You just bought your house in the Rochester NY suburbs and you’re ready to enjoy the life of home ownership. But every home needs upkeep and maybe even some improvement. It’s a common aphorism in sports that if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse, and a home that’s not being improved today might be a home that’s sold for a loss tomorrow.
For anyone who has a new house, there is probably a list of improvements that you would love to apply for them. 2023 is the right time to improve your house in the Rochester NY suburbs and have a great summer while entertaining your family and friends. Your new home will look better and feel more like your home with these simple renovation ideas with the help of a local contractor.
Remember when beginning your first home improvement project that you have the chance to interview your contractors before you hire them. Make sure and get estimates from every person you’re about to take project bids for. Once the project starts is too late, so get all the information beforehand. Make sure and check with friends and neighbors for recommendations. Angie’s List and Google Reviews are more important sources of contractor reviews as well, creating a wealth of knowledge that you can access to make sure that your contractor is the right one.
Install a Deck
Just because summer isn’t as long in the Rochester NY suburbs as it is in other parts of the country doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beauty of a new deck. Fiberglass deck installation is a great way to have the beauty of wood with durability that wood can just never match. As an alternative to wood, fiberglass is a great option with beauty and strength. Fiberglass allows you to have a deck that looks either exactly like wood or has a look and feel all on its own while keeping the wood sub-floor of your fiberglass deck dry and clean all summer long.
A fiberglass deck surface also makes your deck more resilient to snow in the winter, creating a watertight layer for the white stuff to rest on top of instead of soaking into the planking. Have a conversation with your favorite or new favorite contractor about fiberglass deck installation and get started on your new deck project today. You will have all summer to enjoy your new deck, and the beauty and function a new deck adds to your home, especially with an attractive and waterproof fiberglass layer, is second to none.
Update Your Siding
Just as with the deck installation, the installation of new wood, polymer, stone, and brick siding is a great way to add beauty and lasting value to your home. Installing siding will improve the energy efficiency of your home, giving you a needed break on your winter energy bills. The siding installation will also give you a chance to look at any damage to your wall and the moisture wrapping of it, which can also save you money down the line.
Siding installation can seem like a job that you should be able to handle considering that many types of siding come with pre-drilled holes for attachment. Although siding is technically a job that a motivated homeowner can DIY, it’s almost always best to hire a professional siding contractor company to do the job. Your siding contractor will have the experience and tools to install your siding, ensuring that it is durable and looks good for years to come.
Fix Your Garage Door
When your garage door is having problems, it can make everything seem off with your entire house. A noisy garage door or a door that’s not rolling properly in its track might need a visit from a professional Rochester NY suburbs garage door repair service. But garage doors are also something for which a lot of basic maintenance can go a long way. Inspecting the garage door track regularly, as well as the tractor motor if your garage door is one with an automatic door opener, can give you an early warning sign if your garage door has taken some damage.
It may simply be, though, that you want to replace your garage door. Garages are typically not a space that one normally thinks about as a target for home improvements, but especially older and heavier garage doors, ones with weakened springs or damaged stripping can all create a hazardous situation. If you have a garage door that needs replacement or repairs, as opposed to simple maintenance, be sure and call a garage door repair service –garage doors are heavy, and a dropped segment can cause severe injury or even kill.
Add a Fence
Depending on things like homeowner association requirements in Rochester NY suburbs, your potential need to keep a pet in or other people’s pets out, and that sort of thing, you may want to install a chain link fence. There are many types of fencing, but chain-link fences are some of the most cost-effective, so unless otherwise required by HOAs, most urban fences now are chain-link. They have the advantage of being scalable to any height, so for homes with a dog that can jump a long way, a taller fence is not out of the question.
A contractor specializing in chain link fence installations will be able to give a solid estimate as to the right cost. After this, you can see where you’re at, go forward appropriately with the purchase of your chain link fence and enjoy your home’s additional security for both you and your pets.
Repair or Replace Your Roof
When you think of roof restoration vs replacement, you will want to create a list of the problems facing your roof before you decide whether you’re going to pull the trigger on a roof replacement or perform repairs. An average residential roofer replacement job in the Rochester NY suburbs will cost, according to Forbes, an average of $8,000 across the nation, making roof replacement one of the more affordable home improvement projects on the docket.
