Home Improvement: Prioritizing Your Projects
If your home is only a few years old, you may be in the enviable position of having few if any projects that need to be done. But for most people, as their home ages, the projects multiply. Some are renovations, some are new improvements. Constraints of time and money mean you cannot do them all at once. How do you prioritize? Here are some guidelines to help.
Choose the vital maintenance projects first. If you put off fixing a leak in the roof--even a small one--the amount of damage will significantly increase. Water damage can be serious in a short amount of time--and is unlikely to be covered by your insurance. Plumbing problems are also dangerous to procrastinate about. Something you could have fixed yourself on a Saturday may become an expensive repair by a plumber. Keep a maintenance log so that you know how long it has been since you did chores like inspecting the roof or flushing out the pipes or checking pipe insulation or flushing out the hot water tank. Preventive action is the most cost effective time you can invest. Experience tells you that those small problems will only become bigger.
The second priority should be upgrades that save you money. Energy conservation is at the top of the list. Does anyone have an electric bill or a fuel bill that is going down? It is predictable that energy costs will rise. Improved insulation that lowers your fuel use for heating is always cost effective. Likewise a little effort sealing leaks in doors and windows will help save money. If you are ready to invest in replacement windows, they will pay for themselves in a few years with energy savings. Know how old your roof is, and don't necessarily wait till the end of its predicted life of 20 or 30 years before replacing it. Give it a careful inspection annually, starting 5 years ahead of that time. It is better to replace it before it starts leaking. A roof that leaks under a load of ice and snow in winter is a nightmare. You are helpless to fix it before spring, and by then the damage may be expensive.
Once you have taken care of the necessary upgrades and repairs, you can think about improvements that make home time more enjoyable, or make your kitchen more amenable to your culinary ambitions. An upgrade in kitchen facilities and appliances can reward the whole family with better meals and a happier cook. A new deck or a porch swing or a glider beside that flowerbed under a tree can add hours of enjoyment to your family's home life.
Another factor in prioritizing is which projects you can do yourself and which ones you need to hire someone else to do. If your budget is tight, do the DIY projects first, out of those that are not urgent. Find out what the cost of each hired project will be, and get them done as you can afford them. Get several estimates on a big project, and see if you can cut the cost some by helping with the work.
By keeping up a home maintenance log you will fight your tendency to procrastinate. Keeping your home in good shape is the number one priority in home improvement and home enjoyment.
