Two Tips for Those Who Have Just Bought Their First Home and Are About to Renovate It

If you have recently purchased your first home and are about to renovate it, here is some advice that could be useful.

Ensure that any changes you want to make to the external doors are done before you ask a local locksmith to fit new locks 

As a first-time homeowner, you will probably have been advised by your more experienced property-owning friends and family members to instruct a locksmith to replace each of the locks on the external doors of your home. This is a sensible precaution which eliminates the possibility of any past residents of the property being able to access your home and its contents.

However, if you want to take this precautionary measure and you plan to spruce up the external doors are part of your home renovations, then it is best to do the latter before the former. The reason for this is as that if the locksmith carries out the lock replacement on the external doors and you then proceed to add several thick coats of paint or varnish to these doors, some of the paint or varnish may drip downwards and seep into one of the newly-fitted keyholes (or you may end up splattering some of these liquids into the opening).

If you do not notice and immediately remove this fluid, it may dry and form a solid clump that may make it impossible for you to insert the key into the lock. If this happens, you would have no other option but to call the locksmith again and have them remove the defunct lock and fit another new one. As such, if you don't want to spend any more than you absolutely have to on replacing these locks, then you should ensure that the door renovations are done and dusted before having the locks fitted.

Buy spares of the paint and tiles you intend to use

Regardless of how expensive and high-quality the paint and the tiles you use to decorate your new home might be, they will probably get damaged over time. The wall paint might chip whilst you're drilling holes to hang up pictures or it might peel if your house becomes damp. Likewise, chips or hairline cracks can form on both wall and floor tiles if, for example, you accidentally strike them with an object that is quite heavy.

If after this happens, you don't have any spare paint or tiles to repair the damage, and the manufacturer of the original shade of paint or specific style of tile you own has stopped making this item, you will either have to use a paint colour or tile that doesn't match, or you will have to repaint or retile the entire room where the damage has occurred.

If neither of these options appeals to you, then it is sensible to spend a little extra on a few spare tiles and tins of paint so that you can easily deal with any damage that the painted or tiled areas of your home sustain.