Some great tips to give your home a modern refresh.
Sometimes the urge to change up your living space suddenly strikes. You’re not looking for anything major – just a few changes here and there.
Other times, the need for repairs is simply impossible to ignore. Problems with your home’s structure or appliances are getting in the way of everyday life.
No matter the level of urgency, there are numerous ways to give your home a face lift.
High Efficiency Faucets
Whether your water bill seems too high lately or you simply want to implement more environmentally friendly measures around your home, putting high efficiency faucets in your kitchen and bathroom can be an ideal solution. While standard faucets use around 2.2 to 2.5 gallons of water per minute, low-flow faucets can drop the flow to about 1.5 gallons per minute. High-efficiency faucets aren’t expensive, and you can expect to save plenty of money on your water bill. Products like these can save a family 700 gallons of water per year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
If you’re impressed with the new faucets, you can take this low-flow concept further. Install high efficiency showerheads and low-flow toilets to benefit from additional savings. Some newer toilet models even have two flush options, so you don’t have to use excessive water when flushing liquid waste.
Tankless Water Heaters
Your efforts to be more energy efficient don’t have to stop at the faucet. Tankless water heaters are another smart investment for the environmentally conscious homeowner. Standard water heaters store up heated water (typically around 50 gallons). Energy is constantly being used to keep this storage tank at a specific high temperature.
On the other hand, tankless heaters follow a more energy efficient method. They only heat up the water as it passes through a heat exchanger and heads to your faucet. This can cut energy use by 24 to 34 percent.
While tankless options tend to be more expensive upfront, they also have a longer lifespan than traditional models and they’re more compact. In addition, you won’t have to worry about a storage tank running low on hot water. However, you will need to assess your household’s typical water usage to ensure you pick a suitably sized unit to handle demand. Plumbing services like Mr. Green Plumbing can help you determine which tankless water heater is right for your home.
Basic Plumbing Repair
The EPA reports that leaks in the average American household can waste roughly 10,000 gallons of water in a year. Where are these leaks coming from? Everywhere from loose valves to faucets that drip continuously throughout the day and night. Even the little leaks add up over time.
Fortunately, this is a problem that’s easily remedied. If you’re handy with a toolkit, you can simply correct some of the issues yourself. But for more complicated issues, it helps to have a professional plumber to turn to. In either case, the most important thing to remember is that leaks aren’t always easy to spot. Stay vigilant and attend to any problem areas as soon as you can to prevent water damage and higher bills.
Kitchen Remodel or Renovation
While fixing leaky valves is a relatively simple fix, you might have bigger goals in mind for your kitchen. Kitchen remodels and renovations are extensive projects that can bring you closer to the home of your dreams.
Many people use the terms “remodel” and “renovation” interchangeably. But they actually differ when it comes to the scope of a project. A renovation involves simply repairing or restoring a space that already exists. If you choose to renovate a kitchen, you want to maintain or restore its functionality.
A remodel is often more extensive, and it involves transforming the space by changing its physical structure. If you’re opting for a remodeling project, you want your kitchen to look entirely different. So, unsurprisingly, remodeling tends to be more expensive than renovation projects.
Which one is right for your kitchen? That depends on your vision for your kitchen. Consulting with experts like Starwood Renovation, who specialize in both remodeling and renovations, can help you come to a decision.