3 Ways Replacing Your Windows Can Improve Your Home

Of all the improvements you can make to your home, replacing your windows with new vinyl replacement windows is definitely one of the smartest projects to undertake. Windows are a hugely important of our homes and serve so many purposes beyond simply giving us a way to look outside. Vinyl replacement windows can impact your home in so many ways and they’re all for the better. Here are three ways replacing your windows can improve your home:

Improved Curb Appeal

Old windows can really drag down the exterior of a home. Even if you have new siding and a beautiful garden, worn-out windows can stand in the way of your home looking as good as it could. Simply replacing your windows could give your home a whole new look. If you’re thinking of selling your home soon and are looking for ways to boost your home’s curb appeal, replacing your windows could be a way to do just that. Not only will new windows make your home look nicer, vinyl replacement windows can also help add some extra value to your home!

Lower Energy Bills

One of the top reasons why people decide to replace their windows is because they want to make their home more energy efficient and reduce their energy bills. When you have older single-pane windows or double-pane windows that are no longer performing as well as they ought to, you’re losing a lot of money on higher energy bills. Replacing your windows does require an upfront investment, but they can help save you money in the long run by helping to reducing the amount of money you spend on your energy bills.

Your Home Becomes More Comfortable

Bad windows can make your home remarkably uncomfortable. Drafty windows will have you constantly adjusting the thermostat or reaching for sweaters and blankets to keep warm. You shouldn’t have to be so uncomfortable in your own home. By replacing your windows, you won’t have to deal with the nuisance of having one room being colder than others or having to constantly wear bulky sweaters around the house.

Replacing your windows doesn’t just make your home more comfortable temperature-wise, it can also help cut down on noise coming in from the outside or improve the ventilation in your home. For example, if you have single-hung windows in your house, replacing them with new double-hung windows will let you have more control over ventilation and help make your home naturally more comfortable without having to run your air conditioner.

Protecting Yourself from Home Improvement Scams

Although most home improvement projects can be done at any time of year, many homeowners tend to start undertaking these projects during the spring and summer. While there are lots of honest, hard-working contractors out there, it’s very important to watch out for the less honest ones. Unfortunately, there are a lot of con artists out there looking to take advantage of unsuspecting homeowners.

Home improvement scams can easily happen during any time of year, but they’re typically more common during the spring and summer months because these scammers are aware that this is when many homeowners are looking to make improvements. Don’t let yourself get taken advantage of. Here’s what to watch out for when dealing with contractors:

Beware People With Extra Supplies

One of the most common home improvement scams involves someone going door-to-door, offering to do work right away for a bargain price because they just happen to have some extra supplies leftover from another job. Never feel pressured to hire a contractor on the spot. Their price might be a bargain, but the work these scam artists do very frequently ends up being very substandard and you’ll have to pay to have the work redone correctly.

Financing Scams

Financing scams are another extremely common home improvement scam. These scammers will offer to do some work on your home for a reasonable price. The jobs they offer to do are typically larger projects like replacing a roof or remodeling a kitchen; the sorts of jobs homeowners typically need to spend time saving up for. If a homeowner says they can’t afford the job right now, the contractor will start pressuring them to get financing through a lender they just happen to know.

These financing deals are actually home equity loans that come with very high fees and interest rates. Once you sign up for this financing, the contractor has no vested interest in doing a good job on your home or even finishing the job since their main goal was to get you to sign up for this high interest loan.

Watch Out for High Pressure Tactics

Finding a good, reputable contractor takes time and a lot of research. If you deal with a contractor who keeps pressuring you to hire them right away, such as by offering a special price that’s good for that day only or says that immediate repairs are necessary to fix a serious safety issue, it’s best to walk away. If they’re saying there’s a serious safety issue in your home, get an impartial second opinion. The simple fact is that you need time to compare estimates, check references, and to make sure they’re licensed and insured.

Don’t Give Large Down Payments

Contractors very commonly ask for down payments before they start working on a job. But if you’re dealing with a contractor who insists on a very large down payment or wants to be paid in full before work begins, this is a big red flag. Unless your job involves materials that need to be special ordered, a general rule of thumb is that you should never pay more than a quarter to a third of the total cost of the job as a down payment, although less than that is even better. Most reputable contractors are willing to negotiate with homeowners on down payments and are fine with tying payments to the progress being made on the job.

