Home renovation projects are part and parcel of homeownership. They help boost the value of your house and make it a more comfortable, luxurious place to inhabit. A well-thought-out home renovation project can boost your quality of life by making your home more functional, modern, and beautiful.
However, not many people know when to take up home renovation. Most often, homeowners tend to ignore minor repairs due to a lack of time, which then causes them to spend a lot on major repairs they cannot afford to ignore.
If you can learn to read the signs that suggest the need for home repair and renovation, you can avoid costly damages in the long run. So, without further ado, let’s explore some common signs you need a home renovation.
15 Signs That Indicate the Need for a Home Renovation Project
Here are fifteen signs you need to renovate your home or at least perform a smaller home renovation job:
1. Your Home Exhibits Signs of Deterioration
When you’re inhabiting an old home, it will start showing signs of deterioration and need renovation due to structural issues. Some clear signs of deterioration include brickwork or stonework cracks, window and doorway gaps, cracked chimney, damaged walls, cracks in walls, popping nails, uneven floors, stuck cabinets and doors, and more. When you see these signs of damage, make sure to address the issues right away before they lead to bigger problems.
2. Outdated Structure & Design
If your house has an old structure that doesn’t fit into the modern world and has no fixtures for modern tech, it might be time to renovate it to make it more functional. Moreover, if you have the budget for home renovation projects, there’s no harm in making your home appear contemporary. It will also make it more valuable when you decide to sell it.
3. Your Floors Are Dilapidated
If there’s one part of your home that endures daily wear and tear and constant stress, it’s your floors. It’s why they can often give signs that you need to renovate your home. Bathroom and kitchen floors are typically first to display signs of deterioration in the form of cracks, dents, missing caulk, or unsightly stains. You should fix them quickly to prevent future costly damages.
Moreover, old hardwood floors can also start displaying many problems, including warping, scratches, scuffs, or loose floorboards. Some floor damages can be fixed with grout cleaning, refinishing, and other methods, but in some cases, you might have to renovate the floors entirely. Depending on the damage they have suffered, talk to a contractor to determine what you can do to salvage your floors.
Floor renovation or replacement is a type of home renovation project that can change the entire look of your home. If your floors are quite old and you have since replaced your furniture, you can invest in floors that match the new furniture. You can also invest in newer technology to ensure prolonged durability.
Lastly, make sure that you choose appropriate flooring based on the room it will get installed in. for instance, ceramic tiles and carpets work well in children’s rooms, while flooring with traction is best to use in the room of senior citizens. If you live in extreme climates, avoid wood flooring. Lower-level floors should be made of water-resistant materials.
4. Your Kitchen Looks and Feels Old
One of the most obvious signs that you need to renovate your home is within your kitchen, a space that is notorious for having changeable fixtures and constant repair requirements. Kitchens can start looking dated quite soon because of regular use, cooking fumes, and other pollutants sticking to the walls and cabinets.
Moreover, some common kitchen issues include dingy cabinets that have accumulated years of gunk and grime and appear grungy and warped from constant wear and tear and water damage. They might also have uneven surfaces, scratches, and doors that don’t close. Depending on the damage they have suffered, you might need to repair or replace the cabinets.
You might also have to deal with damaged countertops that are covered in gouges and scratches from years of use, making them unsanitary and difficult to clean. Your sink might also give you trouble from time to time with leaky faucets and drainage issues. Lastly, you might face a lack of proper lighting in the kitchen. You will need to take up a home renovation project to fix these problems and make your kitchen a modern, functional space.
5. Your Bathroom Is Old or Requiring Constant Repairs
Your bathroom is another area of your home that will present you with many signs indicating the immediate need for home repair and renovation. These include leaky faucets, toilets that run uncontrollably, warped walls, damaged floor tires, inexplicable water bills, loose fittings, unstable bathtubs or toilets, and so much more.
Additionally, old bathrooms are notorious for hidden water leaks inside the walls and floors that can cause costly damage to your property. So, you will need to keep your ears open for strange sounds of running or dripping water. If you suspect a leak, it’s best to hire a professional to figure out where it’s root and fix the issue right away to prevent major damage.
Furthermore, if your bathroom has lingering odors or experiences heavy humidity, you might have to deal with mold. If you spot mold growing in your bathroom, have it removed professionally so that it doesn’t spread to other areas of your home.
Lastly, if your bathrooms have an unattractive design that is not functional and prevents them from being ventilated properly, you might need to change things up a bit. It’s because a well-ventilated bathroom will help keep bad odor, mold, and water damage at bay. You might also need to renovate the area to make it more spacious or add upscale fixtures to it.
6. Roof Damage
Many homeowners tend to ignore minor roof leaks because of how harmless they appear or because they don’t want to take the time out of their everyday lives to get them fixed. However, minor issues can quickly turn into major, costly problems, such as water damage or extensive roof damage. Moreover, leaks can also cause the wood to rot, resulting in pest invasions. They can also harm the plaster and drywall in your home, leaving bubbles and stains on your wall paint.
If your roof starts leaking, you should look into repairing it right away. Then, you can focus on fixing the other damages. Moreover, roof leaks can also indicate that your roof is severely damaged or rotting. So, you will need to inspect it thoroughly to prevent future problems, such as mold growth.
With that said, checking your roof can be challenging. You can’t just step out of your home and inspect it. You will have to take the time to climb up to the roof or hire a contractor to do the job for you. An experienced contractor will tell you if the damage is due to wear and tear or because of the flawed roofing system.
If you have an asphalt shingle roof older than twenty years, get it checked for damage even if it appears to be in perfect condition. The contractor might detect cracks, curls, or other damage in the shingles. You can also talk to them about installing a new roof or repairing the old one and renovating it with built-in shelving, new light fixtures, and other features.
