Aging houses are fueling a home improvement boom

That could mean avoiding replacing dinged-up trim work or repainting entire walls. Keeping up with caulking maintenance in bathrooms and kitchens saves many water-damage repair costs later. Peel-and-stick wallpaper is a temporary way to add a burst of vibrant color or pattern to a room without tearing up the walls. To keep this project affordable and doable, try papering a focal wall or a small, low-humidity space like a powder room or closet.

• If you’re in an older property and have enough space, doing this will also allow you to expand your kitchen.
• He says the pandemic has forced many people to prioritize family life and adopt a more agile approach to their well-being.
• In addition, a local authority might have policies which don’t allow other types of discrimination such as discrimination against older people.
• A local authority must give you a disabled facilities grant if you meet the conditions for getting one.
• Indeed HHI were the company that pioneered roofline in Northern Ireland and extended ‘maintenance free’ to a whole new market.

For example, its rules might say you can’t get a grant if your savings are over a certain limit. Although your local authority can have its own rules, there are certain things that it must or must not do when it provides help with home improvements. Your local authority must have rules about help with home improvements, but it can’t have rules which are completely rigid or unreasonable. For example, it can’t say it will never give any grants, and it must take your individual circumstances into account if you apply for help. Also, the rules must not discriminate against you because of your age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

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Stripping and staining cabinets will give your space a major facelift. Sealing cabinets with polyurethane will also increase durability. Begin by removing cabinet doors and hardware, then wipe cabinet fronts and doors with mineral spirits to remove any dirt, dust, and grease.

Install recessed and track lighting

Those kinds of replacement projects make up about half of home improvement spending, according to Abbe Will, who follows the industry at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “The older the home, the more need, true need, there is to do projects such as , windows, efficiency, related projects, roofing,” Farnsworth said. Pegboards are simple to hang, and can be easily customized with paint and can be cut to fit the size of your wall. If an overhead rack isn’t the right fit for your kitchen, consider installing a pegboard.

Spend a few hundred dollars on lighting instead of many thousands on tearing the place apart and putting it back together. 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. Decorative ceiling medallions are available in all shapes, sizes, and styles.

For color, you can purchase a few bright annual flowers at your local garden shop and either plant them directly into the landscape around the house, or add them to pots near the front door. When trying to sell, a nice coat of neutral paint can give the entire house a facelift, and buyers really love to see a fresh blank canvas. A home equity loan or home equity line of credit can let you borrow against the equity in your home.