Seven Best Remodeling Projects for the Money

Planning your remodel and want make sure you’re spending your hard-earned cash wisely? Each of these replacements and upgrades earned top honors in Remodeling magazine’s latest Cost vs. Value Report* for having the biggest bang for your buck — giving you the best return on your home improvement dollar while preserving the value of your home.

Credit: DeForest Architects

#1: Tough-as-Nails Siding Replacement

Durable, weatherproof, fireproof, and resistant to insects and decay, fiber-cement siding is a popular trend for siding replacement. One of its key benefits is stability — it doesn’t shrink and expand with changes in temperature and humidity. Exterior paint and caulking jobs last longer, contributing to low-maintenance exteriors.

National average cost, replace 1,250 sq. ft. of existing siding with fiber-cement siding, including all trim: $13,461*

Value at resale: $10,493*

Percent of investment recouped: 78%*

Credit: Kevin Quinlan Architecture, LLC

#2: A Low-Cost Entry Door with Steely Good Looks

Few projects have the cost-effective impact of a new steel entry door. For less than $1,500, you can enhance your home’s curb appeal and recover a portion of your investment if you sell your home. Steel doors, however, lack the durability of wood and fiberglass exterior doors that cost twice as much.

National average cost, replace an existing entry door with a 36-inch-wide, half-glass, 20-gauge steel door, including new jambs and trim: $1,238*

Value at resale: $903*

Percent of investment recouped: 73%*

Credit: Birdseye Design, architect/Birdseye Building Company, builder/Susan Teare, photo

#3: A Bedroom with High Aspirations

Converting attic space to a bedroom reaps big rewards. You’ll add value by adding bedrooms without altering your home’s footprint. Planning is key — ask an architect or structural engineer to ensure there’s enough headroom, the floor joists are strong, and there’s emergency egress.

National average cost, convert a 15-by-15-ft. attic to a bedroom plus bath: $50,148*

Value at resale: $36,346*

Percent of investment recouped: 72.5%*

Click here to see the seven best remodeling projects slideshow.

Remodeling’s 2011-12 Cost vs. Value Report ©2011 by Hanley Wood, LLC. 

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Screened in Porches in Homes for Sale in Metro Atlanta

A screened-in porch is one of the top home remodeling trends in 2011. And, it’s a great way to add living space to your home, while enjoying the most beautiful season in Atlanta….fall.  Oh to sit outside and enjoy a crisp fall evening in the comfort of your screened in-porch.

I have found four homes in metro Atlanta that are for sale and, voila, have screened in porches.   Please let me know if you are in the market for a home with a screened in porch….I can help you explore all the options. 

Brookhaven – $1,900,000

This hilltop setting has a spectacular 180 degree view of Capital City Club golf course, Club House and the lake from the screened in porch on a home for sale in Brookhaven. Offered at $1,900,000. Click on the image for more photos and information on 4010 E. Brookhaven Drive, Atlanta, GA 30319.

Smynings – $472,500

An incredible screened porch in a Smynings home for sale. It has with a stone floor and columns, storage and cable tv hookup, and is listed for $472,500. Click on the image for more info and photos of 2107 Spring Hill Court, Smyrna, GA.

Alpharetta – $450,000

In Alpharetta’s Danbury Park, this home features a lovely screened in porch that leads to a deck. Click for more information on this home offered at $450,000.

Buckhead – $399,000

In Buckhead, this home has a lovely screened in porch overlooking a mature landscape. Click on the photo for more information and photos for 1625 Moores Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30327, offered at $399,000.

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Luxury Screened Porches from Sotheby’s International Realty

According to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI), the remodeling market is heading into recovery with an increase to 46.5 in the first quarter of 2011 from 41.5 in the fourth quarter of 2010. This marks the highest level for the RMI since the fourth quarter of 2006.

One of the Top Home Remodeling Trends of 2011 is to add a screened porch to your home.  This trend, combined with the wonderful weather we have in metro Atlanta, inspired me to share some ideas for beautiful screened in porches from homes for sale in the Sotheby’s International Realty network.

The first featured porch is found in Highlands, NC, not far from metro Atlanta.  The screened porch is casually elegant, inviting and surrounded by the forest.  Click here to see this home listed by Exurbia Sotheby’s International Realty more photos of 330 Garnet Rock Trail in Highlands, NC.

This screened porch is perfectly situated looking out into the forest in a home in Highlands, NC.

In Yarmouth, Maine, there’s an oceanside estate with a lovely dining porch. With its cedar shake walls and stained hardwood ceiling, rustic luxury comes to mind in this screened porch.  Listed by Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, click here to see more photos of the estate on Cousins Island in Yarmouth, ME.

This lovely screened in dining porch is located in an estate home on a peninsula in Maine.

Fronting Lake Tashmoo in Martha’s Vineyard is a lovely rental home that is an ideal location for the family to enjoy the beauty of the land meeting the sea. The screened in porch is one of the finest around. More pictures of this home, listed by Wallace & Co. Sotheby’s International Realty can be seen by clicking here.

This rental home is on Lake Tashmoo in Martha's Vineyard. One if its many amazing features is this expansive screened porch.

With commanding southerly views down the Mettawee Valley, on a clear day you can see the trails of Stratton Mountain. Off to the east are outstanding views of Haystack Mountain and the hills of Pawlet. One of these views is from this lovely screened in porch on this estate for sale in Pawlet, Vermont, listed by Vermont Country Properties Sotheby’s International Realty.

This screen porch is home to the best view of the rolling hills on a 54 acre property in Vermont.

In Centerville, Delaware, a screened porch is one of the best places to truly experience the privacy and serenity of a large family home on 2 acres of land. Click here to see more photos of this renovated home listed by Brandywine Fine Properties Sotheby’s International Realty.

Relaxation comes to mind when sitting on this screened porch in this storybook estate located in Centerville, Delaware.

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