Looking to give your house a refresh after lockdown? Here are some top signs that it’s time to renovate your home…

Admittedly, home renovations are demanding and tend to be heavy on any budget. Nonetheless, it’s a requirement every homeowner will have to experience if there are no alternatives. Unfortunately, a few people tend to be put off by the idea of home renovations and wait it out until irreversible damage happens. Nevertheless, many Brits (47%) have renovated their homes in the last decade and this number continues to rise rapidly. Are you one of those contemplating a home renovation? Here are a few tell-tale signs.

• Extensively damaged flooring

Can you see several detached tiling or severely cracked floors in your home? A detached floor tiling can only mean the plastering or mortar adhesive is loose and coming off. In many cases, the bathroom and kitchen floors are the most affected areas because they’re continually exposed to moisture and constant humidity. Long periods of water exposure have these effects, so it’s not surprising when a home’s flooring shows these signs after many years.

When you notice this deterioration, it’ll help to consider changing to a new flooring type altogether. For example, instead of choosing a tiling system once again, you can change it to engineered oak flooring. Several client testimonials prove that oak flooring can be worth your investment. Unlike laminate flooring, engineered oak flooring has a layer of real wood on the surface. Moreover, they’re engineered to be more resistant to temperature fluctuations. When installed, it’s difficult for an untrained eye to differentiate it from solid hardwood flooring.

• Leaking roof

Your home’s roof is the first line of defence against harsh weather. It’s indisputable that the weather’s vagaries can be unkind enough to cause extensive damage to homes in the event of a natural disaster. Having a leaking roof makes you prone to adverse external conditions. Technically speaking, when the roof leaks, it’s an indication of intense structural rot which you shouldn’t overlook. 

Sometimes, the damage can be so extensive that the only solution is to renovate. At this point, a short-term roof repair will not suffice. Remember that renovating your home in time will spare you high costs that may arise from a roof leakage emergency. It’s worthy of note that roofing companies charge a lot more when on emergency calls. A brand new roof can cost £6000 (averagely), depending on the type, while an emergency repair may rise to £5,800. You’ll certainly be better off getting a brand new roof altogether when you renovate.

• Old and faulty fixtures

Do you have old, cracked toilet bowls? Do these cracks run all the way from the bowl to the base? Sometimes, by just looking at the collective damage of fixtures in the home, renovation is the only reliable solution. Some homeowners would opt for repairs, but what is the point of repair works when the faults keep recurring? Logically, it is more cost-effective to choose a major upgrade than to engage in habitual repairs. Examples of some fixtures that indicate greater underlying problems are as follows:

• Clogged sinks – extensive plumbing issue.
• Defective Lighting – wrong wiring within the walls.
• Leaky taps – many burst underground pipelines within the home.

It’s advisable to deal with these issues immediately you identify them, to avoid further damage and greater repair costs. 

• Termite infestation

A termite infestation in the home is a serious matter that requires immediate attention before it causes irreversible damage. These structure-attacking pests eat the cellulose contained in timber. Remember that the internal components of your home have timber as a supporting structure, for example, the rafters in the attic, beams, and wooden ceilings. Therefore, when termites invade that space, there’s so much more at risk.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not only wooden structures exposed to the bare ground that are at risk of these wood-eating insects. A likely possibility for this invasion is when the timber used as a building material was untreated. In other instances, the timber used was already deteriorating, which becomes a conducive place for termite infestation. Remember that there are actually termites in the UK, despite earlier belief that there weren’t any. 

Did you know that besides termites, other insect infestations can cause equal damage to the home’s internal structure? They’re:

• Powder post beetles
• Fire ants
• Moths

With any or a combination of these points, you have more than enough reason to renovate your home. As mentioned in earlier paragraphs, it’ll be worth biting the bullet now rather than wait for damage to get extensive. Additionally, always have a workable budget to get these upgrades done.