When you are considering home improvements for your Chicago home, you may have several motivations. To start, you may want to improve the return on your investment, if you sell your home. Still, many homeowners will consider home improvements to simply appreciate the value of their home, even though they may consider living in it until their heirs inherit it. The most common home improvements or renovations that will build on the value of your home, and make it more comfortable to live in, include bathroom, kitchen, roofing, and hardscaping. Learn more about some basic tips and strategies on how to remodel your home on your budget, and wind up with the refreshed home of your dreams.
Bathroom Remodeling
Bathroom remodeling is first on the list of many homeowners that are considering a major renovation, or putting their home up for sale. It is an adage that says bathrooms and kitchens will sell a home. If you update anything, this is a great room to start in. Consider adding a bathroom vanity, get creative with frameless shower enclosures, or consider installing a glass shower door. Any one of these changes will update the look and the return on your investment immediately.
Take some time to strategize the bathroom changes, before you begin your project. You may want to simply change the color, add a few bins, or create more storage in the bathroom. On the other hand, you may want to rehaul it completely with a demolition that changes the entire face of the room. Either way, your budget can help you to strategize, and optimize how you plan your bathroom remodel.
The lifestyle of your bathroom will play the most important role in your decisions. What are the daily routines in this room? Do you have more than one person using the bathroom? Double vanities, storage space in the showers and age ranges of the people using the bathroom can be considered here. When you have an idea of what changes you want, you can move to creating the new layout which will determine how extensive and expensive your remodel will become.
The more that you can use the existing plumbing and work around that without compromising your dream room, the easier your budget. It won’t matter how big your budget is, you will always want to be cutting costs where you can. If you are changing the shower or tub, or any of your sinks or vanities, see if you can create a layout using the existing plumbing. It may optimize space to move the tub to the other side of the room, but get a plumber to weigh in on the costs before you decide that large.
Another way to remodel a bathroom is by making small changes to the decor such as with curtains, bathmats, and toilet coverings, and adding decorative accessories that can be used in the bathroom. Match your curtains with shower curtains and other hues in the bathroom. Or, go neutral and bring more white into your bathroom for a clean look that is both modern and traditional.
Next, decide what you want to do with the major fixtures. You won’t be able to move the toilet or the shower in most cases, but you can remodel them. Change the kind of toilet or shower you have, and consider adding a second vanity sink if you have a lot of people using this room. Browse remodels online to become inspired by the kind of new bathroom remodel you can create very easily.
Kitchen Upgrades
Kitchen upgrades are among the most common home improvements when a remodel project is about to begin. You may want to hire professional kitchen remodeling services when you are considering these home improvements. You can do something as simple as updating the countertop, or renovating the entire room to create a brand-new look. Again, budget will dictate a lot of what you can do here.
The best way to start planning your kitchen upgrades is to determine what needs to be fixed first. In many cases, people just want a new kitchen for the aesthetic appeal. In other cases, however, you may have a fridge that keeps getting expensive repairs to it or a cupboard door that keeps falling off. Either of these things can be enough to want to start an entirely new renovation. Make a list of what needs to be done first, and the inspiration on how far you can go will come to you during your planning stages.
If you can’t upgrade your entire kitchen, smaller ideas will still create a nice upgrade. Painting your cabinets or replacing the doors on them may be much less expensive than replacing them altogether. Additionally, adding new cabinet knobs or handles can also change the face of your entire room.
Adding new appliances is another way to remodel a kitchen. Replacing all of your appliances and adding a coat of paint can change the look. If you need a new appliance, it is easy to get into the dream of wanting to replace them all, because you want them all to be the same. Smart appliances are an investment in today’s kitchen and can help you to decrease energy costs.
At the same time, smart appliances can make a kitchen remodel exciting. Imagine a world where you can turn the oven on or off from your couch and smartphone. Add a traveling island to your kitchen and you’ve got a brand new space for half the cost of an entire remodel that could cost you over $50,000. These home improvements are minor kitchen upgrades that could bring you a good return on your investment as well.
