Home Improvement
From DIY Culture
Home improvement is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Often, a professional handyman is hired to perform the improvements but, typically, most improvements are done on an amateur DIY basis by the homeowner.
Bob Vila is a well-known author and television host in the home improvement field. Also, the sitcom Home Improvement uses the home improvement theme for comedic purposes.
The National Association of Home Builders Remodelers Council is a professional trade organization for remodeling contractors.
[edit] Professional vs. do it yourself
A homeowner can hire a general contractor to oversee a home improvement project that involves multiple trades. A general contractor acts as project manager, providing access to the site, removing debris, coordinating work schedules, and performing some aspects of the work. Sometimes homeowners bypass the general contractor, and hire tradesmen themselves, including plumbers, electricians and roofers. Another strategy is to "do it yourself" (DIY). Several major retailers, such as Home Depot and Lowes, specialize in selling materials and tools for DIY home improvement. These stores even host classes to educate customers how to do the work themselves.
[edit] Types of home improvement
- Wallpapering and painting walls or installing wood paneling.
- Adding new flooring such as carpets, tiling, linoleum, wood flooring, or solid hardwood flooring.
- Upgrading cabinets, fixtures, and sinks in the kitchen and bathroom.
- Repairing or increasing the capacity of plumbing and electrical systems.
- Upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC)
- Roof tear-off and replacement.
- Concrete and masonry repairs to the foundation and chimney.
- Waterproofing basements.
- Soundproofing rooms, especially bedrooms and baths.
- Replacing siding and windows, both as a cosmetic improvement and as a way to save energy.
- Turning marginal areas into livable spaces such as turning basements into recrooms or attics into spare bedrooms.
- Reducing utility costs with:
- Energy-efficient insulation, windows, and lighting.
- Renewable energy with biomass pellet stoves, wood-burning stoves, solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal exchange heat pumps (see autonomous building)
- Extending one's house with rooms added to the side of one's home or, sometimes, extra levels to the original roof.
- Improving the backyard with sliding doors, wooden patio decks, patio gardens, jacuzzis, swimming pools, and fencing.
- Emergency preparedness safety measures such as:
- Home fire and burglar alarm systems.
- Security doors, windows, and shutters.
- Storm cellars as protection from tornados and hurricanes.
- Bombshelters especially during the 1950s as protection from nuclear war.
