4 Tips for Older Homeowners Planning Home Improvements

Women over 50 have varying considerations when it comes to planning home improvements. We look at what those concerns might be and how to work around them. Here are four tips for older women with some home modifications to get done. 

Know Your Limits

It may have been a few years since you’ve done anything too physical if you’re not regularly exercising in the gym or in the park. As such, it’s fair to say that you don’t know what your body is capable of once you’ve hit the half-century mark. For instance, it will be easy to stretch too far while completing improvements and pull a muscle, which will stop you in your tracks. 

We, therefore, suggest taking your time to better understand your current capabilities (and physical limitations) to avoid a problem. Take the time to stretch for a few minutes each day before embarking on any home improvement work. 

Protect Your Carpeting and Flooring

If you plan to do any painting, then it’s far too easy to see paint flip from the brush or roller onto the floor. Don’t buy into the false belief that nothing bad will happen because these kinds of things take place in the home decoration world every day!

To avoid ruining a hardwood floor or new carpet, it’s sensible to use a smart grip drop cloth to cover the stairs or floor from paint damage. This means you won’t need to risk using paint stripper to get the paint off later and hope it won’t leave any marks. A smart grip cloth is an expansive canvas that goes over the flooring, landing or stairs to protect it. It’s slip-resistant, durable underfoot and absorbent to prevent paint or water leaks from getting beneath it.

Plan the Time Necessary to Complete the Home Improvements

Plan out each stage of the home improvement to see how long it will take.

Consider what you’ll need to learn (how much can you understand ahead of time?) to complete the project. Be aware of a couple of things that can arise:

• • Surprises may occur that you weren’t expecting, which tend to expand the task and the time to complete them.
  • Estimates are usually way too short because most home improvement tasks are being attempted for the first time and there’s a learning curve. 

Divide Tasks Between Those You Can Do and Ones to Hire In

Trying to do too much at once and picking tasks that clearly require the services of a professional are two common mistakes. 

Avoid this by dividing up home improvement tasks between ones you can learn how to do and those that will need a contractor or DIY handyperson to be paid to do. Approaching several home improvement projects in this manner means you avoid wasting both time and money on tasks that you shouldn’t have been attempting in the first place. 

Too few of us feel that we’re capable of complete DIY tasks ourselves. Nevertheless, it’s possible to get many smaller projects completed by learning how and persevering. So, don’t be deterred. You’re probably far more capable than you give yourself credit for.