How to Improve the Lifetime and Longevity of Your Home

Many homeowners are faced with the daunting prospect of having to replace their home in a few years because it is showing signs of wear and tear. The good news is that there are many ways you can improve the lifetime and longevity of your home, which will save you money in the long run. In this blog post we'll go over 10 tips that will help make your home last as long as possible.

Install an Insulation Blanket Over Your Attic Floor

Most homes have attic floors, which are designed to keep cold air from seeping into the house through the insulation in your ceiling. Unfortunately, traditional attic flooring is prone to moisture and rot, especially if you live in a humid climate. A simple fix to this problem is to install a moisture barrier over your attic floor. You can purchase these types of products for less than $50 and they are super easy to install.

Replace Your Windows When They Start Leaking Air or Water

Over time, the seals on windows will start to fail, which makes them more susceptible to air and water leaks. If you notice that your windows are leaking, it's time to replace them. Replacing a window is fairly inexpensive, and will save you money on your energy bill in the long run. We recommend getting your windows replaced every 20 years or whenever you notice any signs of leaking.

Paint Your Exterior Once Every Two Years

Just like your car, your home will need to be stripped and repainted every few years. Make sure you set aside a day or two every year to strip down your house exterior, and buy a new can of primer and paint for the following year. The cost of this project is minimal, and it will ensure your home exterior stays looking nice.

Use Seamless Gutters

If you want seamless gutters on your home, consider using the seamless aluminum gutters or seamless copper guttering. Some companies, like New England’s Best Home Services, know that they can last 50 years without needing replacement.

Use Mold Kits to Test for Poisonous Mold in Your Home

Mold can cause illnesses when it is introduced into the bloodstream, so it's important to make sure you don't have any mold growing away from your eyesight.

These are some of the best ways to extend the lifetime of your home. Some extra measures you can take to increase your home's life span include: finishing basement walls, installing a sump pump, and creating an emergency supply kit for natural disasters.

Moving Into a 100-Year-Old Home? Improvements You Might Need to Make

When moving into a 100-year-old home, you should expect to have a few things to repair. You need to make sure the house is holding up well and is safe for you to be there. You can make it safer and more comfortable with these tips.

Take a Look at the Electricity

When moving into an old house, you might worry about safety. Fires can happen when the electrical system has become outdated, and you need to check it out. If there are any messed up or faulty wires in the house, then the electricians will take care of that and redo things as they need to so that the house will be safe. Before you move into your new home, make sure you know what type of wiring is in the home. You will need to account for updated electrical wiring in your home before closing. 

Make Sure the Foundation Is Holding Up Well

The foundation is another cause of concern in many older homes. If you want to do any remodeling in the house, then you need to be especially cautious of the foundation. You can get house underpinning done to make the foundation sturdier so that you don't have to worry. Check for any cracks in the foundation or bricks on the outside of your home. Fill in cracks to help reduce your energy bill and keep your home sturdy for years to come. 

Check Out the Bathrooms and Plumbing

The bathrooms in an older house may cause you some issues, and you need to check them out. Make sure the plumbing isn't leaking and that there aren't any issues with the toilet or tub. Replace older faucets and things as needed to make the house more modern and comfortable. The appearance of the bathrooms might be outdated as well. While making plumbing improvements, you might also want to do a visual renovation. Remove any old tiles and replace them with modern ones. Old faucets might also need to be replaced. 

Get New Doors or Fix the Squeaks

A problem in many older homes is squeaky doors. If you are having any issues with that, then either replace the doors or oil the hinges. You might want to paint or stain the doors throughout the house, as well, to give them an updated and clean look.

Change Out Light Fixtures and Light Bulbs

If the lighting in the older house is a bit dimmer than you are used to, then you can change that. Replace all the light fixtures with those that look modern and pretty. Put new light bulbs in and increase the wattage and number of bulbs throughout the house to brighten it up. If you are redoing the electrical system, anyway, then have a few more lights put in where you need them.

Take care of the older home well so that it will be safe for you to be there. Make sure things are going well with the plumbing, electricity, and other important components of the home. Make updates where needed and enjoy the special 100-year-old home.

