Building a new home is an exciting journey to embark upon. However, it can also be an extremely stressful one if you don’t plan. To help you make your home-building project a success, here are a few tips to end up with a home you’ll love for years to come.

Budget Carefully

Firstly, budgeting is a huge part of building a home. When you buy an existing property, the budgeting pressure is lifted slightly because you have a total figure you want to spend, and that’s it. When you build a new home, the costs aren’t always as clear, and under-budgeting can result in a lot of heartaches.

When getting estimates from your builders, ask that everything is included. Often, the prices provided are for all the basics. If you want more upmarket inclusions such as whitegoods, blinds and even smaller things like door handles, you want to know the full cost. Don’t forget landscaping too, as this can often be an expense people forget to budget for.

Lot Placement Matters

Where your home sits on your lot is important for a number of reasons. Most importantly, you want your home facing the right way to maximise the light and warmth from the sun. As a general rule, having your main living areas facing north is a good way to go. This gives you the most daylight sun streaming through the windows, so you can save on heating and lighting.

You’ll also want to consider how close you want to be to the neighbours, whether you prefer having a large front or back yard, and ensuring you’ve got the best access possible to your home.

Choose a Floor Plan for Your Lifestyle

Lifestyle is a big thing to consider when building a home, particularly in designing the floor plan. It’s also one of the most difficult processes because, as we know, lifestyles change. If you’re a young, single couple who likes entertaining, your idea of the perfect home layout may be very different from a family with two or three children. The issue is, you may be the single couple now, but in years to come, you could be the family.

Many people prefer open plan living, but you need to ensure it’s practical for what the future holds too. If you want children to have their rooms, consider where you want them to be in relation to living areas where the most noise occurs. 

Insulation

Insulation can so easily be forgotten in the home building process, but it’s one of those things you need to get right from the word go. While it’s not so difficult to add ceiling insulation down the track, choosing the right floor insulation is best done while building. It’s difficult to rip out walls and pull up the floor to add insulation at a later date.

Insulation helps maintain the comfort levels of your home, all while saving money on heating and cooling costs. When installed well, it also offers great sound absorption. It’s an investment that will pay off every single day, so make sure you get the best products while you’re building.

Sustainable Materials

Finally, always consider sustainable materials. As we know, homes are built from a mixture of timber and steel, but there are plenty of smaller parts of a home that you can obtain sustainably. Certain types of roofing are made from fully recycled materials, for example. You can also consider solar energy, solar hot water systems, water management, and even eco-friendly light globes.

Conclusion

Building your home can either be a trial or a great joy. With the right sort of planning, you can make sure you end up with a beautiful, comfortable home without the hassles that many people, unfortunately, go through while building.

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Rain or shine, snowstorms or heat waves, you want to be comfortable in your home no matter what the weather looks like outside. Our society has constructed several ways of ensuring thermal comfort – we do so primarily through the use of HVAC units like AC and furnaces. In recent years, however, there’s been a sea change in how we approach thermal comfort.

This sea change has largely been brought about due to concerns relating to climate change. Furnaces and air conditioning systems require large energy investments over time, which means the burning of more fossil fuels (directly or indirectly). Though these systems have become more energy-efficient over time (and new systems like heat pumps are becoming more popular), there’s a better way to increase your home’s energy efficiency – use insulation.

Insulate Everywhere

Insulation works to your advantage in the winter and summer. To understand this, it’s important to know a little bit about heat transfer. In brief, heat transfer means that heat is always moving towards cold. That means in the summer, heat is always trying to get into your home, while in the winter, heat is always trying to escape your home. Insulation acts as a thermal barrier – it prevents heat transfer in either direction.

Your home (and all other buildings) are surrounded by what’s known as a building envelope. This envelope is what separates the conditioned area inside your home from the unconditioned area outside. Sometimes the markers of a building envelope are pretty distinct – your exterior walls are a good example of this. Other times, the markers can be a bit more indistinct – your attic may be a part of the building envelope (if it’s unconditioned) or not (if it’s conditioned).

When evaluating how well-insulated a home is, look at the building envelope. Are there any weak points where a thermal transfer can happen more easily? If there are, the entire building envelope becomes substantially less effective, as drastic amounts of heat transfer will happen at those weak points.

The best way to evaluate where you should insulate in your home is to get an energy audit. Though you can perform this yourself, a professional audit will often better enable you to learn about all the places in your home where heat transfer is occurring. Keep in mind that windows and doors are an important part of your building envelope – weather strip and caulk where appropriate, and consider getting new doors and windows.

The most important place to insulate is your attic. Heat rises, so the attic is just about the worst place for a weak point in your building envelope – especially when things get cold. You’ll also want to insulate your walls, as well as any floors near the unconditioned environment.

