With New Year’s falling in the midst of winter, it’s highly likely that you’ve been putting off some important home maintenance jobs, whether they’re DIY projects or things that require you to call in the experts.
Here are five of the top New Year’s resolutions to have about the home, so you can start the year in comfortable and safe surroundings and make some early headway on your DIY to-do list for the next 12 months.
Continue reading Top New Year’s resolutions to have about the home
Winter quickly takes its toll on home energy bills, as you’re likely to have the lights on for more hours in the day, you might be using appliances such as tumble dryers more often, and you’ll probably be cranking up the central heating on cold days.
Continue reading Top tips for saving on heating bills over winter
Winter DIY jobs are often some of the most important of the year – not just about sprucing up the house like in springtime, or creating new relaxation and entertainment spaces like in the summer.
We all need somewhere to escape to once in a while, and you can only get away with so long ‘reading the paper’ in the safety of a locked bathroom – so why not go one better and build yourself a man cave?
Loft conversions are one of the best known ways to add habitable space to your home, and we’ve all seen master bedrooms with en suite bathrooms that turn that attic space into a cosy place to get a good night’s sleep, right up at the top of the house.
But while most of us might think of converting the loft, many houses have a cellar too – and it’s equally likely to be missing out on its full potential if you currently only use it for storage.
It’s that time of year when many households’ thoughts turn to spring cleaning, and if you’re planning to give your house the onceover from top to bottom, a bit of simple preparation can help make it less of a mammoth task.
Here are just a few ways to get the best results from your spring cleaning in 2018 by combining the latest innovations in cleaning products and microfibre cloths with good old-fashioned remedies and elbow grease.
If you have a decent amount of loft space that has only ever been used for storing the Christmas tree and gathering dust, a loft conversion might be worth considering as a way to add living space and value to your home.
Back in the summer of 2015, Sainsbury’s Bank commissioned some research and found that 31% of estate agents consider loft conversions as one of the best value-adding home improvements, on a par with a new bathroom or even a single-storey extension.
Continue reading What you need to know about renovating a loft
Energy saving products sometimes suffer from poor public perception. It can be hard to look beyond the higher upfront cost of some eco-friendly products, while others may feel forced upon you, such as the ban on incandescent light bulbs or high-powered vacuum cleaners.
But the point that many people miss is that these are not just old second-rate technologies being forced into our homes; they are genuine innovations that mean we can get the same or better results with a fraction of the energy consumption.
Continue reading What difference do energy saving products actually make?
Homeowners everywhere dream of stamping their personality on their home, and while kitchen renovations can be ambitious, they can also have the biggest effect, and it doesn’t have to cost the earth to get the job done.
These are just some of the ways you can complete kitchen renovations on a budget, without compromising too much on the finished product – and how you can even save money over the long term.
Continue reading Kitchen renovations: tips for a more economical cooking space
Eliminating unwanted draughts from your home could save you anywhere from £25 to £50 a year, depending on who you ask – and as draught proofing the home can be done on the cheap, it’s easy to come out in profit even within the space of a single windy winter.
