Insulation is an important part of your home’s ability to keep a steady temperature throughout the seasons. Its ability to hold in cool and warm air is key to saving money on your energy costs and not sweating in the summer or freezing in the winter. 

Insulation is a standard feature in any home regardless of whether the home is in a hot or cold climate. But your home may not have enough insulation, or the insulation may not be doing the job it’s supposed to do. Learn about the following three ways to help you figure out if your home has enough insulation.

Your Home’s Energy Bills Are Always High

As a child, you probably had your parents telling you not to heat the outdoors or you’re letting all the cool air out of the house. If your home isn’t insulated enough, you contribute to your home’s energy loss and high energy bills.

Your house shares internal air with the outdoors, a sharing relationship which can cause your energy bills to increase. You may have moved into a new home and you never thought to check the insulation to see if it was adequate. Whatever the reason or the cause, you need to get into your attic and evaluate the quality of your insulation to get your home energy costs under control.

Ceilings, Walls, and Floors Are Always Cold in Winter

Drywall and paneling will feel warm to the touch when your home is properly insulated. The same goes for flooring, even though heat rises. If you find that one or all of these elements of your home are cold, you probably don’t have sufficient insulation in your home. 

Insulation is more than fiberglass bats in your attic. It’s also in the walls and under your floors. While not every area of your home will get insulation, you should have plenty of insulation in strategic places throughout your home. Have an expert determine where and how insulation was installed in your home and what to do to remedy the situation if you don’t have enough of it. 

You Face Drafts, Drafts, and More Drafts

Getting an occasional draft from under a door or a window is not uncommon. The seals on doors may have dried out. Caulk in a window frame may have dried and shrunk. A lesser cause of drafts is a building settling and creating gaps. All of these issues are manageable as long as they’re minor. 

Sometimes repairing a minor issue is more difficult than not making repairs because of the size of the problem. However, they can point to poor insulating material that simply wasn’t doing its job. Large drafts can cool down or heat up your home, which can cause your HVAC system to work harder to bring temperatures back to normal. 

The above signs are ones that you’ll find when your home isn’t properly insulated. Use them when you audit your home to find out if you need to improve the insulation to save money on your home energy costs.

The vast majority of new homes built today have gutters, and many owners of older homes opt to install gutters at some point to improve water collection and diversion away from the structure. However, fewer people have taken the time to invest in gutter guards. Installing gutter guards on your home helps prevent clogging by blocking leaves and other large debris from entering the gutters and creating clogs that stop water flow. Many homeowners might opt to install gutter guards because they’re tired of climbing up and down ladders to clean out their gutters manually. There’s another important reason to install gutter guards though: to prevent damage. Clogged gutters might not seem like a big deal, but once you read about these four costly types of damage, you might think twice about skipping gutter guards on your home.

1. Landscape Damage

Starting the list with the least costly type of damage, let’s focus on landscape damage. It might not seem significant to focus on sidewalks, patios, and flowerbeds, but the reality is that clogged gutters can lead to a lot of different types of peripheral damage to landscaping. When water cannot flow properly through your gutters, the first thing it is going to do is well up and overflow. This uncontrolled leaking of water often results in spills onto driveways, entry steps, patios, and landscape beds.

In the case of landscaping, in particular, the damage is largely visible. Mulch and dirt are moved around by the water and plants can be damaged. You’ve spent good money on your home’s curb appeal with that landscaping, and you’ll be spending it again if clogged gutters result in overflowing water that spills into flowerbeds and mulch.

There’s another damage that can result here as well. Consistent dripping and flowing water over the side of a gutter can shorten the length of your driveway by wearing away at it and creating pools of water on asphalt and paver-patio surfaces.

2. Fascia Board Damage

Most homes are constructed of wooden frames and have a finished siding over that frame. When gutters are installed, they are anchored into wood or aluminum fascia boards underneath your exterior siding. If you don’t have gutter guards, you could face a chain reaction that results in thousands of dollars in repairs. When water cannot flow through your gutters, most of it is retained in the gutter and adds extra weight to the gutter system. This, in turn, puts greater stress on the fascia boards keeping the gutters connected to the home. If you live in a cold-weather climate, that weight is increased by the constant freeze-thaw cycle of winter weather.