Howell Mechanical, an HVAC and mechanical company, has some non-building envelope-related insulation advice: insulate your hot water pipes, too! When these pipes are insulated, you reduce hot water heat loss. That means you’ll need less energy to heat water. Good for the environment, good for your wallet.

A Closer Look at Insulation

Now that you know you should be insulating almost everywhere, it will be useful to take a closer look at how you’re insulating these spaces. There’s an interesting housing standard you might want to look into Passive House. We won’t go too into depth about their standards here, but the goal is to create a home that needs minimal heating and cooling by creating a hyper-insulated environment.

Passive House standards accomplish this by insulating the home so thoroughly that there’s almost no air transfer – you need a ventilator to keep the air sufficiently fresh in a Passive House. This goes well beyond insulation standards in building construction, but doing so can conserve a lot of energy.

To know how insulating a particular material is, it’s a good idea to look at its R-value; the higher the R-value, the more insulating the material. It’s also important to understand that doubling the thickness of a material doubles the R-value of the insulation. You can purchase high R-value materials with reflective surfaces and tightly woven air pockets, or you can achieve the same R-value by buying a lot of hay (note: using tons of hay as an insulant is not recommended).

One of the biggest problems with high-quality insulation around your house is that it can reduce how easily walls can breathe. This can leave moisture trapped between the insulation and walls, and it can make it difficult for moisture to leave your home. There are several solutions to this problem, from hybrid walls to the aforementioned ventilators. When insulating your home, keep moisture and air circulation in mind, especially if you’re going past the recommended levels of insulation in your area.

Conclusion

On that note, it’s important to recognize that homes in milder climates will need less insulation than climates with drastic temperature changes. There’s no one-size-fits-all standard for insulation – as long as you’re insulating your whole building envelope, you’re on the right track. Talk with professionals and check standards in your area to know how much insulation you need!

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Burglars like using windows as a point of entry to homes. Every few seconds, a burglar is trying to force their way into a home. As a homeowner, you must enhance the security of your property and one way to do so is to improve your window security. Below we give you various options on how you can do this.

Install Window Locks

Window locks are effective in enhancing home security. Burglars are always in a hurry to steal and locks give them a hard time. Although windows come with a latch, this is not enough and that is the reason you should purchase add-on locks.

Make sure they are of high quality. Ask your local locksmith for suitable window locks to suit your windows. They will also ensure they are installed properly. Then you must remember to lock them when not open.

Install Security Bars or Grills

If you cannot get window locks, you can opt for security grills or bars. Make sure that they can be securely attached and are effective. One thing to keep in mind is that they must be easy to release from the inside. This will help you escape from your home in case of fire or another emergency.

Upgrade Windows

Upgrading windows enhances home security significantly. As you choose the windows, consider high-quality ones that are hard to break, are more energy-efficient, and ones that include quality locks. Old and worn-out windows are easy to tamper with.

Add Window Security Pins

Just because your windows are old, it does not mean you cannot enhance home security through them. As long as they have a window frame, you can boost security. You should add window security pins on double-hung windows to keep them secure.

As you plan to improve your window security, there are a couple of things to remember. The options that you have will depend on the type of window and the level of security you are looking at. For example, with window locks, some work for a specific type of window and cannot work for others. Thus, you should work with a security specialist for professional advice.

Weak windows are an easy target for burglars who are always looking for an opportunity to grab something from your house. Some burglaries are never planned and they are done by opportunists. Thus, you should improve your window security as part and parcel of your home security.

Upgrade worn-out windows, install add-on locks, and use security bars. It also helps to work with a window specialist to see how best you can enhance security.

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Need somewhere to store your valuables? Try to rent a self storage unit from a provider of Auckland storage units close to you. This storage unit provides you with the space you need to store your belongings. Storage units offer a remedy before, during, and after a transfer for those who need temporary or long-term storage. 

You want to make sure the storage unit is packed, prepared, and organized so that you don’t lose track of what you have. What good is a storage unit if you can’t find something that you need when you need it? 

If you’re not sure how to put together a storage unit, these helpful tips will help you better manage the space within your unit while making your overall storage experience more efficient. 

Make an Inventory List

It is difficult to recall all the items when storing many items in a storage unit. While large pieces of furniture, such as a bed or a couch, are easy to recall, smaller items are often forgotten in storage after months or years. 

You’ll need to develop and maintain a list of every item you store inside the unit to keep it all straight. You can write each item in a spreadsheet as you start packing. It is also a good way to keep up with what’s in your self-storage unit by taking photos of packed objects. 

Make sure to save all images and details of inventories in one folder. It’s also a good idea to make some kind of map which indicates where your valuables are inside the unit.

Select One Size for Every Box

Boxes of the same size help with the packing and usability. The small or medium boxes in storage will be suitable for most of your possessions. Keep in mind that large boxes are good for things that aren’t very heavy, but they may not hold well at the bottom of big stacks. Large boxes are more difficult to remove when you need something out of them.