Be skeptical if a contractor tries to tell you a large down payment is necessary to cover the cost of ordering building materials or the office overhead of planning your job. An established contractor with a strong reputation will have enough cash flow to cover those sorts of things themselves and won’t expect you to pay for them upfront.

Also, stay away from contractors who insist on being paid in cash. Paying by credit card or check will offer you better protection if they try to bail on the job or they don’t do a satisfactory job.

Generally speaking, the best thing you can do to protect yourself from home improvement scams is to do your research first. Ask your friends and neighbors if they can recommend a contractor to you. Be sure to get estimates from at least three different contractors. Check your contractor’s background and make sure they have a regular office phone number and address, not a P.O. box.

Last, but certainly not least, make sure your contracts are complete and outline exactly what work will be done and when. That way, if anything goes wrong, you’ll have a contract to prove exactly how they breached the agreement. Don’t sign anything that has blank sections that the contractor could fill out after you’ve signed it.

Surprising Benefits of an Organized Home

When we see pictures of perfectly organized homes on blogs and in magazines, it’s easy to dream of having our own homes be that neat and tidy. But when we think of the time it would take to make our homes that organized, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. However, taking the time to really organize your home can be very worthwhile and benefit your life in more ways than you ever imagined! Of course, organizing your home makes it easier to find the things you’re looking for and generally makes your home look nicer. But how else can organizing your home benefit your life?

You Can Save Money

One thing a lot of people don’t realize about clutter is that it can actually cost you money. Have you ever had to pay a late fee because you misplaced a bill, accidentally bought a duplicate of something you forgot you had because it got lost in the clutter, or had food expire because it pushed to the back of a crowded pantry or cabinet? If clutter blocks vents, it can drive up the cost of your energy bills by making your HVAC system work harder. If you have some extra stuff to get rid of, selling it can help you earn a little extra money. Once you take the time to truly organize your home, you might be surprised by how much money you end up keeping in your pocket.

You’ll Have Less Stress

We all know it can be stressful when you end up running late because you can’t find something you need. But did you know that simply being around clutter can make your life more stressful? Studies have found a connection between being around clutter and higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in women.

You’ll Save Time

Getting organized doesn’t just make your life more efficient by making it easier to find things. Other studies have shown that working in cluttered areas can make it more difficult to concentrate and get things done. Having so many things to look at overloads your brain’s visual cortex, making it harder to process new information. By clearing the clutter, you’ll be better able to focus and concentrate so you can get things done faster, creating less frustration and giving you more time to spend doing things you enjoy.

It Can Help You Start a Healthier, Happier Lifestyle

Believe it or not, getting your home organized can be a stepping stone toward a naturally happier, healthier lifestyle. Not only will your nicely organized home cut down on your stress levels, the habits you develop to maintain your organized home can serve you well in other ways. For example, you may start taking more time to plan out and prep healthy meals in advance, making it less likely for you to be tempted to order pizza or pick up fast food for dinner. Setting short-term goals to get your home organized also make it more likely that you will become the type of person who can establish a regular workout routine and stick to it.

Since having too much stuff around the house can cause stress, that can lead to conflicts with the people you live with. Getting rid of the clutter won’t necessarily save a marriage with deeper issues, but it can help minimize some of the little arguments you get into with your spouse.

Having a nice, clean home can also make it more likely you’ll want to invite your friends and family over more often for dinners and other get-togethers. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to have fun without having to even leave the house?

You’ll Spend Less Time Cleaning

Aren’t there other things you’d rather be doing than cleaning your house? Getting your home in order may take a bit of your time up front, but a nicely-organized home can actually help cut down on the amount of time you spend cleaning in the long run. When you have fewer items in your home, you’ll have fewer things to deal with dusting and to keep organized. Once you’re in the habit of keeping everything in order, it will be much easier to stay on top of it by organizing and cleaning up as you go.

You’ll Be Able to Use More of Your Home

When spaces around your home are too full of clutter, it can be hard to use them for their intended purposes. For example, many people overlook their garage as a part of their home organization plans. As a result, 25% of people who have two-car garages say they’re unable to park cars in the garage at all because they have too much other stuff in there. 32% of two-car garage owners also said they only had enough room to park one of their cars. By getting rid of some of your excess stuff and organizing your home, you’ll be able to reclaim all those spaces you weren’t able to take full advantage of because they were simply too cluttered.

