Home Improvement Tips for the New Year

The New Year is nearly here and what better time than now to review some home improvement tips that will help you get started off on the right foot this upcoming year?

The New Year is a perfect time to take a look at the home and tackle some much needed home improvement projects. It’s a time to cast off the old skin and slap on some new paint, as we look to go boldly forward and on to better, brighter (sometimes literally) things.

Before you begin tackling these handyman and DIY projects – or bigger ones, such as a home renovation or home remodel – there are some things you should consider. To help, we have a list of some New Year home remodeling tips for you below, courtesy of North Georgia’s finest build/design firm!

New Year Home Improvement Tips

For starters, you should never simply leap into any home improvement task without giving it plenty of thought. Your home is a large space and needs a lot of tender loving care as time goes on, and it can be difficult to decide which project you need to undertake first. What is more important, that leaky faucet or painting the exterior of your home?

Because of this, we recommend taking a step back and assessing the current shape of your home – both from the inside and out. Walk around your home and thoroughly inspect it for any problems areas or things that appear in disrepair. Make a checklist of these issues and any known troubles, then order them in order of importance. Things such as a leaky roof or bad plumbing should obviously come before aesthetic problems, such as chipped paint (though that is certainly something you will want to take care of at some point). Once you have your list in order, you can begin to triage and start knocking off action items one at a time.

Of course, some problems are not so easily spotted with the naked, untrained eye, and in light of that, it is never a bad idea to call in a home inspector to review your home and find trouble areas you might normally miss. Ditto from a home energy auditor, who can detect energy waste in the home and save you a hefty sum of cash in the long term.

Another thing to consider is home maintenance. Don’t let home improvement projects take precedence over routine maintenance tasks (such as clearing the gutters, switching out air-conditioning filters, and so on). If you do, you will soon find yourself beleaguered with even more issues than you started off with, and what’s worse, these issues were avoidable!

Once you have your assessment in hand, you need to ask yourself another question: what are my long-term goals? Are you planning on staying in your home for the next 10 or 20 years? Will you be looking to upgrade your home or move to a larger one in the near future? Will you want to downsize? How about adding a home addition or performing a remodel?

Depending on the answers to those questions, you may find yourself able to remove some of the items on your checklist. For instance, if you will be moving in the next year or two, you may want to skip replacing your roof — perhaps hiring someone to patch it is a better use of your time and money in this instance. If you will be adding a home addition, maybe it is best to hold off on painting the exterior of your home until it is completed so you have an even color across the whole home.

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