Handyman & Home Improvement

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.

  • Conventional wisdom among estate agents is that kitchens and bathrooms sell homes, so if you’re thinking of improving with a view to selling on, this is a good place to start.
  • If you rent your home and apply to your local authority for a disabled facilities grant, you’ll need to get your landlord’s permission before your local authority will agree to help you.
  • Both could improve your home’s value and saleability significantly, even if it means sacrificing a small bedroom entirely.
  • If you want to add more safety features to your home but can’t seem to follow through, make it one of your top priorities in the new year.
  • Your foundation already has a big job to do holding up the house.

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.

Silence Floor Squeaks

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.

#3 Holmes on Homes

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.

Some things will cost a pretty penny but won’t make a significant impact on what your home is worth to someone else. There’s usually no need for planning permission with a loft conversion, as this kind of project requires internal work and doesn’t normally affect the exterior of the house or its footprint. You can make certain changes to your home without applying for planning permission under permitted development rights. The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies advances understanding of housing issues and informs policy. Through graduate and executive courses, as well as fellowships and internship opportunities, the Center also trains and inspires the next generation of housing leaders.

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