Not all home renovations are created equally and some will give you more resale value and will help you to save money on your monthly bills.

Start with the Facts

Get a home energy audit so you can see just where the holes in your home’s envelope are. An energy audit is well worth the investment as it will show you exactly where your home-improvement dollars are most needed. You can also do a home energy audit yourself.

Make your Home More Efficient

Make a list of the top seven things that can be done to improve your building envelope. Having an efficient home will help to improve its resale value and reduce your monthly bills.

• Conduct your test on a windy, cool day
• Turn off all combustion appliances such as gas-burning water heaters and furnaces
• Close all openings like windows, doors and flues if you have fireplaces
• Suck the air out of your home by turning on all exhaust fans, dryer vents, bathroom fans, stove fans etc.
• Light a stick of incense and walk slowly from room to room, paying particular attention to places where leaks are common like around windows and electrical outlets
• Smoke that is blown in or sucked out will show you where the leaks are

Rebates and incentives will help you to decide which energy-efficient renovations will give you the best return on your investment. Your local government will provide rebates, tax credits, incentives and coupons for improvements that reduce your energy and water consumption.

Add on a Bedroom

The number of bedrooms a home has dramatically influences the price. Add on an extra bedroom to increase your home’s value. Buyers tend to only look for listings with the number of bedrooms they need, so adding a room here will open up the market for you.

Prospective buyers can also use the added rooms for offices, gyms etc. too many rooms are never the problem that too few may pose.

Make your Home Safer

Nothing is more appealing than a home that is efficient, quiet and safe. Using ICFs is a great way to really increase the value of your home. Insulated Concrete Forms are wall and basement systems that are cost effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

ICF systems have an incredible R-value of R-32 – R-53. Homes built with ICFs are also more adept at withstanding hurricanes and tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and fires.

Kitchens and Bathrooms

Prospective homeowners are really attracted to homes which don’t need a kitchen or bathroom renovation. HGTV predicts that homeowners can expect a 60-120% recovery on kitchen renovations and 80-130% by adding another bathroom to homes which only have one.

Keep your renovations simple with good quality fixtures that are in keeping with the rest of the house and the neighborhood.

John Doe – CEO LineThemes

Open it Up

Modern buyers want homes that are light and open. If you have an older home where each room is separate, consider knocking down some of the walls to open the space up. Add new windows, but be sure to invest in energy-efficient models that don’t compromise the efficacy of your home’s envelope.

Your Water Meter Runs Continuously

Leaks can slowly drain your resources and introducing water into your home in places where you won’t see damage until it’s too late. The easiest way to gauge if you have a leak is to read your meter before you leave for work and when you get back home. If there is a difference in the readings while the home is unoccupied, you have a leak.

Start with taps and toilets for obvious leaks. To check your toilet, add some food coloring to the tank. If the food coloring starts to show in the toilet bowl, you know you need to replace your flapper.

Check for water stains on walls and ceilings. Mold and mildew or peeling paint can also indicate a leak.

Detach your hoses to check outside taps for leaks.

There are Water Stains on the Ceiling

In the lower levels of the home, this could indicate a plumbing leak. Check all fixtures and seal the leak. Water in the floor and ceiling can cause mold and mildew and compromise your indoor air quality. Water can also damage floors and ceilings and even compromise structural framing over time.

If the ceilings are stained in the upper floor of the home, this could indicate a roof leak. These are especially prevalent in the winter as ice dams form. When there are gaps in the insulation, heat from inside the home warms portions of the roof and melts the snow. With nowhere to drain, the water pools on the roof and freezes and expands overnight, pushing up under the shingles and causing leaks.

Regularly clean your gutters so water can effectively drain from the roof, check your shingles and roof for leaks and remediate any gaps in the attic insulation.

Discoloration around bathroom fans is a sign of condensation in the ductwork. This happens when your vents are blocked or when strong winds blow hot humid air back into your ductwork. This water condenses on the cooler ducting and can damage your roofing, fan motor and framing components.

Ensure that the vent is open and the damper is working properly. Keep the fan running for longer or put a timer switch on it so that it clears the ductwork of all moisture before turning off.

Efflorescence on your Chimney Brickwork

When masonry gets wet and dries, the minerals in the water stay behind on the bricks and form small white crystals. In tiny amounts, this efflorescence is harmless, but if thick deposits occur, it means that your chimney is too wet. When this moisture freezes in winter, it can expand and cause cracks.

Check your flue liner for damage as this means that poisonous CO2 gas may be seeping into your home from your fireplace, furnace or water heater.

Reduce the moisture in your chimney by fixing the crown and replacing the flue. Have your chimney inspected to ensure that it is working properly and safely.

Mind the Gaps

Caulking holes and gaps in your building envelope will help to keep your conditioned air indoors and save you 5% to 30% on heating. Check around doors and windows as well as plumbing and electrical fixtures and seal any gaps.

Prevent Burst Pipes

When temperatures drop below zero, uninsulated pipes can burst resulting in water damage. Check all the plumbing to ensure that pipes are insulated and protected.

Drain garden hoses, water features and ponds and cover them for the season.

Ice Dams

Cleaning gutters of fall debris and repairing any damage the guttering and shingles may have undergone this summer is a very important task. Check that your attic insulation is even and that there are no gaps. Gaps in the insulation will allow warm air from the home to heat parts of the roof.

When the snow melts in those hot patches, it has nowhere to go if gutters are clogged with snow or debris. Overnight, the drop in temperature will cause these puddles of water to freeze, expand and push up under the shingles. Water will then drip down into the attic where it can cause mold, mildew and even rotting of structural members.

HVAC Maintenance

Your furnace will last longer and work more efficiently when you regularly change the air filters. Air filters should be switched every month and furnace maintenance should be carried out annually in the fall. Get a guide to DIY furnace maintenance here.

Check your ducting for holes and repair any gaps you find to ensure all your heated air ends up in the right places.

Check that furniture and other items have not been moved to block vents over the summer.

Smart Lighting

Switching to energy-efficient lightbulbs will save you money. Another option is to install dimmer switches which will regulate the amount of light you use. Dimmer switches use TRIAC technology which dims the lights by turning them off and on hundreds of times a second. This reduces the amount of energy you utilize and increases the longevity of your lightbulbs. This means that, by dimming your lights by 50%, you can save 40% on energy and prolong the lifetime of the bulb 20 times by reducing the amount of heat the bulbs are subjected to.

If you are changing your switches, use this opportunity to insulate behind the switch plate. Your switch plates are holes in your building envelope through which warm air escapes.