Home improvement advice for homeowners (goals and benefits)
Project type
Why improve your home?
What are the benefits of renovating and making improvements to your home?
- It can make your home more liveable, comfortable and even beautiful (depending on what's being done of course)
- It will let you put your own stamp on it
- It's a rewarding thing to do, especially when it's finished!
- It can improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of your home
- It can allow you to give free reign to your creativity
- It can add value
However, you'll only reap those benefits if the project is planned well, budgeted for (including 10% extra for contingency cover) and carried out properly, because a bad job can lead to significant extra financial costs, reduce the value of your home and even threaten your health and safety.
You might not see the problems straight away - they may only become apparent months afterwards when the water and cold start creeping in and the cracks begin to appear.
And if a chimney is taken down without due care, a load-bearing wall removed or a new electrical system fitted wrongly, you and your family could be in immediate trouble.
Already decided on a project? Go to our 'What do I do before I start building work' page.
What are your goals?
The goals you'd like to achieve for your home improvement project may include making your home:
- More comfortable - for example by upgrading the central heating or adding insulation
- More spacious - by converting the loft or adding an extension
- Well maintained - your roof may need to be repaired, or windows replaced
- Safer - by upgrading your security or installing a linked smoke alarm system
- More energy efficient - by putting in double-glazing, or fitting solar panels to the roof, for instance
Start by choosing a project
On this website you can filter information by home or project type or just search by keyword in the box at the top of the page.
We've provided information on building regulations, planning permission, the issues you may run into and what your building control provider will be expecting (and much more).
General information
You'll also find general information not specifically related to just one project - advice on how to choose a builder for instance, or what insurances you'll need for your home improvement project.
While we always recommend speaking to a professional, whether that's a tradesperson, builder or Registered Building Inspector, we hope the information you'll glean from Front Door will help to see you through to the end of your project, avoiding some of the pitfalls that commonly occur in the course of a home improvement project.
Further information
How can the building regulations be of any help to me?
What's the difference between planning permission and building control?
