Spring Home Improvement LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com May 1, 2015 29
YouTube videos on the subject. If the
project becomes too taxing or too difficult,
a professional plumber can relieve the
stress.
Drains, garbage disposals, water softeners
and faucets are a bit trickier. It might be
advisable to have a recommended and
trusted plumber consult with you on these
items to make sure that they are handled
appropriately. You should have leaky
faucets and leaky plumbing repaired and
consider updating faucets and fixtures
which are outdated. A walkthrough with an
experienced plumber can help you size and
plan these updates.
There’s nothing like being able to relax
in a hot shower or a hot bath to take the
edge off. Having your hot water heater
maintained yearly by flushing and refilling
can extend its life, and replacing it every 10
-15 years is necessary in the plan to keep
your home ready to sell. Replacement time
is the perfect time to lower your energy
bill by choosing a water heater that is more
energy efficient. Some of the signs that
your hot water heater needs to be replaced
are leaks around the base of the tank, that
it works erratically or not at all with water
that isn’t as hot as you want it to be, or
a stream of hot water in the shower that
doesn’t last through the time it takes to take
your shower. Consult your trusted plumber
for appropriate recommendations.
The electrical system of your house needs
to be maintained in as modern an approach
as is possible. Old post-and-tube wiring
needs to be modernized, and even two
wire systems need to be upgraded to three
wire grounded systems. Ground fault
outlets need to be present in the kitchen
and in bathrooms. Every home should
have a 200 amp main and a breaker box
instead of an 80 amp main with a fuse box.
These upgrades need to be planned and
orchestrated by a trusted local electrical
contractor and if done over time, they can
be completed without breaking the budget.
When you are “keeping your home ready
to sell,” keeping your heating and cooling
systems in more than working order might
be important. If you are planning on
staying in your home until you die, then the
cost of replacing your HVAC equipment
needs to be weighed and balanced with
the cost of your operating efficiency. But
if you are planning ahead to a time when
you might have to sell your home, then the
operating efficiency of your HVAC system
becomes much more important because
older equipment and a lower operating
efficiency may cause prospective buyers to
offer less or look elsewhere. Consult with
your local HVAC dealer concerning the age
of your systems and ask if it is a good time
to consider replacement.
The age and condition of your mechanical
systems is an important consideration in
the quest to keep your home ready to sell.
Keeping them well maintained and up-to-
date will help you to avoid the avalanche of
last minute updates or repairs and will help
you get more money for your home-sweet-
home when the time to sell comes.
Story by Jim Youngquist
