Ask Mr. Fix it

Did you know that by spending a few hundred dollars right now, you can save yourself a few hundred dollars each year? It’s possible because your home probably has a number of inefficiencies which make it use too much energy to perform tasks, and you can easily update it to modern standards to take advantage of the newest energy saving techniques. By performing regular home repair, you can save yourself big bucks in the long run. Not only that, but your home will be much more environmentally friendly, and you can consider yourself as being helpful towards the environment.

Patch Those Holes

Any holes found throughout your house can make you spend more money heating your house up during the winter and cooling it during the summer. Log cabins are especially susceptible to this, but all homes can have holes created in them from time to time. Check around doors and windows every year for any cracks that might have formed around them. This is perhaps the easiest home repair you can do, and it can save you a ton of money.

If you do find any cracks or holes, purchase some caulking and fill them up. That will keep extreme hots and colds out and comfortable temperatures inside. For other energy saving home repair, make sure that there is insulation along the roof, where a lot of energy is lost. If possible, climb up into your attic or crawl space and replace any that is missing. Installing insulation in roofs without attics or walls can be prohibitively expensive, but it may still be worth it if you want to save on your energy bills (and it would be a substantial amount). After all, window air conditioners can use 1200 watts of power at peak levels, which equates to sixteen 75-watt light bulbs being on twenty-four hours a day.

Easy home repair can also extend to plumbing. Any leaks in your piping can create a mold problem easily, which will end up costing you thousands of dollars in the end. Not only that, but leaks can also ruin your walls and flooring, costing even more money. Leaky faucets can make you lose hundreds of gallons of water over the course of a year.

You certainly don’t want to end up having to pay for all of this, but by identifying and fixing leaks as they occur, home repair will save you money down the road. Also, check into purchasing an insulation sleeve for your water heater. Old and inefficient water heaters which don’t meet new EnergyStar standards can be costing you needless electricity each year, and one of these sleeves will save you further cash. They’re easy to install and cheap to buy, and they’re one of the most cost effective home repairs to make. Your home is an expensive investment, but with a little tender loving care, you can save yourself a lot of money on it.

Tags: electrical, diy, home fix-up, house additions, remodeling