Planning to renovate your home? Learn about two factors to consider when buying building supplies for your home renovations.
1. Energy efficiency
When a person hires a contractor to make changes to their home, they should consider how their choice of building supplies might affect the energy efficiency of their home after it has been renovated. Factoring this into their decision-making will ensure that their renovated property does not generate large energy bills or have an unnecessarily negative effect on the environment. If for example, a person plans will be having their contractor build an extension and they need insulation materials for the new walls' cavities, they should consider investing in insulation with a high R-value, as this will maximise the insulation's effectiveness.
Similarly, if they plan to install new windows or doors with windows, they should consider opting for double- or triple-glazed glass, that will keep heat transfer to a minimum. Additionally, if the person is renovating their bathroom, kitchen or utility room, they should see if their contractor can source water-saving supplies, such as low-flow toilets and taps. This will cut down on how much water these renovated areas consume and thus minimise the person's water bills.
2. Compatibility with their home's existing features
Anyone who needs building supplies for their home renovations should also consider whether certain supplies will be compatible with their home's existing features and structural design. For example, if the renovation work will involve using heavy building supplies to create features that will subject the home's foundation to a substantial amount of extra weight, the owner should consider whether or not the foundation will be able to support this additional weight.
For instance, if the homeowner wants their contractor to use pieces of heavy solid wood to build decorative beams for the ceilings in each room of the house, but the contractor suspects the foundation might not be able to withstand all of this extra weight, this professional might recommend ordering a much more lightweight type of timber for this project.
A person in this situation should also consider the visual compatibility of the building supplies they'll be buying with their home's existing aesthetics. For example, if they own a rustic farmhouse, they might want to use rustic-looking building supplies such as brick or distressed wood to build features such as their new interior walls or kitchen cabinets. This will ensure the renovated areas look like they were always a part of the home, instead of looking like sections that were added to the building without any consideration of the existing aesthetics.
Share
