Top 5 key components of a house you should not often change

There are some changes that you make to your home that are worth it, especially in the uplift it gives to the value of your property. But there are some components that don’t need to be changed as often as other, as Balustrade Components illustrate.

1. Staircases

Your home may look like a simple box construction, but all these components work in harmony together to provide strength and structure to the building.

For example, as soon as the outer walls are complete, the roof trusses are added almost immediately, followed by the roofing material. This is because the roof holds the walls straight, and stops them from bowing out.

In some older properties, the staircase can play a vital supporting role too, especially staircases that are pinned to the outside wall of a home.

Deciding one morning to replace the staircase and ripping out the current one may only be a good idea if you have the DIY skills and mathematical know-how to replace it with a strong staircase that meets all planning permissions and building regulations.

Getting it wrong will mean expensive repair work, especially if the strength of a wall has been affected.

With professionally design and built staircases, they are created to last and as such, once you have your designer staircase, you really won’t need to replace it in your lifetime.

2. Supporting walls

It can easy to assume that the only really important walls in your home as the outside walls. But properties over the years have been designed and built following different methods. This means that a wall that look insignificant could be acting as a central pillar to the home.

Supporting walls are all to do with evenly distributing the weight of the building and by removing a wall, and not replacing it with a load bearing lintel, potentially the house could shift or, worse still, collapse.

The safest option is to ask a qualified builder or surveyor to identify a load bearing wall and if it is, to buy in the services of a builder to knock the wall down and fit a steel lintel or RSJ.

3. Flooring solutions

An important part of the interior design of your home, one of the most expensive components to replace are the floors and floor coverings in a property.

There are many ways of investing in flooring solutions that will last in the longer term;

* Hard flooring – for hard flooring solutions, popular in busy households because they are so easy to keep clean, are polished concrete floors. With treatments by professional installers, you can have a concrete floor that looks nothing like concrete! Opt for a slate finish or the decadence of marble, for example. Add rugs for warmth and texture if needed.

* Carpeting – wall to wall carpeting in the UK became popular from the 1930s onwards as was a means on insulation, as much as an interior design feature. Carpeting is suitable for all households, more so when you choose the ‘right’ colour and patterns. However, to make carpet last longer, try the following;

Best quality carpet for your budget – for a carpet to last a long time, choose the very best quality within your budget.

Stain repellent treatment – a treated carpet will resist stains much better, and is easier to clean.

Good quality underlay – underlay cushions the fibres of the carpet thus, prevents the all too common ‘walked on’ appearance. Many carpet fitters will say that the quality of the underlay is just as important as the quality of the carpet, if not more so.

4. Heating systems

Another essential component that can be expensive to fit is the heating system in your home. And this is why choosing the right system is important.

Central heating is the most common type of heating system in a home, and has been in favour since the 1930s. But there is another heating system on the block: underfloor heating.

Wet or water underfloor heating is the most economical to run but takes more effort to install. However, it is a system that has few moving parts thus the chances of breakdown are minimal, and requires very little maintenance.

5. Layout

There are times when makes changes will make a difference to how a home flows and feels, and this can add a significant amount of value to a family home.

Again, this will take design and structural know-how but is certainly a worthwhile consideration in turning an older property into a home fit for the modern family.

Balustrade Components provide a range of fixings and components that are essential in the structural changes made to a home.