by Ingrid Weir

Today’s real estate market is a dream if you’re looking to buy a new home, which is great if you’re a renter or buying your first home. However, how are you supposed to compete in this market if you need to sell your current home? What should you look for in your new home?

First, take a moment to consider how you think as a buyer. When you go to buy your new home, what is an immediate turn on… and what immediately turns you off to a home? Chances are, your buyers are going to be thinking along very similar lines, as well.

By appealing to your potential buyer’s sense of style, comfort, environmental responsibility, and fiscal sensibility, you have the ability to set your home apart from the rest.

These are five simple things you can do to increase the value of your home to potential buyers!

1. Flooring

I’m sure you have walked into a home that might have been beautiful in 1978 or 1985, but in this day and age, the avocado green or pink plush carpeting, linoleum that curls up at the edges, or stick down vinyl floors completely destroy your ability to think about placing your beautiful furnishings in that room. The idea of having to change out flooring to your potential buyer is daunting to say the least, but you can do it fairly easily and change the entire vibe of the space.

The most important things to remember when choosing your new flooring are neutrality and durability. Think about using eco friendly or sustainable flooring materials such as recycled flooring, carpeting made from natural fibers, bamboo, natural linoleum, or eucalyptus among others. This will help increase your marketability as a “green” home… and bonus, it might bring you some good karma for doing your part to help save the planet!

2. Electric Radiant Floor Heating

When replacing your floors, why not add a zoned, energy efficient electric radiant floor heating system? Since this is a relatively new concept in the United States, not only will this help to set your home apart from the others on the market because of the feel of luxury and novelty of it, an energy efficient, zoned heating system adds another “green” feature to your home.

There are electric radiant floor heating systems available for under all types of flooring including bamboo, wood, carpeting, tile, and even your shower among others. Look for a company that will customize the system according to your floor plan and individual heating and electrical needs. Make sure the system is UL listed, complies with your flooring manufacturer guidelines, is energy efficient, offers damage detection, has no electromagnetic radiation (EMR/EMF), and will not raise your floor level. Also, make sure that the thermostat is GFCI protected, UL listed, and ENERGY STAR® compliant.

3. New Plumbing Fixtures

This is another simple fix that can make a huge difference in your home! While you can go all out with this if you want to, you can make a kitchen or bath look like a new room with the right plumbing fixtures.

Replace old styles with new, clean, classic, neutral styles. While you are at it, put in low flow showerheads, toilets, and faucets. If the water heater is old and out-dated, consider replacing it with a tankless water heater or another energy-efficient model. These are simple changes that either a licensed plumber or you can make for very little money and effort in many cases!

4. Faux Finish Walls to Hide Imperfections

So, your walls may not be perfect, and you really do not feel like going through the time and expense of completely redoing them, right? Well, try a faux finish! Faux finishes add character to your walls, and the textures can help to hide imperfections, too.

If you do not feel comfortable doing this yourself, Google a professional in your area. Make sure you take a look at their portfolio, and check into what kind of brushes and paint they will be using. A good brush and paint can be the difference between a beautiful job and shoddy work with even the most talented artist.

5. Finish Your Basement

Capitalize on that extra space you have down there. Why waste that space by leaving it for the spiders, dust, and your junk to sit? This does not have to be as difficult of a job as you might think. Simply put in a drop ceiling or the like, throw up some sheetrock, a little paint, some flooring, and voila, no more wasted space!

Ok, so it might take a little bit more effort than that, but not much, and do you have any idea how much easier it is to sell a home with a finished basement than one without?

Now, I know what you’re thinking, but I would have to put in duct work and have my forced air heating and a/c system reconfigured to work in the basement, too… and even with that, we know that it’s nearly impossible to heat a basement with the same system as in your home upstairs.

So, what can you do? This is where you would use under floor heating or a portable area rug heater and a portable air conditioner. When choosing your systems, make sure that you contact someone who you can trust to help you consider all factors.

Make sure that when you are picking out your portable air conditioner that it is energy efficient, operates quietly, and will cool your area effectively. You will also want to decide whether you want an evaporative system where the water evaporates into the air or a system with an exhaust that you have to empty.

So, as you can see, there are many ideas to help you increase the value of your home if you are looking to sell before jumping into the exciting buyer’s market that we have right now. These are just a few that are sure to make a big impact. If you are still looking for ideas, just take a look around at some open houses, make sure you pick a real estate agent who knows your area and has a proven track record, and ask her or his opinion for some more ideas.

This is an exciting time in the real estate market! There are so many opportunities out there that were not available when the market was bloated just a few years ago. Enjoy it!

I just received my RugBuddy 5×7, and it is great.  I have it in my basement, over the wall-to-wall and under an area rug.

I want to leave it on full-time until Spring; Is there any reason I can’t do this?  For example, should I worry about overheating?

Speedheat’s Answer:

Hi Paul,

I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying your RugBuddy!  You can absolutely leave it on all the time.  The heater is self-regulating, so it will not overheat.

Well, we are here to help! Simply ask away, and we will do our best to answer any questions you have!

No registration necessary.
Just comment here, and we will post our reply. This way, you share your questions and answers about our electric radiant floor heating systems with others who might have the same questions!

Thanks for your help, and we appreciate your interest in Speedheat!