Wood fascia boards cost roughly $6 to $10 per linear foot to purchase, while aluminum fascia boards cost anywhere from $8 to $20 per linear foot. Add in the cost of a contractor to the complete the work, which ranges from $38 to $72 per hour, and you could pay anywhere from $800 to $6,000 to repair the fascia boards on your home. This depends, of course, on how much of your fascia board is damaged and needs replacing. Given the average gutter guard system costs just $1,500 to $2,000 to install, it could actually save you a lot of money in the long run.

3. Structural Damage

Believe it or not, clogged gutters can actually result in significant interior structural damage to your home as well. If you live in a cold-weather climate, clogged gutters can lead to a situation known as ice damming. This occurs during freeze-thaw cycles as snow melts. When that melting snow doesn’t drain properly through gutters, it backs up in the gutters and onto the roof. As sunny days recede into cold nights, that water backup freezes. This freeze-thaw pattern continues and puts stress on your roof. On top of that, it puts a large pool of trapped water on your roof that will look for anywhere it can to drain off.

In most cases, ice damming results in damage to the interior of homes. Water seeps through roofing and siding, penetrating interior walls and damaging wall structures, insulation, and drywall inside of the home. Depending on where the leak occurs, it could also result in damage to carpeted areas of the home. 

4. Foundation Damage

Finally, the most expensive potential damage resulting from clogged gutters focuses on your foundation. The primary role of your gutters is to channel water away from the foundation of your home. Rather than letting it pool up against your home where the structure meets ground level, clean-flowing gutters rush water off the roof, channel it into downspouts, and discharge it safely away from your home toward a downward slope. When this doesn’t happen, and water pools near the foundation, the most common result is cracking in the foundation. The worst-case scenario, if left unchecked for a long period of time, is the failure of the foundation and collapse. Another possible outcome is mold growth within the foundation.

HomeAdvisor has a breakdown of the average costs to repair foundation damage. If you catch a problem when it is small, such as a minor crack, you’re likely to pay as little as $500. However, the average foundation repair issue costs $4,060, and if major repairs are required that call for hydraulic piers to stabilize the home, you’re looking at costs that could soar beyond $10,000.

Gutter guards don’t exist purely to make your weekends easier. Yes, it’s great to avoid climbing up and down ladders getting your hands dirty in the muck that collects in unprotected gutters. More importantly, gutter guards serve a vital purpose in protecting your home against these various types of costly damage that result from clogging and inefficient water flow.

Kitchen remodeling projects can be fun. You can give your space a modern look and pull it out of the last century. Depending on how extensive of a remodeling you want to do, though, things can get expensive in a hurry. You’ll need to take a look at the money you have budgeted, and then see how much it’s going to cost to cover everything that you want to be changed. You might need to make some compromises, or you may decide to do the work piecemeal so that you don’t need to pay for everything at once. You can look at sites like https://www.rtacabinetsupply.com/support/project-estimators.html to get some idea of what specific projects will cost, but for now, here are some estimates of various kitchen upgrades.

New Backsplash

The backsplash for your kitchen is the paneling behind your stove or sink that protects it from splashes. If yours is old and worn-looking, it can be one of the things that gives the kitchen a drab or outdated look. Getting rid of your old backsplash and installing new tiles can run from a couple of hundred dollars up into the thousands. It depends on how fancy of a style you choose to get. It’s also going to be cheaper if you decide to install it yourself, which is not difficult. However, the average cost of backsplash and installation will probably run from $400 to $600.

New Floor

If the laminate for your floor is discolored or some of it is cracked or peeling, that’s another way for your kitchen to look like it needs an upgrade. Depending on the size of your kitchen and the quality of the new laminate that you use, you’re probably looking at a cost of about $2,500 to $3,000 for a 500 square foot kitchen. Larger kitchens could run as much as $5,000 or $6,000.

New Cabinets

New cabinets for your kitchen can make the whole place look new, especially if you go with a bright-colored wood or you use a bright stain coupled with lots of natural light from the windows. You might expect to pay $3,000 or $4,000 for 150 square feet of cabinet space, or 25 linear feet of cabinets. If you go with semi-custom cabinets, that will cost you more, likely $6,000 to $9,000. However, some people decide to splurge on the kitchen, especially if they fancy themselves master chefs and want to show off when people come to visit. They might go for custom-made cabinets, in which case they may shell out $15,000 or as much as $20,000.

