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It doesn’t get this cold around here very often, but when it does, you can really feel where your home needs some attention.
If you’re not as warm and comfortable indoors as you’d like to be when the mercury dips into frosty territory, your house could be telling you that it’s time for some worthwhile renovations.
Here are five remodeling projects that you can start now to improve the comfort level and energy efficiency of your house:
- Replace your windows. This is my top recommendations for anyone who lives in an older home and has energy bills.
Old, single-pane windows are one of the most energy-inefficient items in your home. They don’t keep your heated and air-conditioned air indoors very well, and they don’t keep wind, cold air or really hot air out, either.
Our advice: Replace your home’s original windows with energy-efficient double-pane models. Your energy bills are likely to noticeably reduce; your home will feel more comfortable during hot and cold weather; and they may even make your home a bit quieter.
- Replace your heating system. If it’s more than 15 years old, it won’t be long before it starts giving you some trouble. Newer models are so much more energy efficient than anything that was on the market that long ago, so replacing the old one now means you can get one that costs less to operate.
My recommendation: Buy the system with the highest energy rating you can afford. It will be worth it in the long run when you save money on your utility bill and when your family feels more comfortable indoors, no matter what the weather is like outside.
- Replace your front and back doors. If your house still has the exterior doors it was built with, you’re losing energy, even when they’re closed. That can add up to dollars and cents on your utility bill.
Consider swapping out your front and back doors with insulated, energy-efficient styles. Steel and fiberglass doors typically have high insulating values and are installed with a tight fit so very little air can get in or out of the house when they’re closed. If you love your glass patio doors, choose a model with double- or triple-pane insulating glass.
- Replace your garage door. if the garage is attached to the house. In many homes, the ceiling and walls of a garage are not insulated—and neither is the door, so there’s nothing keeping the outdoor weather outside where it belongs.
Even if your garage isn’t among the rooms that your HVAC system heats and cools, your home’s furnace and a/c will have to work harder to keep the rooms attached to the garage comfortable during outdoor highs and lows. An insulated garage door will at least mitigate that a bit.
- Upgrade your addition. If you’re ready to add on to your house, ask your contractor to make it energy efficient. When you’re building a room from scratch, it’s easy to add thick insulation, to choose insulating building materials like windows and cladding, and to choose high-efficiency heating/cooling and lighting.
Want more information? To get your free report, “11 Remodeling Mistakes Cost You Thousands,” Call Mari at 318-865-4914 or email mari@jeb.net or call 318-216-4525 to hear a free audio recording of the report.