Home improvement makes it possible to gain comfort, reduce energy consumption but also to bring your home up to date. Faced with today's new homes that are ever more efficient and modern, the old house sometimes seems ill-adapted to new challenges. How renovate your home and give it a little look of a new house? Some tips.
Home improvement: getting started with energy renovation
What are energy renovation works?
The big subject of housing in recent years is the reduction of energy consumption. A house built today hardly needs any energy to heat itself during the winter. It is possible to achieve the same performance by renovating your house. Insulation, ventilation, heating method, global renovation and well thought out will allow you to achieve the same performance as a new house. No more drafts, feelings of cold in winter, or an overheated house in summer. These energy renovation works, when undertaken together and coordinated to achieve true performance are more supported by the State through subsidies and tax credits. Not only is the bill reduced, but comfort is guaranteed.
Reinforced insulation
High-performance insulation walls and roof, treatment of thermal bridges and airtightness are the keys to an efficient energy renovation. Objective: to keep the heat as long as possible inside the home. In summer, on the contrary, insulation prevents calories from entering the home.
To go further, read the article: High-performance house: the importance of airtightness »
Effective ventilation
Today, ventilation systems limit heat losses linked to air renewal as much as possible but guarantee a healthy air in the habitat. An element to change and adapt when embarking on an energy renovation.
To go further, read our article: “ How to ensure indoor air quality ».
More ecological heating methods
With the two previous operations, the heating needs decrease. It's time to change your old boiler for less energy-consuming devices such as heat pumps, thermodynamic water heater, Or wood heating the renewable energies like solar can also meet a large part of your energy needs.
Efficient and less visible heat emitters
Another renovation trend is to change your radiators. Yesterday's electric radiators consume a lot of energy, while new models are more economical and therefore more ecological. They are also more elegant and discreet. To go further, and free your walls from unsightly devices, it is now possible to move towards heated ceilings, heated floors, or a duct heating which works with an air/air heat pump and hides its diffusion vents in a false ceiling.
To find out more, read the article: “ 12 advantages of ducted heating in the South West ».
Dare to use home automation
THEhome automation is becoming more and more common. The house is managed with a simple remote control and can even be programmed: the heating always remains at the right temperature, and turns off depending on the opening of the windows, the blinds and roller shutters lower or open depending on the the path of the sun, the air is renewed as needed. This big trend in home improvement is not a gimmick. In the end it offers serious energy savings and a great improvement in comfort.
Home improvement: more space and light
The major trends in home renovation, it is also review the architectural design of the House. Walls and partitions are knocked down to create more open and bright living spaces, promoting air circulation and conviviality. The kitchens open onto the living room, possibly partitioned by a simple glass roof.
Windows are often replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows that let more light into the home and extend the living space to the outdoors.
Houses opening onto the garden
The exterior is completely revised with terraces always more neat and are designed as real living spaces. Blinds, pergolas, sunshades, verandas or even outdoor kitchens, a beautiful renovation also focuses on the exteriors.
Change the facade
Repainting its facade and its shutters are all ways of giving an old house a facelift. In terms of home improvement trends, the installation of wooden cladding, or roller shutters or sliding brings a real plus to an old house.
Dare to extend the house
When we have the opportunity, the big renovation trend is to modify the appearance of your old house by adding a new extension. a good way to gain precious square meters without moving and to offer new, more functional rooms. Very trendy currently, theflat roof extension radically transforms the house by giving it a touch of modernity.
Change bathroom and kitchen
In terms of bathroom and cuisine, tastes have evolved enormously. Flowery patterns and dull or garish ceramic tiles are deeply dated and deserve a real facelift. These rooms have been renewed from floor to ceiling. Furniture, floor coverings and walls, change styles: Scandinavian, for a natural decoration, industrial for a raw and modern atmosphere or country for a warm atmosphere. The equipment is also more modern and functional with sinks, Wall-hung WC, walk-in showers. Adapting to Handicapped, bathrooms like kitchens are more elegant but also more functional and safer. A assistance with financing housing adaptation work can also be mobilized.
To find out more, read the article: “ Scandinavian, Industrial, Country: 3 styles of kitchens and bathrooms for your individual home »
