Home improvement is in right now. One of the most profitable channels on television (HGTV) spends as much as 12 hours per day showing home-remodeling programs, and the interest of a lay-person has skyrocketed. Of course, it’s not as simple as a 30 minute TV show makes it look: Bathroom remodeling, kitchen remodeling, roof installation, general contractors, basement finishing, building a deck, getting insurance for everything — it’s a lot of work. But it’s worth it.
Again, remodeling is hot. HomeAdvisor ran a survey that has shown the people are spending about 60% more on remodeling or home improvement projects than they did a year ago. Additionally, the number of homeowners who finished two or more repair/maintenance jobs in 2016 was 12% higher than the number in 2015. People are really getting into this. Among those, bathroom remodeling is the #1 most requested job in the country.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, bathroom remodeling makes up a staggering 78% of all renovation projects in the United States. There’s good reason for this, too, as the instant return on investment is almost 90%. But to truly realize the impact of a nice bathroom, it helps to go house-hunting. The idea of walking into a home that’s for sale and seeing a beautiful bathroom just lights up the eyes of a prospective home-buyer. Despite the numbers cited above, the majority of home buyers (and almost all first time home buyers) have never actually completed any kind of home remodeling project. As such, seeing a tired old bathroom with outdated fixtures may seem like something they can fix, they have no idea what the cost or schedule would actually be.
Other projects
Perhaps the second most common project in a home (after bathroom remodeling) is a kitchen renovation. Kitchens need to be upgraded in many older homes, and much like bathrooms, the ROI is high. More than three-quarters of kitchen renovations include an entire style-change: From farmhouse to modern or from galley to open, for example.
A less glamorous renovation would be a roof replacement. Where bathroom remodeling is for fashion + function, replacing your roof is primarily just function. It’s not much fun to pay a few thousand dollars for a new roof, but it’s a lot less fun to pay several thousand dollars to fix the water damage in your house because you didn’t replace the roof soon enough.
One other exterior renovation would be siding installation. Vinyl siding is the most common in the United States, but brick, stone, stucco, and even wood are relatively common. The right choice for you will depend on your house.
Remodeling a home can be a daunting task when you consider all of the different parts involved. However, the popularity of flipping houses, remodeling homes to rent them, or just updating your living space for personal well-being suggests that it’s more than worth the effort and money. Consult a professional (a general contractor is a good place to start) before undertaking any major projects.
