Organization is a different type of maintenance that you can undertake in the colder months. Let’s face it: everyone can think of some area of their home that needs to be reorganized. Instead of feeling cooped-up inside, use the time to clean out closets and install shelving units or storage cabinets. Old boxes and drawers can be opened and cleaned out. Many areas have organizations that would be happy to take old coats and clothes from you during the winter as well.
As you can see, there are many ways to improve the look and functionality if your home this winter. As always, the hard part is getting off the couch to do it…
By: TC Thorn
Posts Tagged ‘Carpeting’
Winter is a Great Time For Home Improvement Projects
March 19th, 2010Pimp Your Space With Teenagers Bedroom Home Improvement
January 12th, 2010
As your child grows up so do their tastes. They will change their clothing styles and well as their hair styles. The place they will like to spend a lot of time in, will need to take on a new look as well. A teenagers bedroom home improvement can be a lot of fun as well as a challenge. We may not like what they like, but then did our parents like what we liked when we were their age? Definitely, all the baby, toddler stuff will have to go. They are looking for their own unique look that says, this is who I am and I’m not a baby anymore. This article will give some tips for a teenagers bedroom home improvement that can bring you and your teenager closer together.
Probably one of the first things you will need to do is change the color of the room. A teenagers bedroom home improvement will probably take a brighter color than you already have. The fun of it is that, you can take your teenager with you to make decisions. Make it a fun time for you and your teenager. You may want to go to lunch together as you make decisions and choices. We don’t often find special time to spend with our children, and this is a prime opportunity to get to know your teen. While you are in the paint department, you might want to look at some decals or pictures to place on the walls. They have great sport stuff available now that you just stick up on the wall and it stays in place without glue or pins. Helping your teen choose these items will make a teenagers bedroom home improvement a real bonding experience for both of you. The one thing you need to remember is that, this is their space to pimp out, so let them be themselves if it’s within reason.
Another teenagers bedroom home improvement might be new carpeting. Maybe the carpeting is old or babyish and they need a new look. It could be just a new throw rug that could make the difference. You might allow them to choose a new bedding set to go with the room change. Remember that your teenagers bedroom home improvement might not be the look you would choose, but within reason, allow them to make the choices. You can add your two cents, but they ultimately have to live with the choice.
If you are needing to add a desk and computer to your teenagers bedroom home improvement, you don’t have to spend a fortune. You can often find these things at a second hand store or at a garage sale. Look in the newspaper under the headings you are looking for and you might be surprised at the deals you can get. You might even be able to add a whole new bedroom set including mattress and all for very little money. A teenagers bedroom home improvement could make a huge difference in the relationship between you and your teen. Let them know you care about their needs, and that you realize they are growing up. The closer you are to your teen, the less likely they will get into trouble in the days ahead, and I don’t think you can put a price on that. Use your teenagers bedroom home improvement time together, to make a difference in the way you view each other, and love each other unconditionally.
By: Tom Turner
Soundproofing Techniques – Home Improvements With Big Payoffs
December 3rd, 2009
You can find soundproofing techniques both for individual rooms and for your entire house, and the selections of which ones are most suitable for you situation will depend on three factors: where your home is located: what sort of noise you want to eliminate: and how much you can afford to spend.
Soundproofing Techniques For New Homes
If you are having your home built, you can get an early start on soundproofing it by having your doorways staggered so that none of them is directly across from another one. In doing so, you’ll prevent the noise from one room from being transmitted across a hallway and echoing around the home’s interior. You should also request that your contractor design each room so that at least 25% of it will be taken up with sound-absorbing materials like draperies, carpeting, or furniture. If you can afford it, also request that your walls and ceilings have soundproofing mats installed.
Soundproofing Techniques For Existing Homes
If you are trying to make an existing home quieter, and are bothered by noisy floors on the upper stories, you can remove the ceilings beneath them and add triangular wooden strips to both the floor joists and the floors themselves. You can also consider using a liquid adhesive to secure the squeaky floorboards so they move around less.
Another of the commonly used soundproofing techniques is to frame back-to-back walls with a double set of disconnected wall studs, and add some fiberglass insulation to deaden sounds. If you live in a traditionally framed home, your wall framing and drywall will allow sound to pass through your walls from one room to another. The wall studs attached on one side of the drywall will transmit the sounds from one room through it into the drywall of the other room to which they are attached.
You can dampen the sound transmitted in this fashion by installing fiberglass batts, but in order to eliminate it completely, you’ll have to put up a separate set of studs for both the walls, so that the noise from one room can’t be transmitted to the drywall of the other.
Soundproofing Techniques For Windows
In addition those you use on your walls, ceilings, and floors, you should find some Soundproofing techniques to employ on your windows. Think about using both vinyl window frames and double-paned glass, because although you’ll pay more for double panes, you’ll be rewarded with both quieter and a more energy-efficient house.
Finally, one of the soundproofing techniques which will not only make your home less noisy, but add an attractive privacy accent to its interior, is to install shutters on the insides of your windows.
By: Eric Henry