Home Project Resolution Ideas for 2018

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It’s the start of a new year and time for new goals and resolutions. Are there home projects you’ve been wishing to improve or putting off for years? Make 2018 your year to accomplish those. Start saving, planning, and putting aside money and resources right now to have enough to quickly execute any of these home upgrades and renovations by the time the late spring and early summer arrives, and it’s prime time to start renovating. Here’s a list of 6 ideas to help give you inspiration on home improvement options this year.

Unfinished Basement Renovation

Do you have an unfinished or outdated basement? If the square footage is already there, take advantage of it. While basements can be convenient storage spaces, they make even more convenient entertainment spaces. Use your basement for spare bedrooms, offices, project spaces, or a recreational area for the kids. Other ideas include adding a home theater, wet bar, or family room – all of which look great if you go to list your house. While this can be a costly renovation, the standard return on renovated basement costs is reported at 90%.

Roof Replacement

If your roof needs an upgrade, it might not be too noticeable, but it’s important. If it is noticeably worn, it’s definitely time to replace the roofing. Not only does a new roof give your entire house a fresher appeal, a recently replaced roof looks great to homebuyers. Old roofing can lead to leaking and further damage to both the interior and exterior of your home if it gets out of hand. Another reason to upkeep on your roof, particularly if you’re trying to sell, is that you run the possibility of mortgage companies not lending money for homes if the roof shows signs of wear and damage.

Deck, Patio, or Porch addition

Adding some kind of extra outdoor space to your home, like a deck, patio, or porch not only gives you more space to work with, but it adds to the curbside appeal of your home. As much as a deck addition could be considered an aesthetic renovation, it’s equally useful. Use that space for an outdoor entertainment area for barbecues, outdoor furniture, places for your pets, etc. The quality of an outdoor living space is often near the top of people’s priority list when looking for a home and is a great addition to your home while you’re still living there.

Attic Insulation

Re-insulating your attic comes up frequently on many lists for all types of home renovation, and for good reason. While it might not seem like the most exciting home renovation project, it’s by far the one that will save you the most money in the long run. Especially in the winter, your attic can be the largest problem of releasing warm air from your home, causing your power bill to rise drastically.

Door, Home Exterior, and Entry Way

No matter how beautiful the rest of your house is, a sub-par home facade can leave a lasting impression on whoever is walking up to your door – guests and potential home buyers alike. That’s why it’s so crucial that these elements are well-done to gain you money in the long run. Replace your front door to a newer door that compliments the exterior of your home, or a wood door, or take the extra step and freshen up your porch, windows, and doors by replacing old awnings. Repaint the exterior of your home, or consider replacing the vinyl siding.

 

Adding an Attached Greenhouse to Your House

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Ever considered getting your own greenhouse? While not entirely common, people underestimate the benefits of attached greenhouses. Seen usually on Better Homes & Gardens magazines, you can make this picturesque yet functional feature apart of your home with a little work and planning.

Provide heat and help insulate your house

A greenhouse is like an extra blanket to your home. By placing the greenhouse on the south side of your home, the sun will naturally heat this space throughout the day, keeping the plants inside warm and providing a way for the temperature to rise in your house without the heating bill going up. Test temperatures throughout the winter to make sure they don’t fall below 36F at night to prevent frost from forming on your plants. If it does, you can install a thermostat or inexpensive heating system in the green house to only kick on when the temperature drops low. You can even use a small space heater to only come on at a set temperature to heat the space for your plants. However, living in St. George with a lack of snow, the climate of St. George favors growing plants in the greenhouse in the winter.

Fresh plants, all year long

With a greenhouse, gone are the days when you mourn the coming winter and your slumbering garden once fall is over. You get the benefits of planting and harvesting no matter what the temperatures are outside. For those who have a green thumb – or even those that don’t – this will make it easier to keep plants alive and improve your gardening skills throughout the year. You can treat your greenhouse as your own marketplace, even during the coldest months of winter, to step into your greenhouse to get what you need.

Use it during the summer, too

While many gardens find their way outside during the summer, you can still use your greenhouse during the summer. While greenhouses can get quite warm during the summer for some plants to grow, you can plant heat-tolerant plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, melons, peppers, and basil. This leaves more room to grow more plants in your garden outside, bringing a wider variety of crops to your home once the harvest season comes around.

More space

A greenhouse is essentially a glass shed attached to your house. You can use it to store all of your gardening or other outdoor supplies – even a place to store extra food for your animals, or a small food storage for you and your family. If you want to use your greenhouse seasonally, during the off-season when you aren’t using it to grow plants, you can use it for storage.

Use it as a living space

For those favoring the aesthetic functionality of a greenhouse, you can simply use it as another living space, or use it as a hybrid space for growing plants and as a living space. Since it’s not exposed to the weather, you can furnish the area as a hangout area, or simply put a bench out there for a space to sit while gardening.

Use recycled materials to reduce the cost

By using recycled material and building the greenhouse yourself, you can reduce the cost of a greenhouse to a fraction of what it would normally be. Be sure to do thorough research on the placement of the greenhouse. If you plan it far enough in advance, you can slowly accumulate the materials used or at a reduced price.