15 Mar 5 Home Refurbishments To Make Before Moving
You’ve just closed on a house and are planning to move in with your family. It is an exciting time and you can’t wait to start designing the new space and unpacking your boxes. Home refurbishment is the last thing on your mind. At this point, you’re not in the mood to spend more money fixing the plumbing system or remodelling the bathroom. Sound familiar?
Actually, the best time to get your home improvement checklist out is before you move in. Before you bring in your furniture and fill up the space with your luggage. Before bringing your loved ones into a potentially unsafe house.
If you have just bought a new house, here are some refurbishments you have to make prior to moving in:
1 – Change the locks
Probably the easiest yet the most important step. When a house goes on sale, many people get copies of the key. The house owner, real estate agents, maintenance/repair workers. You also don’t know who the previous occupants gave a spare set. It is safer to just change the locks. If the home has a security system, don’t forget to set a new code.
2 – Inspect the plumbing system
Before buying a house, you should have a trustworthy plumber inspect the building and ensure that all pipes and fittings are in good shape. If you did not, perhaps under the assumption that you didn’t need to, before moving in is the second-best time to get this inspection done. Look out for moisture stains and ask the plumber to show you the main water shut-off valve. This information will serve you well in the future.
3 – Fix the walls and flooring
After moving into your home, you may never get a chance to see your walls and floors uncovered again. Take advantage of the period before moving to remove scuff marks and scratches and carry out any necessary renovations.
4 – Check electrical fixtures for faults
This is another thing you may have done before closing on the house. But it doesn’t hurt to run a second round of checks; you may have missed some things on the first go-round. Make sure that the house’s electrical system is in perfect shape. Don’t forget to change the batteries in the smoke detectors and replace the heating and cooling filters.
5 – Splurge on major renovations
Do your bathrooms need a makeover? Perhaps the kitchen needs remodelling or you’re considering repainting the entire house. Get major renovations out of the way before you move in. Yes, it’s a sizable investment but think of how happy it’d make your partner and kids when they move into a home in pristine condition? And since you’ll end up making these improvements anyway, why not now?
Hopefully, the prospect of sprucing up your home gets you as excited as the thought of moving into the new space. You probably won’t be able to get all these done on your own, so don’t hesitate to contact professionals to handle your electrical and plumbing projects, as well as fix the walls and change the locks.