Renovations & Remodels

In a renovation, a kitchen remains a kitchen and a bedroom remains a bedroom, but repairs and updates are made. This generally includes such things as painting, installing new flooring, and switching out items like cabinet knobs and faucets. Renovation also includes structural rebuilding. For example, if rotted wood members are discovered, they will be removed and the area (wall, subfloor, or roof) will be rebuilt using new lumber.

Remodeling is the process of changing the functionality and the design of an area. It may involve tearing out a wall to expand an apartment clubhouse or office or reconfiguring a kitchen layout so the cabinets, fridge, sink, and range are in different locations. Constructing an addition to your apartment fitness center would also be considered a remodel. Remodeling need not always involve major structural changes, however; it can be something as simple as turning a guest bedroom into a home office. If the purpose of the area has been altered, it’s been remodeled.

Since remodeling may involve changing the physical structure of an apartment clubhouse, commercial space, or residential home, it’s often necessary to reconfigure the wiring, plumbing, and ductwork, which makes the project more complex and pricey. More professional labor is usually involved in a remodel, and the material cost is often higher as well, since many remodeling projects involve building new additions. While the final cost comparison depends on the scope of the project and the quality of the materials, because renovations are usually less complex, they’re also easier on the budget.

Permits ensure that proper building codes are followed. Communities set their own rules, but it’s common for a local building authority to require a permit any time a structure is changed, including putting an addition on a business or home or tearing out and reconfiguring interior walls. Simple renovations, such as painting and installing new carpeting, don’t require permits. An example of a permit needing to be pulled would be for replacing a roof. Reroofing is in a special category, because if a new roof isn’t installed correctly, it could leak and the home’s structure could be damaged, so most communities require permits for reroofing.

Since renovating usually costs less, and because it involves repairing and updating a apartment community, or commercial business, or residential home’s basic features, property owners will often see a better ROI on renovation projects than they will on remodeling projects when they go to sell their asset.

Here’s a wonderful example of a very typical project and its ROI:

You could spend big bucks to add a large three-season room to the back of your house (remodeling), but if your roof leaks and the furnace doesn’t work, buyers will go elsewhere. Remodeling Magazine publishes an annual cost-vs-value analysis for common home improvement projects, and notes that renovation projects, such as replacing an entry door or a garage door, or re-siding a home, will net the homeowner approximately 75 percent, 98 percent, and 76 percent ROI, respectively, when the house sells.