Home renovations to tackle this winter (raise home value)

March 10, 2022

Making improvements in your home shouldn’t be delegated to just the warmer months of the year. It may make sense to hold off on some home renovation projects until the wintertime.

Obviously, the biggest con of doing this is dealing with the cold weather. But if that’s not a problem, you’ll see how beneficial tackling home renovations in the winter can be.

Here are some home renovations you can take on in the winter to help raise your home value.

Why You Should Do Home Renovations in the Winter

We understand that a few renovation projects involve being outside, and working in the cold air isn’t very enjoyable. That being said, not every home renovation needs to be done outside. At most, you’d have to go outside to travel for materials. But beyond that, many home renovations are worth doing in the winter.

For starters, the materials you need are much more likely to be on sale. Many people do their home renovation projects in the warmer seasons. If everyone waits until then to buy materials, the prices are going to be higher. If you wait for the colder months, fewer people will be buying materials, which will drop costs.

It’s a simple example of supply and demand. Something in high demand with low availability is going to cost more. Something lower in demand and higher in availability is going to be cheaper.

That applies to contractors as well. In the warmer months, contractors are less available. The available ones are getting calls from multiple homeowners. The contractor will work with the best offer presented to them; it’s a seller’s market.

In the colder months, fewer people want to work on their homes. Therefore, more contractors are available. This means you can shop around for the best bid for your budget; this would be a buyer’s market.

By doing your home renovation projects in the winter, you can raise your home’s value for a cheaper overall price than many other homeowners.

Sealing and Insulation

A home that isn’t properly insulated is a home that wastes thousands on heating and cooling over the years. The more heat or air that escapes your home, the more your HVAC/heating system has to work to regulate your home’s temperature, thus raising your bills.

Do a quick survey around your home. Check for cracks or leaks in the walls or near windows, and check the attic or crawl space. A major plus to doing this in the winter is that you can more easily feel a draft. Typically you’ll find drafts in these areas.

If you come across a crack or chill, reinsulate or seal the area. Doing so will help reduce heat or air escaping your home by 25%.

Paint

Create a fresh, new appeal by painting some rooms in your home. You’ll give the rooms a refreshed look and feel. You can have some fun doing this yourself, or hire contractors to do it for you. That’s completely up to you and where in your home you’d like to be painted.

We get that in the winter you’re going to be indoors most of the time. If you do the painting yourself, it gives you a good reason to get out of the house.

If you have a professional do the work, you’ll likely have more options to choose from. Most people paint in the warmer months. And professionals don’t have as much work to do in the winter. That could lead to you saving money.

The one inconvenience of painting in the winter, regardless of who does it, is that you have to open a window. That means you’ll need to wear an extra layer before starting. It’s necessary to ensure the room is ventilated. However, the paint will dry more quickly thanks to the dry air.

Replace Faucets and Showerheads

This project will only take you a few minutes. You’re just replacing the faucets and showerheads you currently use and replacing them with ones that suit your design better.

Aim to purchase faucets and showerheads that help in conserving water.

Transform a Spare Room

Do you have an extra room in the house currently not in use? Now would be a good time to turn it into something: a home office, a workout area, a nursery, or anything else you have in mind.

Depending on the complexity of the room transformation, you might need to reach out to a contractor.

Heitmeyer Design provides Columbus area residents with custom room remodels of any kind with great results no matter the season.

Prep Your Yard for Springtime

If you’re at the beginning of winter, it’s a good idea to fertilize your lawn before it’s cold enough for the ground to freeze. Mow any grass down as well so rodents won’t burrow the area.

If you have a bothersome tree stump on your property, now is a great time to remove it. With the ground being frozen, the rest of the lawn’s vegetation won’t be affected.

Contact a local tree removal company; their prices will be lower because they’re not in demand as much as they would be in the summer.

Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Insulating and sealing up cracks in your home is a great way to increase your home’s energy efficiency. But there are other ways, too. You can:

Switch to LED light bulbs
Use insulated curtains or add a thermal lining to the ones you have
Upgrade to higher quality dual or triple pane windows
Install a smart thermostat to help regulate your home’s temperature

This is just the beginning; there are plenty of other changes you can make to cut your energy bill in half.

Check on Your Home Safety

When was the last time you checked the expiration date on your smoke detector alarms? Are their batteries due for a change?

Go around the house and check to ensure all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working. If not, replace them with more modern detectors.

Try to do this right before or as soon as winter begins. While house fires can happen at any time, they happen more frequently in December and January according to the American Red Cross.

Boost Your Home Value This Winter

Doing some of these home renovation projects will not only make your home feel and look better, but it’ll also make the home more attractive in the housing market. Tackle these projects in the wintertime for maximum savings.

Heitmeyer Building & Design is a Construction company with over 100 years of experience in commercial construction and residential construction located in Pickerington, Ohio.