Not everyone can afford to build a new home from scratch or demolish an existing structure and rebuild it from the ground up. Most people that are in the market to buy homes just have enough money to purchase the property. Making serious changes to it is out of the question.
The problem with buying an existing home, or living in a home that is a few decades old, is the cost of maintenance. Here are a few things that will add more years to the life of your home and will make it much easier to maintain.
1) Insulation
The cost of energy is rising right across the globe. This, combined with the increase in global warming, means people are spending more than ever just to keep their homes comfortable. Through good insulation, you can significantly reduce your energy bill and have a far more comfortable environment inside the home. In the summertime, it will help reduce the amount of heat the home absorbs, and in the wintertime, it will help reduce the heat that dissipates through the walls, roof, and floor. If you have the budget to insulate just one area of the house, start with the roof. Later, consider insulating the walls and the floor too.
2) Home Warranty
We automatically get manufacturers’ warranties for products that we buy, but these don’t cover things like theft, loss, or damage. Moreover, the manufacturer’s warranty only provides coverage for a limited time. There are countless situations when a warranty claim won’t go through because it isn’t in line with the manufacturers’ requirements. A better alternative is to get a home warranty cover from a third-party provider. With such a warranty, you don’t have to worry about who the manufacturer of the product is or what the issue is. Home warranty services will provide you with coverage even in cases where something was stolen or was damaged for any reason. In some cases you might get the item repaired, in other cases, you could get a completely free replacement.
3) Lighting
Lights are the most heavily used electrical item in the home. While a single bulb on its own doesn’t consume a lot of energy, when you have lights on throughout the home for several hours on end, it quickly adds up. The types of bulbs you use play a big role in your overall energy bill. Cheaper bulbs are easy to buy, but the running cost is pretty high. They use a lot of electricity, they don’t provide as many lumens per watt that they use, they emit a lot of heat, and they don’t have a very long life. Better quality bulbs such as LEDs are more efficient in every department.
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If you want to improve the quality of your home and reduce your long-term home maintenance expenses, make regular home maintenance a part of your routine. If you invest in a very good appliance or some other fitting for the home but don’t take good care of it and service it on time, it will eventually start giving you issues that will only cost more money to maintain. Regular maintenance through an authorized service provider is a small investment towards ensuring the long-term wellbeing of your home if you can’t do it yourself.
