Remodelling your entire home is almost always accompanied by a complete tear-down, plenty of stress and lots of waste; but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can find ways around having to totally demolish the insides of your home and throwing away plenty of good materials with a sustainable remodel. Here’s how.
Hire a Pro
Before beginning your home renovation Vancouver, find a professional contractor who can do the job for you. Doing it yourself if you don’t have the experience can cost you more money than you think in the long run if you make any costly mistakes. A professional will know exactly what you should absolutely demolish and start from scratch, as well as what you can leave in and simply refresh.
Repurpose Instead of Replace
Replacing items is costly and creates extra waste. Why throw something away if it can be refreshed and reused? Take a good look at the room you’re renovating and carefully decide what can be kept in place, what can be deconstructed and repurposed for a part of the home renovation Vancouver, and what can’t be used and should be donated to recycling.
Step by Step
Starting small ensures you don’t feel overwhelmed and end up making decisions you can’t take back. You can start by replacing old appliances with energy-efficient ones like your air conditioning or washer and dryer, investing in solar technology for energy/electricity or insulating your home before you do anything else to ensure lower bills and less pollution and wasted energy.
Sustainable Materials
If parts of the home had to be torn down, it’s important to then consider choosing sustainable materials for the renovation. It’s important to do your research as a consumer and learn about which materials are actually sustainable and chemical-free (some are only marketed that way and use gimmicky terms like “natural” or “organic” to lure consumers in).
Shop Sustainably
Shopping sustainably isn’t just limited to materials. You can do this by shopping locally to support the local small businesses in your area, or using reclaimed materials. For example, Ikea has a section where slightly damaged furniture or furniture that has been returned, is sold significantly cheaper. You can also choose to reface and refinish your hardwood floors, for example, instead of completely replacing them.
If you are looking to begin your home renovation Vancouver, get in touch with our team. We would be more than happy to be a part of your journey in renovating and living sustainably.