What is Home improvement and what are its goals?

Home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home.

While home renovations often refers to building projects that alter the structure of an existing home, it can also include improvements to lawns, gardens, and outdoor structures; such as gazebos and garages. Home improvement projects generally have one or more of the following goals:

Comfort

• Upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC)
• Increasing the capacity of plumbing and electrical systems.
• Waterproofing basements.
• Soundproofing rooms, especially bedrooms and baths.

Maintenance and repair

Maintenance projects can include:

• Roof tear-off and replacement.
• Concrete and masonry repairs to the foundation and chimney.
• Repairing plumbing and electrical systems.

Additional space

Additional living space may be added by:

• Turning marginal areas into livable spaces such as turning basements into recrooms, home theaters, or home offices – or attics into spare bedrooms.
• Extending one's house with rooms added to the side of one's home or, sometimes, extra levels to the original roof.

Saving energy

Homeowners may reduce utility costs with:

• Energy-efficient Thermal insulation, replacement windows, and lighting.
• Renewable energy with biomass pellet stoves, wood-burning stoves, solar panels, wind turbines, Programmable thermostats, and geothermal exchange heat pumps (seeautonomous building)

Safety and preparedness

Emergency preparedness safety measures such as:

• Home fire and burglar alarm systems.
• Fire sprinkler systems to protect homes from fires
• Security doors, windows, and shutters.
• Storm cellars as protection from tornadoes and hurricanes.
• Bomb shelters especially during the 1950s as protection from nuclear war.
• Backup generators for providing power during power outages