5 Benefits of Building Refurbishment

Planning to refurbish your old commercial building is a big decision. It can easily turn into an expensive investment depending on the level of refurbishment. Building renovation has two meanings, first to restore the old or dull building into prior condition by simply cleaning, painting and rebuilding.

Second is to restore the building into something lively and fresh. Both types of renovations have their own benefits. Depending on the budget, you can choose one that can be applied. 

Building refurbishment not only adds comfort and beauty but also increases the overall value of the property.

In order to get a successful property refurbishment as an output, you should hire experienced refurbishment experts. As there are numerous service providers available, it becomes hard to select the best one. 

Property owners in UK often undergo a range of refurbishment processes because of a variety of reasons.

Here are the 7 best things about building refurbishment I came across after the successful completion of refurbishment project of my property:  

Improved Space Usage 

Successful refurbishment task improves the quality of living. The space usage and quality of life can improve in certain ways depending on the improvement task. This includes improvement in air conditioning, improved heating and insulation. 

Improved Functionality

Property improvement improves practicality and functionality in your existing property. This could be through improvements such as new window glasses or repairing of existing window glasses if they have scratches on them, a new fitted kitchen or bathroom. 

Increased Value

By proper refurbishment and property improvement process, the overall resell value of a building can be increased. If it is a commercial property then you will get good value after selling the same because of its increased beauty and functionality after the refurbishment. 

Buyers do like an improved property more compared to an old, unpleasant property. 

Improved Comfort

Building Refurbishment improves the comfort level for your family. With the proper refurbishment task, you can reap the benefits of existing building for many more years.

Lower Costs

Building a new property can be costly and time consuming. You may also run into additional unexpected costs along the way. Building refurbishment is comparatively wise approach. 

If you are someone who is searching for contractors for building refurbishment work then contact ARS LTD. The experts at ARS LTD are well versed with every aspect of building refurbishment, commercial spraying and glass repairs. 

Top 6 Renovation Tips for Rental Properties

When tenants visit the property, they check the condition of the house for sure. And it is needless to say that well-maintained properties are taken on rent more easily. In fact many tenants are ready to pay more rent for a well-maintained property. This increases the duty of the landlord significantly as he has to ensure that the property, which is to be given out on rent, is in well-maintained condition. It might happen that small repairs and renovation works need to be done so that the rental property remains in the best shape and form.

Mentioned below are 6 building refurbishment and renovation tips for rental properties:

1. Try to add more rooms: -

It has been seen that rental properties that have more rooms fetch higher price when compared to properties with lesser numbers of rooms. In case the property has large and spacious rooms, try adding partitions in the rooms and create extra rooms. If there is a garage, it can be transformed into an extra bedroom. For large rooms, you can also try the option of half baths successfully to give the impression of a suite. Try maintaining uniform design for the rooms so that they look similar.

2. Work on the curb appeal of the property: -

If you want to market your rental property in the most effective manner, try working towards enhancing the curb appeal. Anyone who comes to see the property will see the exteriors at the first place before entering the property and checking the interiors. If the exteriors are unattractive, dull and dirty, they will turn away renters at the first glance. You don’t need to do much to enhance the curb appeal of a property. Keeping the exteriors clean and proper is important. Wash the exterior walls, the roof, pathway, driveway and patio. Keep the lawn mowed and remove weeds and keep things tidy and neat.

3. Take care of the bathrooms and upgrade them: -

When people look for a property on rent, they definitely check the bathroom. Modern, clean and working bathroom is mandatory for attracting attention of renters. Infact majority of renting decisions are dependent on the bathroom and kitchen in the property. If you are low on budget, you don’t need to install expensive and fancy fixtures. But ensure that the bathroom is clean and there are no broken pipes, sinks etc. Everything should be in perfect working condition.

4. The property should be accessible to all: -

Properties intended to be given on rent should be accessible by all, particularly for people with disabilities. Old and aged people, people on wheelchairs, handicapped people – everyone should be able to access the property easily. Using universal designs and models for the properties are suggested as a result.

5. Work on the lighting in the rental properties: -

You might not know but lighting plays an important role in deciding how the property looks. With the right kind of lighting installed, a small space can be made to look large and spacious. Add lights at pivotal places in the property and see how the appearance of the property changes. Light up the more attractive areas of the property to enhance their presence.

6. Try and add more storage options in the property: -

Demands of built-in storages are high with renters. People nowadays lead modern lifestyles and look for convenient features in their home. So, if you want to give out a property on rent, make sure that you add all these modern elements in the same.

Why Low Carbon Building Refurbishment is needed?

Carbon emissions and the resultant climate change are the most debilitating issues concerning the world today. The old, dilapidated structures across the cities are among the main reasons for excessive energy inefficiency experienced. Demolishing and making fresh structures also means a lot of waste and adds to carbon emissions. Hence, there is an urgent need felt for refurbishing worn down building structures and can comparatively be a better idea to fight high carbon emissions. Improved energy efficiency of buildings and positive climatic changes with low CO₂ in the atmosphere is the key to sustainability. 

Spreading Greener Refurbishment awareness can save environment

The operational performance and energy efficiency can be improved by as much as 30-40% by refurbishing using greener resources that consume and emit low amounts of energy. Prediction of energy savings is possible using various modelling strategies on the part of the designers. Planning, in the initial stages of refurbishment can help in practically lowering carbon emission for the building.

Building refurbishment is normally a costly affair if the design is not planned properly. There is a need to find cost effective ways for refurbishments and one can approach refurbishment commissioning engineers who can suggest straightforward measures towards building energy efficiency. This will include things like upgrading the lighting and tightening the insulation panels instead of demolishing and rebuilding structures. Metering and energy audit schemes also work well to check the performance, post the refurbishment work design implementation.

Many a times, when the goal of low carbon emissions is not clear on the part of the designer or contractor, the whole idea of greener refurbishment goes for a toss. The carbon intensive machineries, resources which are normally used for new construction are avoided in refurbishments which need to abide by minimum performance standards.   Awareness on the part of the occupants is the most important as they will decide the performance success. Minimal use of CO2 emitting equipments, maintainence of the equipments and such behaviour on the part of the occupants can make a lot of difference after the design implementation.

Joint efforts for favourable climate change

Buildings seem to be contributing more than 50% of the total greenhouse gas emission of carbon-dioxide. Better carbon emissions management controls in every building can progressively benefit the entire world. However, the Government and the private sector need to collaborate and participate in commercial low carbon emission refurbishment efforts. Together, we can make the drive of favourable climate change easy to achieve.

Asbestos and lead are frequently emitted when demolishing old buildings and can cause fatal health hazards. This isn’t just a cause for alarm for the residents in the neighbourhood but also the workers in the project. All of it can be avoided with an emphasis on greener facets, including installing more and more solar panels for energy generation in order to safeguard the non renewable energy resources.

The designs of greener buildings must be simple, where the prime design considerations include maximum natural ventilation and insulation panels which prevent overheating on the inside and the emission of higher carbon-di-oxide on the outsides. Such refurbishments, if carried out everywhere can make a serious difference in the level of CO₂ emissions which are a threatening the entire world today.

Climate change has been severely affecting various regions in the world and every year, the number of people getting directly affected is increasing exponentially. It’s come to a now or never situation and we need to get together as a single global community what is both concerned and well educated. 

Innovative Building Products

Earlier the choices of building materials were limited to locally sourced materials like bricks, stones and timber, these materials have been used for centuries. Innovative building products are being constantly developed. Innovation in building products plays a very magnificent role among the most effective forces which guided the development of building forms and styles.

Check out this infographic to learn about some new building products that can be integrated into buildings with comfort.