There are many home improvement projects whose purpose is to make your home look better. And while these projects are fun to complete, one thing you should also focus on is how you can make your home safer. Having a safe home is important not only for the people who live there but for any guests you invite over. So, with that in mind, here are 5 home improvement projects you can do that will help to make your home a safer place to live.
Improve Broken Sidewalks & Sidewalk Drainage
First, you should look to improve the drainage around your home, particularly near the sidewalk. For too many homes, water on the sidewalk doesn’t have a place to drain, and so it just creates puddles. If you live in a colder area, these puddles can quickly turn into large patches of ice that you have to navigate in the morning.
Then, before you know it, you or someone else has slipped on the ice and gotten injured. Uneven, broken sidewalks are another vulnerability for people tripping, falling, and injuring themselves very easily. According to SteinLaw, accident attorneys in Fort Lauderdale, “Slip and falls and trip and falls commonly cause hip and bone fractures, ankle and leg fractures, back injuries, head injuries, and broken arms, wrists or fingers – to name a few of the many injuries.” By leveling off the area and improving the drainage, you can ensure that the water has a safer place to flow to and people are less likely to trip on broken or uneven pieces of concrete.
Trim Back Tree Branches
If you have trees in your yard, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the branches and where they are growing. For instance, you may have branches that are now extending over your home or through telephone wires. Should these branches fall off during a storm, they could cause damage to the roof or knock out your power. You’ll want to call in an expert and have them remove any branches that have gotten too long, or that look like they are about to break off. This simple landscaping tip will not only make your home safer, but it can even make it look cleaner too.
Upgrade the Locks
For those of you concerned with the safety of your home, you should consider upgrading the locks on your main doors. This could mean either replacing old locks that don’t work as well anymore or installing additional locks for added security. There are even advanced locks that you can now get that will only open your door with a passcode, or that you can open with your mobile device. This gives your home an added layer of security, making it a worthwhile project to tackle one free weekend.
Add a Security System
Besides the locks, you can also add in some other security measures. For instance, you can install cameras around your property or at your front door. If you get ones with motion sensors, you can be alerted when someone is on your property. A simple way to do this is by adding a video doorbell to your front door, which will track all motion at the front of your house. This is particularly useful if you are worried about having packages stolen off your front steps.
Another simple upgrade you can make is adding motion lights. You can place these around your yard and they will light up should any people or animals come into your yard. Motion lights are also great in your home, too. For example, you can install them under your bed and they will go off if you need to get up in the middle of the night. This saves you from having to turn on a bright light while still making it easier to see where you’re going.
Replace Your Breaker Box
Finally, if you have an older breaker box, or circuit panel, in your home, you should consider replacing it. Many of these systems were installed at a time when homes didn’t use nearly as much electricity as they do now. Your home is likely running many appliances and other electronics that require a lot of electricity. If you aren’t careful, you could overload your system and cause a fire. Upgrading your circuit panel to something more modern is the best way to prevent this from happening.
Make Safety a Priority
Adding in a new kitchen floor or repainting your bathroom is all well and good, but don’t spend your entire home improvement budget on just cosmetic upgrades. Take some time to think about ways you could improve the security and safety of your home, then allocate some of your budget and time towards those projects. When your family and guests are all safer, you’ll be glad you did.
