Time passes for everyone, including our home, and it is that things wear out not only from use, but also from time, and it is necessary to make arrangements and reforms in our house or apartment . But what are the most important reforms? What works are worth doing ? Is annual maintenance necessary or can we wait longer?
In today’s article we are going to try to answer all these questions and questions to face variable spending , which can be cheap or become a real economic nightmare and leave our wallet and budget shaking.
What are the works that are worth doing in a home?
As we have previously indicated, the works are a variable expense that can range from annual maintenance that can cost us just under 100 euros or go up to more than 1,000, reaching or exceeding 12,000 euros.
And it is not the same to change the kitchen and repair the roof than to completely change the electrical installation, plugs and cables as to check the boiler or paint a room.
All these works share a common characteristic, some of them must be done from time to time to avoid breakdowns or to maintain the quality and comfort of life in our house.
In addition, it is not the same if we are owners as tenants, so we must value both things carefully. We might as well paint the walls if we live in a property and have a lease for a few years, or maybe the owner does it willingly.
For all these reasons, it is important to analyze the works from an economic point of view, of necessity and urgency to value doing them or wait a bit.
Works worth doing
Works or maintenance? Are they the same or not? Do we need to do both, or what are our needs? The first thing to differentiate by price and timing.
Once we have differentiated between need and obligation, we must analyze what our needs are and if we can take advantage to make more changes at home, and that is that he thinks that home reforms are a nightmare , not only for the mere fact of paying, but for the inconvenience, the weather, the noise, the dust and everything that comes with changing anything in our house.
Unfortunately, most owners and people do not have the same financial resources, so it is best to maximize our time and money to do those works and reforms that we need to do yes or yes.
For example, if we are going to change a piece of furniture in the kitchen like a cupboard, we can still use it to change the rest of them.
If we start painting, we still need to paint everything at once, and the same with varnishing. In any case, the key here is what is most necessary and a priority for you or your tenants if they have them.
For example, there are things that we recommend you do from time to time, such as checking the boiler or looking for humidity, but the appearance of the hallway is more important, or changing the window panes to have better thermal insulation and improve the internal temperature of the house.
What are the obligatory works if we want to sell or rent?
There are reforms that we must do yes or yes depending on the state of affairs and the passage of time, as well as whether we need to sell or rent. Having a 15-year-old kitchen in our house is not the same as having a new one.
- Change the kitchen and reform the bathroom. Experts say that the complete reform of the bathroom and kitchen of a house increases the value of the property up to 15 percent of the original price .
- Paint the walls . Changing the aesthetic aspect of a property makes tenants see it with new eyes, therefore, it is key to have the house clean and tidy as well as a small visual renovation by changing the colors of the walls and making small modifications to walls, ceilings and surfaces . This is recommended for homeowners every time they change tenants, on the other hand, if you live in your habitual residence, it is normal to do so every five years or so.
- Change the glass and windows. He thinks that this expensive work is worth doing (more than 1,000 euros if there are several windows) for various reasons, the first is the thermal insulation that we get if we put Climalit or double windows and the second is that it is an improvement of the quality of life since in addition to improving the internal temperature, reducing noise from the outside. This simple renovation allows us to raise one or more points the energy certification of our home , a very important point in energy-deficient homes and houses that also helps us to revalue our house if we decide to sell it in the short or medium term.
- Change the roof and waterproof. This is to avoid humidity and it is not always necessary, however, it is essential to check the walls and rooms annually for leaks, humidity and the like.
Home maintenance, works and annual reviews
The periodic maintenance of a house must take into account the good condition, order and cleanliness of our home, therefore, include the following elements:
- Ceilings and floors. This is an extremely important element, especially if we have a house we must clean the pipes, check the tiles, and unblock the pipes and downspouts to avoid humidity problems in the home.
- Windows and doors.
- General installations, plugs, electrical installation, check the gas boiler, purge the water, check the condition of the radiators, taps, blinds and other elements that we use every day.
- Check the condition of the walls for moisture. Also, it is necessary to paint or varnish furniture, walls or surfaces.
- Check household appliances , such as air conditioning, light bulbs, WIFI connection, electrical appliances, etc.
In general, all these works and repairs are common sense and not too expensive.
Options for maintenance
In addition, most of them we can do on our own if we know a little about repairs, or in the worst case, hire a professional or check that we have them included with our home insurance.
Another option is to hire a multi-service company to take us home maintenance.
In any case, the annual maintenance and what we should pay more attention to is the condition of the boiler (the law indicates that it must be every 2 years and the case of water every 5 years).
Home insurance, right?
In addition, if we use it little, and only when it is cold it is better that we review it every year, many insurances include for free checking your boiler so we recommend that you take a look at the policy to verify that you have it or if you go To change insurance, consult this service.
And the same happens with the electrical installation as well as checking and cleaning the ceilings and walls in search of humidity and leaks, especially if we live in an attic or if we have a house located in rainy areas.
In summary, the essential and most expensive home maintenance (not too much, we are talking about small numbers compared to works such as changing a kitchen) are usually cleaning pipes and roofs , changing tiles and painting walls and ceilings.
Instead, a boiler overhaul is usually between 40 to 60 euros, depending on the company and the professional.
This price is usually the same as a technician charges us for coming home and working an hour to see anything.
We hope we have helped you to clarify between reforms and maintenance in the home , as well as knowing what works are worth doing from the economic and mandatory point of view.
