Preparing Your Home for Retirement

When renovating their properties, these are two mistakes that homeowners frequently make:

Converting their attic into a type of room that could lead to the failure of their roof

Whilst a loft can be converted into a room that serves a number of different functions, it is not quite as versatile as the other parts of a building. This is not only because it often has a triangular shape that can difficult to add new structures to, but also because it normally features a lot of exposed wood in the form of trusses and underlay materials. Many homeowners do not keep this in mind when coming up with their renovation plan and end up designing a type of room that could damage these wooden roof components when they start using the new space.

For example, it would not be advisable for a homeowner to turn their loft into a laundry room, where they keep their washing machine, dryer and clothes airers. The reason for this is as follows: the humidity created by their dryer and by the damp clothes that they hang on their airer could result in the slow decay of the wooden roof trusses and the underlay. Their destruction could then jeopardise the roof's stability. Converting the attic into a bathroom could result in similar issues, due to the steam that would be produced whenever anyone took a bath or used the shower.

It would be much better for homeowners who want to start utilising their attic space to design a room that will not generate any significant amount of moisture when it is in use, like an office or a home gym.

Not customising the timber products that they use to build features that are highly visible

When homeowners decide to use timber products to create new features like balustrades, balconies and decks that are in very visible areas of their homes, they will often install plain timber without customising it first. Unless the homeowner in question is aiming to achieve a sparse, minimalist aesthetic, this is usually a mistake.

The reason for this is as follows: one of the best things about using timber to build the features mentioned above is that a homeowner could, with the help of a carpenter, transform these generic pieces of wood into highly-distinctive and artistically-designed features that add character and style to their house. They could even serve as selling points that could increase their home's market value. As such, by not bothering to take this step, a homeowner could deprive themselves of the chance to make their house more valuable and more beautiful.

For example, rather than fitting plain wooden spindles on their banister, a homeowner could get floral imagery carved onto them. Likewise, instead of building a basic wooden balcony, they could have their carpenter carve a quatrefoil pattern into the timber barrier panels.