Keep Your Home Warm
If your furnace isn’t producing heat, a call to your Rochester NY suburbs furnace repair company is in order – and the sooner the better. Be sure to check your furnace in the fall, before you need it in the winter: A furnace failure in the winter can mean some uncomfortable hours before it can get fixed, and extra expense for a rush job.
Typical symptoms of a dying furnace are strange noises and leaking. Problems with your furnace not cycling on and off as it should are also common ones, meaning your thermostat, burners, igniters, or other components could be bad. If you notice any of these issues, it’s a sign that you should call a professional heating and cooling technician for a visit.
Most homeowners do not have the expertise needed to diagnose their furnace, let alone make repairs, and doing repairs on a damaged or leaky furnace could be at best dangerous and might cause serious damage to your home. There are some home repairs you can perform yourself. Leave your furnace to the experts.
Update the Windows
Like with furnace replacements, a window update is all about energy efficiency. Modern windows are much more efficient than windows even twenty years ago. Rochester NY suburbs window replacement services will be able to help you see how a new, efficient window can help your home feel cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
Even if you go from a relatively small sash and an old-fashioned conventional window to a much larger modern picture window with casement windows framing it, you will still gain energy efficiency. Modern windows have better sealing than their older counterparts, and stronger security features as well like solid locks and robust frames to protect your home when you’re away or sleeping.
A new window also will look nicer. Old windows develop streaks and damage over time, including tiny cracks that can dull their appearance even if you can’t see them. Making sure that your windows are new and in good condition, easier to clean, and more secure will add value and lasting beauty to your home.
Get a New Driveway
Northern New York winters are hard on your driveways. If the driveway in your front yard is looking more like gravel than like pavement and you’re looking for a local paver for the Rochester NY suburbs, your options are pretty good. You can get help with your driveway drainage, improve the safety of your driveway, and even add a flat slab for a basketball hoop for you or your kids. The possibilities for a repaved driveway are endless.
Like any home improvement, we recommend getting several local paver estimates that will help you pick the most cost-effective option. It’s never as simple as just getting the cheapest estimate, either. The lowest estimate might be hiding inferior materials or cutting corners.
Experience and scope of work is also a huge factor in your driveway project. If you want a basketball half-court and your cheapest contractor won’t include enough paved space to make it happen on their estimate, that additional cost may be a huge and uncomfortable surprise waiting to be sprung on you. Make sure that the itemized estimate you request from your contractors includes every service that you want from them. If new costs spring up, you don’t want them to be a surprise.
Add an Addition
Getting a new bedroom and bathroom. A home office for remote or work-from-home job options. A family room or home theater to relax and watch TV or movies in. All of these are great ideas for an addition to your home.
While carpenters handle the framing and outside, your Rochester NY suburbs drywall services will handle the interior, working together with electricians and plumbers to hang ceilings and walls that not only complement your vision for the space but will add lasting value to your home for years to come.
Build a Pool
When you build a pool, you’re building an addition to your home that will last long past your ownership of the house. Few other additions are as good as a swimming pool for adding lasting value to your home. But at the same time, swimming pools are among the most maintenance-intensive additions possible to a home. Your in ground pool company will be happy to discuss specifics with you, but pools need consistent maintenance and inspection during the season.
A major downside to a pool, as wonderful as these urban oases are, is that because the water is heavily chlorinated, far beyond the tolerances of city water, pool water simply cannot be permitted to leech into the groundwater. Chloride poisoning in groundwater will kill plants and contaminate the ground for a long way around your pool. Your Rochester NY suburbs pool company will make sure and discuss with you the routines for maintaining your swimming pool to make sure that no leaks appear in it every year.
With that out of the way, there are many reasons to have your pool. Most people do not live on shoreline or riverfront property, and because of that, a pool is the next best thing. Without having to share a municipal pool with all the other families in your city, you will be able to use your pool as you wish. And when it comes time to sell your home, the next owner will pay a hefty premium for it.
These are only some of the many home improvements you can undertake as a new homeowner in the Rochester NY suburbs. You now have some ideas as to how you can improve your little piece of real estate and make your home a truly exceptional place for you and your family to live.
