5 Home Remodeling Projects For The Most ROI

[This article was previously published in November 2016. It has been updated and revised.]

With the real estate market still going strong, adding upgrades can increase the value of a home. But how do you know which remodeling projects to invest in?

Fortunately, there are plenty of industry experts who track the trends and the statistics and they update the rest of us each year on what's hot and what's not in home improvement.

Oh, the Things You Can Do with Your Home

Some improvements are a no-brainer like improving the curb appeal on the front-facing part of your home or fixing or replacing obviously outdated or broken fixtures and appliances.

But when it comes to renovations or major upgrades, some things just aren't worth doing.

Remodeling magazine releases a highly anticipated report each that analyzes the costs for major remodeling projects with the value those projects return at resale.

Their 2022 Cost vs. Value report was released this year and it compares the average cost of 22 remodeling projects for 150 markets across the United States. Based on their findings, here are the top five home remodeling projects that deliver the highest returns on investment (ROI) nationally.

Five Home Remodeling Projects for 2022 with the Most ROI

There are, of course, many different areas of your home you could tackle when it comes to home improvement projects, but if you're looking to net the biggest ROI for your money and efforts, consider one of these top five winners for 2022.

1. New Garage Door

• Average cost: $4,041
• Average resale value: $3,769
• Cost recouped: 93.3%

On most homes, the garage door is usually the most prominent feature on the front of the house. It is, to be obvious, the most noticeable element of the structure.

A good-looking garage door is high on the list when it comes to getting cash back on your investment. This curb appeal booster can give you back almost the entire cost of replacement when you sell your home, which is unusually high for most home remodeling projects.

2. Manufactured Stone Veneer

• Average cost: $11,066
• Average resale value: $10,109
• Cost recouped: 91.4%

Stone veneer is one of the newest and most popular home improvement trends on the market today. When you consider that it looks great and has an incredible return on investment, and it’s not hard to see why stone veneers have become so popular.

Replacing even just a part of the vinyl siding on your home with stone veneer, like the entryway, can transform the exterior and add substantially to the curb appeal of your house.

3. Minor kitchen remodel

• Average cost: $28,279
• Average resale value: $20,125
• Cost recouped: 71.2%

A modern-looking and functional kitchen can of course boost your enjoyment of everyday activities like cooking, sharing meals with your family and entertaining friends. It’s a strong selling point with prospective home buyers too.

According to the report, a minor remodel simply involves replacing appliances with new, energy-efficient units, installing new countertops or a sink, refacing cabinets, replacing hardware, adding new flooring, and repainting the walls.

4. Exterior Siding

Old or deteriorating house siding can make any home look unkempt and unappealing. The Remodeling report recommends using one of two types of quality man-made materials to replace it: fiber-cement or vinyl.

Fiber-cement

• Average cost: $22,093
• Average resale value: $15,090
• Cost recouped: 68.3%

For the average home, the cost of replacement was estimated to just over $22,000 and you can expect to see more than two-thirds of that investment once you sell your home.

Vinyl

• Average cost: $18,662
• Average resale value: $12,541
• Cost recouped: 67.2%

Vinyl siding can be easier on your budget than fiber-cement siding, and yet provide nearly the same ROI.

5. Windows

Windows are the eyes of the home, it’s sometimes said. Again, you have a couple of options, frame-materials-wise, which impact the ROI a bit.

Vinyl

• Average cost: $20,482
• Average resale value: $13,822
• Cost recouped: 67.5%

Recoup almost 70 percent of the cost to replace your current windows with energy saving low-E, or low emissivity, divided-light vinyl windows with a custom-color exterior finish.

Wood

• Average cost: $24,388
• Average resale value: $16,160
• Cost recouped: 66.3%

Choosing to make the frames out of warmer wood windows, will cost you just a bit more. But, since wood is more expensive, your expected ROI is a full percentage point lower than that for vinyl windows.

The Secret is in Spending on the Right Things

Adding a room can still be a good investment, since it increase the space in a home.

For example, it has been shown that every 1,000 square feet added to a home can increase the sale price by more than 30 percent, according to a study for the National Association of Realtors. The addition of attic bedrooms, family rooms and bedrooms can return from 60 to more than 80 percent of the money spent.

However, the home improvement project that reaps the worst ROI is the addition of a bathroom, at 56.2% (although the “added value” of an extra bathroom for anyone who’s ever had to wait their turn for one is, of course, priceless).

As a general rule of thumb, it is apparent that less is more. Investing in these lower-cost projects can bring you larger returns.

Remodeling Junk Hauling the Easy Way

One of the inevitable realities of any remodel or renovation is the need for continual clean up. One option is to rent a dumpster for collecting an disposing of any and all your project debris. And now you have the option of using mini-dumpster drop-off services from Junk King.

Homeowners can now rent and load these revolutionary Mini dumpster boxes. Equipped with special polycarbonate wheels, these driveway-friendly boxes will arrive on-site without causing damage to a driveway or property.

These rental boxes are great self-service dumpsters for work projects, home renovations and other types of cleanups. And the small size offers a dumpster that is compact, affordable and easy to use.

The dumpster services feature an online booking system. Junk King will drop off the dumpster and arrange for it to be picked-up once filled. The materials will be sorted so the items can be reused, repurposed and recycled.

In addition to redirecting materials away from landfills, the services are insured to make certain nothing is lost or damaged. In terms of pricing, customers only pay for the space used.

No matter what size the project is, or how long it might take, having the convenience and flexibility of a MINI Dumpster for your junk hauling needs is a great option.

Dumpster rentals are a good idea for construction or home remodeling projects. However, the traditional full-sized dumpsters offer a few problems for the homeowner or do-it-yourself business owner:

• The cost is often prohibitive.
• The space that is taken up can be inconvenient and obstruct driveways or parking lots.
• Traditional dumpsters also are unsightly eyesores that sit in your yard or parking lot for days, attracting unwanted animals and glares from your neighbors.
• Finally, you often will be charged separately for any labor that goes into a dumpster rental.

With the MINI Dumpster, however, these issues are either eliminated or minimized. The smaller size and quick delivery and pick-up service makes this dumpster the right choice for those larger junk hauling needs.

Why It Always Pays to Choose Junk King

Renovations, upgrades, and remodels can all result in large amounts of construction debris, waste and junk material that must be removed and disposed of.

And, unless you have a pickup truck or trailer to haul it with, all that rubble and debris will have to be loaded and hauled off some other way.

Which is why Junk King specializes in construction debris removal.

And we can take care of it for you in two ways: our full-service construction waste removal or with the option of a roll-off dumpster rental.

With our full-service option, we can come out to your home once when you're finished and remove all the piles of debris and waste materials, or make a few trips as you work through your project. Calling on Junk King is the easiest and perhaps quickest solution for your construction waste removal needs.

Or you can also make use of one of our MINI Dumpster rentals.

These large-capacity, but user-friendly sized roll-off dumpster rentals can be used to "stage" and contain all your construction debris until you're ready to have us come and pick it up for removal.

Either way, construction waste removal from your building project can be easy and affordable.

So, are you ready to get rid of your construction waste? It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3.

Our professional and insured junk removal team will call 15 to 30 minutes before we arrive at your job site and we’ll give you a free estimate based on how much room your debris will take up in our truck.

Make an appointment today by booking online above or by calling 1.888.888.JUNK (5865).