How To Prevent Clutter From Building up in Your Home

Cluttered homes lead to cluttered minds, and no one wants to live in a place that doesn’t feel relaxing or supportive. Clutter has a nasty habit of seeming to pop up out of nowhere as time goes on. Even if you try to be clean, the little messes tend to pile up quicker than you can deal with them until you’re buried in the clutter. Because it’s so important that our homes be a place where we can feel safe and comfortable, we want you to know how to prevent clutter from building up in your home.

Schedule Regular Purges

Almost everyone is familiar with spring cleaning, but you can’t get by with only an annual deep clean. The clutter will get out of control by then. You need to schedule a few times throughout the month or year when you go through and get rid of what you don’t need. Whether you dump it all into trash bags or donate useful items to a place like the Purple Heart Pickup, it’s a good idea to do frequent purges.

Don’t Keep Things Without a Proper Place

One of the reasons that clutter starts to build up is because things come into your life, and you don’t have a place to live. When you get items like these, you tend just to throw them wherever they might fit. A good rule of thumb is that unless you know exactly where something will go in your house, you don’t need it. Don’t bring in new items if you can’t immediately think of a good place for them.

Go Paperless Wherever Possible

Drowning a bit in paper is fairly common nowadays, but it’s a pretty archaic way of dealing with things like bills and communication. One of the best ways to prevent clutter from building up in your home is to switch to paperless options wherever possible. Not only is it good for the environment, but you also won’t have to deal with mountains of paper that you’re afraid to throw away in case you somehow, someday need them.

Rethink Items Before Bringing Them In

The best way to tackle a problem is to stop it from becoming a problem in the first place. If you struggle with clutter popping up all over the place, be more cognizant of anything you bring inside your home. Everything that goes through your front door could turn into clutter if you’re not careful, so take some extra time to think about the items you want to bring in. You’ll often find that you don’t really need a lot of those items at all, and tossing them right away will save you some cleaning later on.

Creative Ways To Make Your Interior Design Stand Out

Everybody wants to make their home look good, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to have that “wow” factor when your guests come to see it for the first time. If that’s your primary goal, you’re going to want to read our list of creative ways to make your interior design stand out. Even just going through with one or two of these tips will increase the appeal of your home significantly.

Throw Pillows

Let’s start with something a little more basic. Whether they’re on the couch or your bed, pillows are usually the first thing people’s eyes are drawn to when looking at your furniture, especially if you make them stand out. Therefore, they are a crucial item to focus on. Try to avoid picking pillows that perfectly match the color of your bed or couch because they won’t get any attention that way.

Instead, choose pillows in complementary colors. That way, they will go well with the base color of the furniture while still drawing in your guests’ attention. Also, don’t be afraid to buy some oddly shaped pillows. These pillows are more about making a statement rather than being comfortable, although if you find some that do both, that’s a win-win.

Ottomans

If you want the ultimate statement piece, you’ll want to buy an ottoman. Most people use coffee tables as their centerpieces of the room due to their functionality. That’s why ottomans are the ultimate way to stand out. If you really want to make your ottoman pop, you should find some ways to customize it. Since nobody ever really sits on them, you’re free to use fabrics that would normally wear out quickly when heavily used.

Paint

Typically, people would suggest painting one wall a different color in order to make it stand out. While this is effective, it’s a bit overdone. That’s why we’re going to recommend painting a mural on your wall instead. If you’ve got the artistic talent to do it yourself, go for it!

If you’d rather leave the artistry to someone else, you can just as easily hire someone to bring your vision to life. Don’t shy away from any ideas because you think they would be too complex or time-consuming. This masterpiece is going to be what brings your whole room together, so you need to go the extra mile with it.

Lighting

The proper use of lighting is highly underrated when it comes to the décor of most people’s homes, which is why our final creative way to make your interior design stand out is to go all out with lighting. Lamps are an easy way to set the mood but installing dimmable ceiling lights is the way to go for all-around control. You can even get lights that change color to truly capture the feel you’re going for.

Buying a stylish chandelier or ceiling fan can also help pull a room together. Just make sure that you don’t go too extreme here because you can quickly turn something elegant into something tacky if you go overboard.