All Speedheat electric radiant floor heating systems are completely safe and waterproof. Whether under carpet, area rugs, vinyl, tile, stone, hardwood, laminate, showers, and more, all systems are completely safe.
Technically put…

The electrically insulating polymeric sheath is conveniently formed from a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) compound.

The PTFE layer effectively protects the core. If overheating of the core occurred, the electrical insulating properties of the PTFE would decrease, or the PTFE sheath would melt, thereby causing leakage to the ground shield. Power would thus be tripped out long before the surface temperature of the ground shield could increase to a point, where it is dangerous.

As a result, a simple ground fault interrupter device would adequately protect an under-carpet heating system, which employed the cable of the invention, against risk of fire and shock.

In fact, Speedheat® even offers a reversible non-slip, thermal insulation padding, KlimaGrip™, for use on both carpeting and hard surfaces.

I wanted to know if your RugBuddy or CarpetMate pads can be used directly over a subfloor covered in hardboard/masonite and under a floor tile called FLOR which has a plastic-based backing?

If so do I need the insulating pad also?

Answer:

We can, absolutely, go under FLOR, but the installation and product is a bit different than the CarpetMate heating panels. We would use strips, similar to the TileWarm installation. After placing the strips, you would need to put a skim of self-leveling underlayment over the top before sticking down the FLOR tiles.

If you would like to fax or email us a copy of your floor plan, including dimensions and desired thermostat location, we will be happy to design our complementary layout and custom designed system for your space.

Well, yes, when we have people touch our demo unit, you would be amazed at their reactions. We have an unheated (cold) tile on one side and a warmed tile on the other side. I can’t even describe the looks on their faces… I’ve actually had people stand there, with their hand on the demo unit, while talking.Also, we all know that we lose most of our heat through our feet, so it makes sense to keep the floors warm. Between the location of the heating being at your feet and the way that radiant heating heats you in a similar way to the sun’s rays, research has shown that most people are comfortable at temperatures that are between 6-10 degrees lower than with forced air.

2. Under what kinds of flooring can we put heating?

You name it… carpeting, tile, hardwood (floating and laminate), vinyl, stone, area rugs, shower floors… you name it, it can be heated.

For under wall-to-wall flooring, you would use a GFCI-protected, programmable smart thermostat that controls both the ambient and floor temperatures, so you have complete control over your individual comfort level. If you already have your flooring installed or just want spot heating, there is the portable, under rug heater, RugBuddy™ that you simply plug in and turn on and off or use an appliance timer for your convenience.

3. What about operating costs?

This, of course, depends on your utility company as far as the actual cost to operate, but I can tell you that you may be surprised at how little electricity they use. I know that my heating bills have gone down considerably, since I started using radiant floor heating in my home, years ago.

Click here for an operating cost calculator

4. Is floor heating energy-efficient?

Between the low electrical use, the fact that you are warmer at lower temperatures, and the fact that you are only heating the areas that you are using, electric radiant floor heating is extremely energy-efficient.

5. What’s in it for me?

• As already stated, there is the comfort factor, energy savings.

• You can also dust your house less because you don’t have to worry about central heating blowing air around in your house and circulating mold, dust, viruses and bacteria, and other allergens and environmental contaminants around your home or office.
• If you have sore joints, as I do, it helps to increase circulation.
• There is no maintenance.
• No EMF (electromagnetic field) or carbon monoxide!
• It’s silent, so you won’t have the noise pollution from other heating systems.
• These systems are also completely safe and GFCI-protected, so there is no risk of electric shock or fire!

 

 

6. I live in the South… we don’t need heated floors here, right?

 

This one has been common, particularly among builders… but think about it… we all have some sort of heating systems in our homes, and we know we are using them, based on our utilities going up so much in the winter, right? I know that here, in Georgia, I couldn’t possibly go without heating, and my floors were always the coldest part of the room before I used Speedheat.

A little personal story for your amusement…

I remember when I was younger, my mother used to always lay down on the floor for a couple of minutes, to make sure that the kids were warm down there.

 

 

“We can’t tell how cold they are down there since we are so high off of the ground”, my mom used to say.

 

 

When I interviewed for Speedheat, that was the first thing that came to my mind.”Oh, my gosh!”, I exclaimed. “Now I won’t have to worry about choosing between roasting in my house and freezing the kids!”

 

Author Bio:

 

Ingrid Weir is a member of an elite international team of experts, who invented electric radiant floor heating in South Africa in 1985.

Products include electric radiant floor heating, suitable for all flooring, including:

Carpet – CarpetMate™ Area Rugs – RugBuddy™

Tile - TileWarm™

Laminate – WoodBeWarmer™

Hardwoods – WoodBeWarmer™

Stone – TileWarm™

Vinyl – TileWarm™

Showers! – Yes, shower floors, seats, you name it – TileWarm™
…and more.

About Speedheat Electric Radiant Floor Heating

Since inception, Speedheat has spread like wildfire throughout Australia, Europe, the UK, the Netherlands, South Africa, Canada, and now in the United States.

For more information:

Call Toll-free: 1 888 WARM FLOOR

www.speedheat.us

www.rugbuddystore.com

Please feel free to add any opinions as to why you would or would not want to use electric radiant floor heating!

CarpetMate™ goes under wall-to-wall carpeting and is generally hard-wired into our SmartStat, programmable thermostat.

RugBuddy™ goes under an area rug and is plugged into the wall through our GFCI protected plug.