Sustainable Remodelling Tips for Your Home

There are ways to do this in construction and for your home, from using sustainable materials to only working with companies who have registered with the Environmental Agency and have made significant steps towards reducing their own environmental footprint.

Sustainable design in your home is beautiful. It can also work to help you live more comfortably and in line with nature. It can feel a bit difficult to know where to start, but with this guide, you’ll have a few great ideas:

Sustainability has never been more important. This year alone, we are seeing record levels of heat in places that are not equipped to handle it. The temperatures in some places with large populations has exceeded 50°C. When the optimum air temperature for the human body is 18C to 24C, the risk associated with these skyrocketing temperatures become apparent.

Construction is a huge polluter and does come with a substantial environmental footprint. Construction uses around 400 million tonnes of material every year. Measuring the impact of procuring this material must begin right at the source, from the extraction of the raw material to transportation to processing to the energy consumption, and of course, to the waste.

Investing in an environmental impact assessment and designing and constructing with sustainability and the environment as the top priority can help reduce the impact of construction so that future generations can also have their own homes.

However, the assumption is that remodeling or extending the home with sustainability in mind is going to cause prices to skyrocket. Though this is going to be true in some instances, the differences are not going to be as costly as you think. In most cases, it is all about finding the right supplier. An increasing number of companies are working towards improving their environmental impact, which means you have more options than ever before. There is also a massive increase in new, sustainable materials to choose from, making it easier – and more budget-friendly – than you think.

Simply price compare. At the end of the day, if the price difference between a standard option and a sustainable option is too great, then you will need to do the best for your property. So long as you explore your other options first, you will be able to remodel or even extend your home with sustainability in mind.

Here are a few great sustainable remodeling tips for your home:

Increasingly construction and design are being done with an environmental focus. Therefore, understanding the environmental impact of your project, especially if it involves an extension or even an entirely new building after an old one is taken down, is a must. That initial report can help you understand the impact and can also help you figure out ways to reduce it on your own.

Of course, you can also choose a contractor who already knows how to do all of this and design and manage the project on your behalf.

Most providers working towards operating more sustainably will be registered with the Environmental Agency or have several environmental certifications under their belt. Products also often have means to help you understand their impact – the most common in the UK being the energy rating.

Know what to look for, and you’ll be able to make smarter decisions based on the information available to you.

Remodelling an old home always gets messy. There are an endless number of items that you will be looking to remove from clutter you don’t want any longer to building materials. You can throw these materials out, of course, but once they start to pile up, they will exceed the amount that you can simply put in the bin.

You will need professional rubbish removal, but not just any will do. We cannot keep putting waste in landfills or sending it off to sea, especially when so much of it can be recycled if properly sorted in advance. You will be focused on your remodeling project, which means the best way to recycle all your building scraps and other unwanted materials is to hire a rubbish removal service that has been registered with the Environment Agency. Registered removal services often recycle around 90% of the materials gathered, so you can help the environment while still removing all those unwanted bits from your home.

Another great way to reduce your remodel’s footprint is to use reclaimed materials in your renovation. Tiles, brick, and wood can often be reclaimed and are typically more beautiful for it. You will instantly be able to enjoy a vintage look in your home while at the same time saving these older building materials from landfills. They are character pieces without the environmental impact and will look stunning in your home.

Not everything can or should be reclaimed, of course. However, if there is not a sustainably made option, choose at least materials that are easy to maintain and repair. There are certain kinds of stone and other hard materials, for example, which can be easily cleaned and even fixed seamlessly.

There is a saying that the most sustainable option is the one that you already own. So, if you go into the design process and choose materials that will last your home a lifetime, then you have chosen a good sustainable option, even if the material itself isn’t.

It doesn’t take a lot to look into the environmental impact of your remodeling project. Investing in a more sustainable design can help you save more over the years, can leave you with a stunning space in your home that is full of character, and can, of course, be instrumental in helping you maintain and keep your home in good repair.

Keep up with the top stories from Reader’s Digest by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.