Use Clear Bins 

In a storage unit, cardboard boxes are completely fine to use. Also, they tend to be cheaper than plastic bins. Plastic bins also make it much easier to keep track of what is inside your storage unit. In our opinion, the extra few bucks are often worth the effort. Clear plastic bins allow you to see what’s contained in a container without having to ransack it. This will help speed up the process when trying to locate what you need when you need it.

Know the Items You May Access Frequently

Things you don’t use regularly may be needed later when you’re packing. Consider carefully what you would need while your things are in storage, and give seasonal items extra thought.

Disassemble Furniture

To maximise space, disassemble large furniture pieces before putting them in storage, and make sure to arrange them more effectively. It includes removing coffee tables, bed frames, and beds; you should think about disassembling table legs as well as other things. 

We suggest that individual items be placed in an upright position toward the rear of a storage facility (except for mattresses that should be lying flat). You’ll create more floor space for other things by holding furniture upright and on the foot. If your dining room table does not fall down, consider using it as additional shelving for stacked boxes inside the storage unit.

Label Every Box

Mark each box at the minimum on one side with a specific box number, the room from which it came, and the box material. Place a special label on boxes that you might need to access during storage at some point; remember to place these items last in your storage unit. Be as detailed with the contents as possible.

Pack Vertically

When packing your storage unit and organising it, try to go vertically with your stuff. Boxes should be stacked high, and furniture should be kept erect. If you happen to be storing bookcases or something with shelving, use the extra storage space whenever possible. You can add hanging shelves or wire shelving or to the storage facility to make room for smaller boxes and belongings. If the storage unit is quite high, you might want to try using a step stool or foldable ladder inside the unit.

Don’t forget the following things when renting a storage unit: 

• Know what you can and can’t store in the unit. 
• Rent a storage unit of the correct size for your needs. 
• Use deliveries for quality packaging. 
• Clean the unit and your things thoroughly before placing them inside.

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Your roof and gutters are crucial parts of your home. Not only do they prevent water, precipitation, and other weather from coming in, but they are also one of the first things that people will notice when they come to your home. If your roof and gutters are not working properly, or they are damaged by weather or general age, it’s worth your while to either replace them or take it upon yourself to find ways to maintain them this season.

This post will detail 4 easy ways to be sure that your roof and gutters are working properly and that they make the exterior of your home look great.

How to Maintain Your Roof and Gutters This Season

An expert from a company that is a siding contractor in Voorhees pointed out that gutters and roofs work together to protect a home from water pooling and seeping indoors. He added that if one is not maintained properly, the other one will be impacted and your home could end up with a leak or seepage through the walls, ceilings, and floors. To best prevent that from happening, make sure to practice the following 4 tips.

Be sure to “Scoop the Goop”

Your gutters are bound to fill up with debris at some point, especially after the fall and winter months. It’s best to scoop your gutters at the beginning of the Spring. To do this, you will need a ladder so that you can see where the debris is. When it comes to actually “scooping the goop” you should do it when the debris is wet as it will be easier to handle and pick up.

Once you get rid of debris in your gutters, your gutters should work properly and will drain water from your roof the way that they should. It’s important to do this often, but especially at the beginning and end of each season.

Flush The Gutters with Water

You can do this as you scoop the gutters, or if there isn’t a lot of debris you can simply just do this. Using a power washer or a high-pressure hose, squirt water directly into your gutter and let it drain. Oftentimes, debris gets stuck in the gutters and will require the assistance of a high-pressure device to get rid of it.

If the debris is not coming out easily, this will let you know that you need a professional to take a look at your gutters and roof to determine if you need a new one or not.

Hire a Professional

Sometimes, you will need professional assistance to take a look at your gutters and roof to help you maintain them or to advise you to replace them. Professionals will use more complex and involved tools to clean your gutters and roof such as mechanical brushes and steam cleaners.

Professionals are not extremely pricey and will provide you with the best advice when it comes to gutter and roof maintenance. Likewise, professional gutter cleaning may help you preserve your gutters and roof longer, allowing you to get many more years out of them before you do in fact need to replace them.

Consider a New Roof and/or Gutters

If a professional gutter cleaner suggests that you get a new roof or gutter, it will be worth your while to do so. Or, if your gutters and roof are old, you should consider replacing them before any issues do arise. Leaks and water seepage in your home can end up costing you thousands of dollars in damages. Outside water can ruin walls, floors, ceilings, and even furniture. In this worst-case scenario, not only will you need to replace your gutters and roof, but you will also need to replace your interior as well.

Be proactive and ask yourself if it makes sense to get a new roof and/or gutters this season, you may end up saving yourself thousands of dollars.

Preserve Your Gutters and Roof

Keep these tips in mind as you clean your gutters and at the beginning and end of each season. Your gutters and roof do more than provide you with shelter, be sure to maintain them properly so that they last for many years to come.

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