Important Things to Be Aware of Before Remodeling an Older Home

Although many people love modern, newly-built homes, some homeowners can’t resist the unique charm of an older home. Older homes often have lots of decorative touches that just aren’t found in more modern homes. But owning an older home can definitely have its challenges. Just like any other type of home, an older home is going to need maintenance every now and then and you may want to make some other renovations to turn it into the home of your dreams. But renovating and making improvements to an older home often isn’t quite as easy as it is with newer homes. Before you start planning your next home improvement project, here are a few very important things you should keep in mind.

Potential Hazards

While things like lead paint and asbestos have been banned from being used in homes for decades, if your home was built before 1978, there’s a very good chance these things could still be present in your home. According to the EPA, 87% of homes made before 1940 have lead paint present, while 69% of homes built between 1940 and 1959 still have lead paint in them. Before 1977, asbestos was used in a multitude of common household items, including insulation, some types of flooring, textured paint, and roofing and siding materials.

If you’re planning a renovation that would disturb things made with these materials, you’re going to need to find a professional who knows how to safely work with them. For example, demolishing a wall that was painted with lead paint will send dust from the lead paint into the home, which can cause health problems, particularly in children under the age of six. Asbestos abatement will require special training since particles of asbestos that get released into the air can cause lung cancer.

If you’re unsure if you have lead paint or asbestos in your home that could be impacted by a project, it’s best to have testing done before starting your project.

Outdated Plumbing and Wiring

Having signs of older building methods in your home isn’t always a bad thing. After all, many people love older homes specifically because they have high quality craftsmanship and unique architectural touches. However, it’s very common for older homes to have electrical wiring and plumbing that does not meet current code standards. For example, outdoor electrical outlets and outlets in kitchens, bathrooms  are now required to have three-pronged outlets to ground the circuit, but many older homes only have two-pronged outlets in these areas.

If you’re planning a project that involves opening up a wall, be aware that your contractor might discover some problems with your electrical or plumbing systems. If there are things that need to be corrected to bring them up to code, this will increase the total cost of your project, so you might want to leave some extra money in your budget to work with.

Your Local Historical Society

In many cases, neighborhoods full of older homes have a historical society that works to protect the character of the homes in the area. If your home is covered by one of these historical societies, you might be required to run your renovation plans by them before work can begin. Talking to your local historical society might not necessarily be a bad thing, though. They may be able to recommend some contractors to you who have lots of experience working on older homes.

All About Window Films

It’s no secret that windows can have a very drastic impact on the way a room looks. Simply replacing old, worn out windows with new ones can instantly give a room a whole new look. If getting new regular windows makes a huge difference, imagine the kind of impact windows with a specialized type of glass, like stained glass or frosted glass, would make!

The good news is that there is a way to change the look of the glass in your windows without having to get entirely new windows. Window films are very thin sheets of vinyl that can be applied directly to the window pane and can be purchased at many hardware stores. These window films come in many different styles and can offer some great benefits without having to spend a lot of money.

Easily Change a Room’s Decor

Do you like the idea of having stained glass windows in a room in your house, but don’t want to have to pay to have the real deal installed? Window films can give you the look you want, but for a fraction of the price. Best of all, if you decide to redecorate the room or you move out and the next homeowner wants to change them, window films can easily be removed without damaging the window or causing any extra expense.

Added Privacy

Want to create a little more privacy in a room? Many window films mimic the look of etched, frosted, and textured glass, which can make it more difficult to see into a room from the outside while saving you the expense of getting new glass for your windows or having to get blinds or curtains. While you may want privacy in a room, that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to drastically cut down on the amount of natural light the room gets. While these types of window films might reduce the amount of sunlight that comes in, they’ll still let in quite a bit of light while still giving you the privacy you need.

Reduce Solar Heat and UV Rays

If you’d like to cut down on how much time you spend running your air conditioner during the summer, many window films are designed to reduce the amount of heat from the sun that enters your home and filter out UV rays. Not only will these types of window films help make your home more comfortable, the UV filtering properties can prevent the colors in your carpet, furniture, and paint from fading.

Although window films do have their benefits, it’s important to understand they won’t fix larger problems with the window itself. If your heating and cooling bills are higher than you’d like them to be, a solar heat-filtering window film will only do so much. There may be a draft around your window or elsewhere in your home that needs to be addressed. Or if you have an older type of window, upgrading to vinyl replacement windows would be a more effective long-term solution because of their more energy efficient nature. It’s also important to note that window films that reflect heat shouldn’t be used on dual or triple pane windows since these films can cause heat to build up between the panes of glass and cause condensation to form.