#homeimprovement

#homeimprovement

29 Things You Discover After Buying Your First HomeThe transition from renting to owning a home is bigger than you can imagine before it happens. Sure, you quickly get an education in mortgage rates, school locations, and where the water department office is. But there is an encyclopedia of things that homeowners know and new homeowners will soon find out. You know you'll be responsible for repairs, but it takes experience to learn how difficult those repairs really are, whether you do it yourself or try to hire someone else to do it. The learning curve takes a familiar route no matter who you are. And then there are the neighbors. These new neighbors can be your best friends or your worst enemies, but either way you'll have to deal with them for years to come. Homeowners are willing to share what they've learned so far. Here's an exampled from MaxSupernova:Any project will be 90% completed in a normal amount of time.The final finishing touches will take at least a year, and you will be unable to find at least a third of the things you originally purchased to do the finishing touches and will be forced to rebuy them.Corollary: you will find them shortly after you finish the project.Redditor mmmmrrrr6789 said a lot in just a few words.The house knows when you have money. Usually near the exact amount. My mom puts money away and gets a "Christmas club" check every November for around $2000-2500. This year the furnace needs repair. $2100These lessons may be hard to learn, but years later, they will be a great story to tell on the internet. You can read all the comments and replies at the original reddit thread, or read the top 29 tidbits at Bored Panda. (Image credit: The Finishing Company Richmond Va) #homeownership #homeimprovement #repair #project

7 Home Improvement Projects You Can Do for Under $1000When budgeting your money and time for a home improvement project, it's hard to know what will give you the most bang for your buck. The subject came up at the subreddit Home Improvement. The question was, "What $500-$1000 investment was a total game changer for your house?" Experienced homeowners had plenty of stories, some costing way less than $500. Apartment Therapy selected seven of the best and posted tips on getting the job done.They range from the obvious, which is "paint your interior." You can do one room at a time, and a fresh coat and different color will make your place feel like home. Some you would never think of on your own, like installing "soft close" doors and lids, to keep slamming to a minimum. It will also make your doors last longer. There are close to 5K comments at the original thread, in case you want to do a deep dive into your next potential home project. (Image credit: Australian Department of Defence) #homeimprovement #budget

A Gallery of Home Improvement Failures(Image credit: power-cube)Given enough time, every homeowner will have stories of regrets and mistakes in home maintenance and improvements. Some are our own mistakes, when we try to do something we aren't all that experienced at. Others are regrets over hiring workers who didn't know what they were doing, or else didn't care. That can be unavoidable in this day and age when the most skilled tradespeople prefer new construction jobs or long term contracts, leaving you to hire not the best, but the only people willing to take on your job.