Home Improvement

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The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodelling is the process of renovating or making additions to one’s home. Home improvement can be projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), exterior (masonry, concrete, siding, roofing), or other improvements to the property (i.e. garden work or garage maintenance/additions).

Types of home improvement

While “home improvement” 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. It also encompasses maintenance, repair, and general servicing tasks. Home improvement projects generally have one or more of the following goals:^[1]

Comfort

Upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC).
Upgrading rooms with luxuries, such as adding gourmet features to a kitchen or a hot tub spa to a bathroom.
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.
Replacement or new construction windows.
Concrete and masonry repairs to the foundation and chimney.
Repainting rooms, walls or fences
Repairing plumbing and electrical systems
Wall papers
Furniture polish

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. Such a new unit of construction is called an “add-on”.^[2]

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,^[3] and geothermal exchange heat pumps (see autonomous 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.

Home improvement industry

Home or residential renovation is an almost $300 billion industry in the United States,^[4] and a $48 billion industry in Canada.^[5]^{[full citation needed]} The average cost per project is $3,000 in the United States and $11,000–15,000 in Canada.

Professional home improvement is ancient and goes back to the beginning of recorded civilization. One example is Sergius Orata, who in the 1st century B.C. is said by the writer Vitruvius (in his famous book De architectura) to have invented the hypocaust. The hypocaust is an underfloor heating system that was used throughout the Roman empire in villas of the wealthy. He is said to have become wealthy himself by buying villas at a low price, adding spas and his newly invented hypocaust, and reselling them at higher prices.

Renovation contractors

Perhaps the most important or visible professionals in the renovation industry are renovation contractors or skilled trades. These are the builders that have specialized credentials, licensing and experience to perform renovation services in specific municipalities.

While there is a fairly large ‘grey market’ of unlicensed companies, there are those that have membership in a reputable association and/or are accredited by a professional organization. Homeowners are recommended to perform checks such as verifying license and insurance and checking business references prior to hiring a contractor to work on their house.

Mesquite

Mesquite is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the Arizona state line and 80 miles (130 km) northeast ofLas Vegas on Interstate 15. As of 2015, the United States Census estimates that the city had a population of 17,496.^[5] The city is located in the Virgin River valley adjacent to the Virgin Mountains in the northeastern part of the Mojave Desert. It is home to a growing retirement community, as well as several casino resorts and golf courses.

Mesquite was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1880, who called it Mesquite Flat. The community was finally established on the third attempt after having been flooded out from the waters of the Virgin River. The name was later shortened to Mesquite, and the city was incorporated in May 1984. Mesquite, like nearby Bunkerville, had its origins in farming. The Peppermill Mesquite casino, which opened in the 1970s, drove Mesquite’s diversified economy. [The Western Village Travel Plaza opened in the 1950s, later owned by the Peppermill [1].] The city incorporated in 1984 and established a master development plan during the early 1990s.^[2] In the mid-1990s, more casinos opened.^[6] By 2006, Mesquite was one of the fastest-growing small towns in the United States, though the late-2000s recession led to the closure of both the Mesquite Star and Oasis (formerly The Peppermill) casinos.^[2]

Mesquite occupies the northeast corner of Clark County and extends north into the southeast corner of Lincoln County. The eastern border of the city is the Arizona state line. The city is in the Virgin River valley, occupying the northern side of the river. The city lies adjacent to the Virgin Mountains in the northeastern Mojave Desert near the southern mouth of the Virgin River Gorge.