How Can You Renovate Your House While Staying Eco-Friendly?

 

The idea of renovating your home is quite an exciting one! You might want to change every possible thing in the house that you might think is out of date and needs to go. Obviously, going through pictures on Instagram and images on Pinterest is likely to get you all excited and hyped up about the changes you want to make.

However, the one thing that most people tend to ignore while planning a home renovation project is the ecological cost it incurs! Not realising how the steps of bringing changes in the house may affect the environment is just not a wise thing to do any more. There are many ways through which you can renovate your house without causing any harm to the environment. Some of them are as follows.

1. Choosing recyclable glass

This concept may be new to you, but a lot of home depots are now coming up with glass slabs that are completely recyclable. The old concept of glass is that it is not possible to recycle it and it's not biodegradable. However, with the advancement in technology, the invention of bio-glass has brought some relief to the environment. This glass is made of silica and is known as green glass.

This recyclable glass looks exactly like a brand-new window but is completely eco-friendly. You can use it either in your kitchen or the bedroom, and it will brighten the entire room up. The glass will let the natural light enter the room. Once you have it, your mornings will be a lot brighter and gleaming with the natural sunlight welcoming you through it!

2. Using recycled wood

Cutting grown-up trees and using them to make new and stylish furniture items may be an attractive idea, but it affects the environment negatively. Renovating the floor and adding wood to it may bring shine to it, but the trees used in its making would ruin the ground from which they are removed.

Hence, taking actions that would give you short-term relief by affecting the Earth in the long run is surely not the right way to go! Using recycled wood is an eco-friendly alternative to this.

Recycled parts of wood can be incorporated into your project of home renovation quite easily, and they won’t affect the environment as such. You can use the discarded parts of wood collected from various places and reprocess them for use for a new deck or patio.

Bamboo, for instance, is one of the best options for people who are looking for recyclable wood. It is incredibly durable, is generally quite lightweight, and is readily available. Sure, it’s a bit more expensive than conventional options, but it does a fine job of holding up against environmental pressure. Bamboo wood is fast becoming the standard right now for people who want ecological options.

3. Using VOC-free paint

The paint buckets you use to colour your walls bright and vibrant have a great tendency to affect the global warming levels on the Earth. This is because paints, more often than not, contain VOC, also known as volatile organic compounds. These compounds further produce molecules that are harmful enough to damage the ozone layer. They also have health effects in the long run.

Hence, it is imperative to use VOC-free paint buckets. This way, no matter how many litres of paint do you use in your home renovation project, it would be quite eco-friendly and harmless.

This is a secure option even for those who deal with breathing issues such as asthma. The VOC paint buckets do require you to pay some extra bucks, but they will surely give you great satisfaction and contentment.

4. Insulated roofs

Now, this is something that would sort your life forever! Going for insulated roofs comes with multiple benefits, and this is why this idea is gaining so much popularity over the last few years. Using the right kind of insulation helps in saving the consumption of energy by almost 40%.

Saving this much energy means that you’ll benefit from a major reduction in your monthly electricity bill as well. The lesser energy consumption also means fewer harmful gases released into the atmosphere, which just benefits the environment.

Apart from this, if you live in extremely hot weather conditions, opting for insulated roofs in your home renovation project will instantly cool off your house. It will make your living space a lot more pleasant. For that matter, denim insulation is the best choice to opt for. Most companies offering home renovations suggest this cotton insulation as it is compact and offers long-term advantages.

5. Re-shaping rather than re-buying

Rather than buying everything new and stuffing your house with the latest items, it is a better option to give a makeover to your old items. This will reduce the destruction and wastage of the products that you are already using. At the same time, it would limit the cost that you would have to pay for the entire renovation project.

For instance, repaint your old cabinets or hire a carpenter to see how much wood can be salvaged from them. This will save all the wood that you would have otherwise used in making new ones.

Revamp your room by placing wallpapers rather than re-painting. This will reduce the chances of you and the people around you coming in contact with VOC substances. Being creative is the key to enhancing the interiors or exteriors of your homes. You simply need to come up with innovative renovation ideas to save waste and reutilise the previous items.

6. Going natural

Your renovation project should involve natural ideas! While drafting the plan, make sure to reject all the plastics and non-biodegradable items. This way, you can rely on eco-friendly items and choose products that do not have a negative impact on your surroundings.

Switching plastic with wood would make a great difference to your lifestyle. For instance, rather than using metal or plastic on the floors, opt for bamboo flooring. It is sustainable and durable, ensuring that you won’t come in contact with any impurity ever!

Reducing the unnecessary use of plastic is a decision that would go a long way in offering you a sustainable lifestyle. Alongside this, items made of wood are much more durable, hence you won’t have to go for constant repairs or patch-ups.

7. Green roofing

Green roofing is an innovative idea, which tends to change the looks of your house altogether. If you do not have enough space in the house to maintain a garden, you can always have it on your roof. The top-notch remodelling companies provide green roofing services, which do not affect the building of the entire home. Rather, you can easily grow your favourite plants on the top of your house.

Apart from this, a green roof will shield your home from the excessive sunlight entering your house. This way, your rooms will stay cooler and pleasant. If you love animals, you can have a pet haven on the roof, complementing the garden!

8. Choose energy-efficient appliances

If your home renovation plan involves buying new appliances as well, you need to opt for energy-efficient appliances. While shopping for new items, choose the most energy-efficient options in the refrigerators and ovens. An easy way to spot energy-efficient appliances is by finding the energy star logo on them. Whichever appliance has this logo on it, it is efficient in energy.

Energy-efficient heavy appliances may come at a heavy budget initially. However, you need to realise that this is a one-time cost. In the long run, you will be amazed at the reduction of your per-month electricity bill and would love to use them to your heart’s fulfillment.

9. Going with solar

For those looking for major renovations, going solar is the way. This step will remodel the house and, in the long run, would impact the monthly electricity bills positively. Once all your house starts running on solar energy, you would no longer have to worry about energy consumption.

This is because solar energy is a renewable source of energy that doesn’t cost much. No matter if you want to make your central cooling or heating system work for long hours or run the refrigerator at all times, your monthly electricity bills would still be quite reasonable.

10. Energy-efficient kitchen countertops

Using eco-friendly countertops in the kitchen further helps in reducing the negative impact of renovation on the environment. This way, you will be able to keep your aesthetic sense satisfied without damaging the environment. Rather than opting for granite countertops, go for the ones made of paper, cork, or glass. The final result would not only be sleek but would also be durable and long-lasting.

A home renovation project is often a massive undertaking. It needs to take into account all the aspects of aesthetics and eco-friendliness. There are numerous options available, which will help you in keeping your project less harmful for you in the long run.