7. You Need More Space
When you buy a house, you often think of the space you will need for your family and your belongings and if they will get accommodated into their new home. However, your belongings and family might keep growing with time, and there will come the point when you might be strained for more space. In such instances, not many people have the financial leeway to buy and move into a new, more spacious house.
When that happens, you will need to take up smart home renovation projects that will allow you to make your existing home more spacious to accommodate everyone and everything. Your best bet is revamping the floor areas and repositioning the wall divisions in your house based on the recommendations of an expert architecture. Alternatively, if you have more space on your property, you can save up and construct an annex.
8. You Want to Sell Your House
Today, prospective home buyers look for homes with a modern appeal and offer different amenities and technological benefits. After all, if you’re spending a ton of money on buying a home for yourself and your family, you want to find a space that is comfortable, spacious, and in line with your vision.
It’s why if you plan on selling your house, you must check it out from a buyer’s perspective and fix the issues you find with it. For instance, you might not have a landscaped yard, your roof might be damaged, your kitchen appliances might need an upgrade, or your floors might need to be refinished. When you think of what a buyer might look for in your property, you will certainly find many small and big home renovation projects that you can perform.
You might think that since you will leave the place, you can let the renovations become the headache of the new owner. However, when you make sure to renovate the space and then put it on the market, you essentially boost the value of your property. So, you don’t have to worry about spending money as you will get a profitable ROI for your home renovation expenditures.
9. Your Kids Are Leaving the Nest
Most homeowners often save up and wait for their kids to grow up and leave the nest to renovate their properties. Many of us have dreams of converting our children’s room into a library, home office, gym, or even a yoga studio. You also might have thought about your plans for renovating your kids’ rooms into different spaces that you and your partner can enjoy. Such projects usually require a fresh coat of paint, remodeling, furniture purchases, and other smaller changes.
Moreover, when your kids occupy a room in your house, they often don’t want you to enter their sacred space. It why, often, when they leave your home to pursue a life of their own, parents tend to find a lot of unaddressed damage, such as scuffed up walls, loose or broken floorboards, and even water damage in their rooms or bathrooms, which requires you to address the problems and fix them before they turn into bigger, costlier problems.
10. You Have a Growing Family
On the flip side, if you have more kids on the way or even have plans to grow your family, you will need to create the space to accommodate them in your home. After all, most parents want to have a proper nursery or a separate room for their newborns. So, if you have the budget for it, you can surely take up this exciting home renovation project that will signal the next chapter of your life.
Building a nursery for your unborn child or separate rooms for your growing children can be a time-consuming yet emotional task. Moreover, it saves you from the hassle of changing houses and moving to a bigger space while allowing you to stay on the property you call your home. So, work closely with an architect or designer to figure out how you will make space for that extra room within the existing structure of your house while keeping its structural integrity intact.
11. Termite, Pest, or Fungi Infestation
Understandably, you don’t want your home to be taken hostage by pests, termites, or mold and mildew. However, it can happen to the best and most watchful of us. The key is to never hesitate in taking immediate action when you find an infestation in your house. It’s because all these troublesome pests and fungi are notorious for multiplying and getting into the foundation of homes, eating the structure from the inside out.
Moreover, these pests and fungi indicate a larger problem that you need to fix. Simply getting rid of them won’t solve our problem, especially when it comes to mold. It will come back if the problem persists. So, when you see your home infested by critters, insects, or mold, it’s best to find the source of the infestation, such as water damage, deteriorating wood, messy parts of the home, holes in the wall, etc., and fix the root cause.
12. Regular Drainage Issues
Have you been facing frequent drainage troubles in your bathroom and kitchen? Well, it might be time for you to take a look at your plumbing system to figure out where the problem lies. If you are quick to fix the problem with a small home renovation job, it will save you from costly repairs down the line that can take the shape of foundation renovation and other related issues.
13. Chipped, Bubbling, or Worn-Out Wall Paint
A fresh coat of paint enlivens dull, lifeless walls and gives a zesty, refreshing appearance to your home. It’s why when your paint is old or has suffered years of wear and tear, it will start appearing dull, cracked, and stained. The paint will bubble and peel in some cases, such as mold, mildew, corrosion, etc. After all, it’s constantly exposed to sunlight, various chemicals, pollutants, and plain, old dirt day in and out.
So, if you feel that your wall paint needs a major refresh, you can surely get rid of your old, unsightly walls. All you need is fresh paint and paintbrushes to repaint your walls. But make sure to scrape the walls before repainting them. Otherwise, the paint job will not be satisfactory. Scraping the walls will allow the paint to go on smoothly and make your home appear as good as new.
14. Increasing Utility Bills
If your monthly utility bills keep increasing despite your best efforts to cut down on your water and electricity usage, you might need to dig a little deeper to figure out the cause. It might lead you to take up a home renovation project in the form of replacing your old flimsy windows, re-sealing the caulk around the doors, repairing your old HVAC system, and revamping your place with a new, energy-efficient system.
15. You Have the Time & Money to Renovate Your Space
Lastly, you can take up a home remodeling project if you have the time and money to do so. Most homeowners don’t have the budget to go for a complete renovation, but they can still take the time and save up for smaller renovation projects, such as a new paint job, re-caulking the tiles, and more. However, if you have major home renovation plans, you will not just need a big budget, but you will also require more free time. Plus, a significant home renovation job will require you to be prepared for the disruption it will bring in your everyday life as construction and renovation are noisy and messy jobs.
The Bottom Line
Most homeowners delay home renovation projects due to financial constraints, lack of time, sheer laziness, or inability to figure out when is the right time to go for renovations. Learning about the signs mentioned above will help you figure out the right time for a much-needed home revamping so that you can enjoy living in a comfortable, functional, and lovely home.