Roof Replacement
When you are upgrading your home to improve the return on your investment for selling purchases, a new roof is an appealing item for prospective buyers. Does your roof need a full replacement though? Get some estimates from at least three experts who are certified and insured as a local roofing contractor, and take their opinions seriously. Local roofers can help you decide if you need roof repairs or a roof replacement for your home improvements.
Many factors go into determining if you need a full roof replacement. The age of your roof is the single most important factor, other than obvious damage that may require a replacement. If you have just had a roof installed in the past 10 years, you probably don’t need a roof replacement. A roof repair may be all that you need to spruce up the look of your home.
Have your contractors assess the extent of the damage to the home before you decide to repair or replace it. If the damage to the roof is serious, a good roofer will tell you. The importance of multiple quotes here will help you to determine who is being honest and who is not. Do not be afraid to tell your contractors that you are getting multiple quotes, but you don’t have to tell them what kind of quotes you are getting.
Whether or not your roof is leaking in many areas will also determine the extent of your roof repairs or replacement. If your roof only has a sore spot on it, a repair will likely be all that you need. If your roof is leaking in many different sections, your roofing contractors are going to lean towards a full replacement. They may want to check the extent of water damage in the home, as this will also be an indicator of multiple leaks from a bad roof.
A key thing to consider when you are considering a roof replacement is efficiency in other areas. If your energy efficiency is terrible, it may be due to a bad roof. Again, a good contractor will have some advice and tips on this that can help you determine if you need a full replacement. If you find that your energy bills are higher than usual, it may be because your roof is leaking air.
This will make it more difficult and expensive to keep the home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Your heat and cooling system will work overtime to cool the house, while it expels heat and cool air into the environment under a leaky roof. Check the history of your energy bills and see if you notice big discrepancies that suddenly occur after a bad winter or difficult storm.
A new roof can be among the most expensive home improvements that you make. However, this is one of those necessities. If you have constant water damage that you can’t explain, or energy bills that seem suddenly outrageous, get some quotes. Put this item first on your list of home improvements before you do anything else, so that you know what kind of budget you have for other renovations when this is done.
Hardscaping Installation
Hardscaping is a kind of landscaping that happens outside, but it happens with hard materials like concrete and limestone. Having a hardscape company come in to create new concrete retaining walls, block a driveway with interlocking brick for you, or change your entire backyard can add a significant return to the value of your home. Curb appeal matters.
New buyers love to buy a home that is already beautiful. They don’t want a backyard or driveway that is going to cost them thousands to update for their comfort. At the same time, you may not want to sell your home but may want to put some home improvement money into the exterior of your home. A hardscaping plan is an ideal way to bring life to your home on a minimal budget.
Before you decide on your hardscaping plans, consider what you want your final look to appear as. If you need a new driveway and that is all you want to change, interlocking brick can be an affordable way to change the face of your driveway and your home. You can plan your hardscaping around the existing landscape design of your home, or pull everything out and create a new landscape design.
Create focal points around your hardscaping with landscape to bring life to the exterior of your home. At the same time, create balance. You can have beautiful shrubs lining the walkways of your exterior interlocking brick and create an oasis that anyone would envy. Get multiple estimates from local contractors, and you will become inspired by the many ways you can make concrete beautiful outside your home.
Many homeowners think that hardscaping home improvements might make their exterior look colder and uninviting. This is not the case. You can warm up the look of your hardscaping designs with landscaping, bushes, perennials, and brightly colored plants or trees around your concrete to bring life to your home. You may want to take advantage of these renovations by adding more plant life to the exterior of your home, and this could perk up the curb appeal.
One thing you will have to consider when you are making these renovations is the drainage systems on your property. Many homeowners will begin projects such as this on their own without realizing that assessing drainage issues on their property is key to creating the ideal hardscaping plan. You’ll need to know how your home drainage plans will be impacted if you are adding retaining walls, patios, walkways, or driveways with hardscaping plans. Ensure that your plan has a runoff plan so that your drainage can capture excess water from your home and drain it appropriately for you.
You can get creative with home improvements to your Chicago home with the right amount of planning. Make sure that you make a list of what you need to be done in the home first. From there you can create a budget. From bathrooms to interlocking brick for your exterior, every stone you turn over will have a cost, but the process will be fun if you plan it right.