Improve Your Home in Just a Few Days with These 32 Weekend Projects

The most effective system is a vent pipe placed in the sump pit or a hole made under your concrete floor slab. The vent runs up through the house and out the roof, or out the side of the house and up to the eaves. A special in-line fan for radon is placed in the attic or outside the house to suck air through the vent. Any openings in the slab or foundation are sealed to keep out radon. Motion detector lights are a proven crime deterrent, and standard hard-wired models cost as little as $15.

And it’s possible to patch a small tear, but you can also replace an entire screen. This is a great beginner DIY home improvement that will help keep insects out of your home and make your windows or screen doors more attractive. Twenty-three percent of homeowners want to spend the colder months taking care of home renovations. The survey found that homeowners would rather complete home renovations during the fall/winter so they can travel in the spring/summer.

  • Will you have enough room to brush your teeth or put in your contacts?
  • You don’t have to go big when it comes to kitchen projects.
  • 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.
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Refinancing is a low-interest way to get tax-free cash for remodeling your kitchen, finishing your basement or anything you choose. The best time to get a skylight installed is when you’re getting a new roof. “Nobody will install a skylight on a roof that’s not brand new,” explains Pacific-Northwest agent Dawn Rushton in HomeLight’s guide to the added value of skylights. Why install complicated light fixtures when natural light can pour in from above? Adding a skylight to a room brings the outside in, and the sky view will make a room feel more spacious.

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.

Add Ceiling Details

You could gain access to some of your equity and lower your mortgage payment at the same time. The minimum amount of equity you’ll need to leave in your home when you refinance varies by loan type and by lender. If you want to take cash out with a conventional loan, you’ll typically need to leave at least 15 – 20% equity in your home. When you opt for a cash-out refinance, you refinance your mortgage for more than you owe and take the difference in cash. The more equity you have built up , the more money you can convert to cash.

Improve the Landscape

Before taking out a home equity loan, be careful and consider the pros and cons. You should explore alternatives with a credit counselor that do not put your home at risk of a forced sale. If you are unable to make payments on time, you could end up losing your home. A home equity loan is a form of credit where your home is used as collateral to borrow money. You can use it to pay for major expenses, including education, medical bills, and home repairs.

Add Storage to Your Entry

Doing so can help families save on heating and cooling costs while staying safe and healthy. A disabled facilities grant will be no more than £30,000 in England and £36,000 in Wales. However, your local authority can top up this up, as it can give you other help with home improvements . The amount of grant you get depends on your income and savings, unless the work is to meet the needs of a disabled person under 16, or in some cases, over 16 but under 19.