Investing in multi-family upgrades benefits you, your tenants, and the community. The overall savings from the longevity of the improvements and the energy savings combined is a smart long term investment. We’ve made a list of the easiest and most popular upgrades among modern apartment complexes today.
Installing LED Lighting In Apartment Units And Common Areas.
While there is an initial investment required to make the change to LED lighting, there are benefits that Wheelhouse Construction have noticed that are often overlooked that will positively impact your bottom line. The first obvious benefit of installing LED lighting is the energy savings. The average LED light over its lifetime of five years will save $34.65 in energy costs. A second less obvious benefit is that your maintenance team will spend far less time changing bulbs, which, in turn, allows them to focus on higher value activities. This translates in to direct operational saving! Lastly, LED lighting is now expected by most residents and has become a key decision driver during their multi-family apartment search.
Installing Resilient Flooring
Resilient flooring such as luxury vinyl plank (LVP) or luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring is an upgrade that most residents expect in today’s marketplace. Residents will pay more in rent for fabulous looking floors! These materials are almost indistinguishable from hardwoods, and are superior in many cases to hardwoods in terms of their colors, patterns and durability. An added benefit is many of these materials are manufactured with a sound dampening material to help mitigate noise transfer; a huge issue if you are moving from carpeted surfaces to hard surface flooring. Turn costs (the cost of preparing the unit for the next resident) are a significant operational expense. Installing resilient flooring will mean that the flooring will typically not need to be repaired or replaced at the turn. This translates into a significant operational savings in terms of man hours saved by your maintenance team to complete the turn, and the obvious savings of not having to replace carpet at each, or nearly each turn.
Installing ¼ Turn Valve Stops
Many multi-family properties either have no way to turn off the hot or cold water at sinks and toilets within the unit, or the existing valves fail either at the critical time when you need them, or they fail over time due to their age. The specter of a water leak and the damage it causes in the blink of an eye is something that keeps property owners and those that manage them up at night. Installing new ¼ turn valve stops at all fresh water sources is a practical consideration especially in older properties. The costs associated with a water leak goes well beyond the repair itself. Repairing damage to the unit (or several units) can run into the thousands of dollars quickly, not to mention the time it takes to navigate the resident component. Installing 1/4 turn valve stops can typically be accomplished is a few hours and for a few hundred dollars per unit in most cases.