There are all kinds of other improvements you can make to your kitchen, like new lighting, the installation of a new range hood, the running of a new water line for a refrigerator ice maker, etc. If you get it done all at once, it’s going to cost you a bundle. However, on the plus side, if you use the same contractor to do all that work, they will likely give you a discount. You must ask yourself how much you can afford, and also how fancy you’re willing to get with the building materials.

With granite becoming one of the most popular materials used in countertops, many myths about granite have popped up. To debunk some of these myths, we are going to break them down.

Myth #1: It Is Hard to Maintain

Polishing granite may seem like a lot of work, but it is very easy. In just a few minutes, you can make your countertops look like they are brand new, while also protecting them from future damage. While you can polish your granite as often as you would like, you only need to polish it once a week, and the process only takes a few minutes.

Many people seem wary of the fact that you need to keep granite countertops sealed. Fortunately, sealing granite is very easy, and it only needs to be one once every 12 to 18 months. With a sealer like Rock Doctor Granite Sealer, sealing your granite countertops will only take a few minutes.

Myth #2: It Is Expensive

The term expensive is completely subjective, but granite doesn’t top the price range for countertop materials. In fact, granite isn’t all that much more expensive than many of the other countertop material options available. While there will always be cheaper options out there, you aren’t likely to get the same bang for your buck as you will with granite.

In recent years, the price of granite has dropped due to the abundant supply that has hit the market. This supply has made granite one of the least expensive stone options for countertops. Additionally, as more and more people purchase granite, the cheaper it becomes.

Granite may still seem expensive to some, but it is incredibly durable, which means that you won’t need to replace your granite countertop anytime soon. Plus, granite countertops are highly desirable, so if you ever want to sell your home, granite countertops will increase your home’s resale value.

Myth #3: It Is Unsafe

Granite is a porous material, which has led many people to believe that bacteria are frequently trapped in these pores and can get into the food being prepared. While it is true that granite is porous, that doesn’t mean that bacteria survive inside it. In fact, granite countertops are no less safe for food preparation than any other countertop surface.

Myth #4: It Is Indestructible

Granite is extremely durable, but that doesn’t mean that it is indestructible. As one of the hardest countertop materials on the market, it is resistant to heat, stains, chemicals, and scratches, but it can be damaged quite easily if you aren’t careful with it.

It is very possible to stain granite, but it is generally possible to get the stains out of the stone. Many people believe that once granite has been stained, it is ruined forever, but you can typically undo the damage to the stone.

It isn’t easy to scratch granite, but it is definitely possible. It is important to remember that there are many materials that are harder than granite, and these materials can easily scratch the stone. Using abrasive chemical cleaners can cause etching and tiny scratches. If something hard falls on or hits your granite, it can crack or chip.

Although granite is heat-resistant, it can be damaged by heat. You should always you pot holders or trivets to place hot pots and pans on your counter. Never place hot pots and pans directly on your granite countertops, or you could scorch the surface.

Myth #5: It Will Eventually Lose Its Shine

While marble will eventually dull, granite will not. Granite doesn’t tend to show signs of regular wear and tear like marble, however. If you think your granite is starting to look dull, you can apply granite polish to the surface, and it will shine again.

Myth #6: Dark Colored Granite Is Stronger

While unexplainable for most people, the rumor that darker colored granite is harder than lighter colored granite has spread around. Oddly enough, the strongest mineral found in granite is quartz, which is generally a white or grey color.

Myth #7: It Is Easy to Stain

We addressed this myth a bit in an earlier section, but this is one of the most common myths surrounding granite. It isn’t easy to stain granite, and if you do stain it, it is likely that you can reverse the damage. One of the biggest problem substances for granite staining is oil. Cooking oils can stain granite, but to remove the stain, you can use a paste or poultice to draw the oil out of the stone. It is best to clean up any spills as they occur, so you don’t have any problems with staining in the first place.

Myth #8: It Is the Same as Marble

Granite and marble are both natural stones that are loved for their beauty. However, granite is an igneous rock formed by molten magma that cooled and hardened underground. Marble is a calicoes stone that formed in oceanic deposits that were compressed under immense pressure.