Renovating means renewing or rebuilding so that something is in good condition. When you move into an older home, you'll probably want to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms. Most uses of the word renovate revolve around buildings and architecture. For design and construction professionals, the words “remodel” and “renovate” have two very different meanings, although are used interchangeably.
Remodeling is the process of changing the functionality and design of an area. It may involve tearing down a wall to expand a bathroom and reconfiguring the kitchen layout so that the cabinets, refrigerator, sink, and stove are in different places. Building an addition to your home would also be considered a remodel. However, remodeling doesn't always involve major structural changes; it can be something as simple as turning a guest room into a home office.
If the purpose of the area has been altered, it has been remodeled. Renovations usually involve some restoration work. For example, you can repaint walls or cabinets or replace accessories or hardware. You can update old or obsolete items.
Renovations are jobs that revive a room or house, but don't change the design. They can also be used to add value to a home before it is put up for sale. For this reason, renovations are usually small-scale projects. Because renovation usually costs less and because it involves repairing and updating the basic features of a home, homeowners tend to get a better ROI on renovation projects than on remodeling projects when they sell their house.
Remodeling Magazine publishes an annual cost-to-value analysis of common home improvement projects and notes that renovation projects, such as replacing a front door or garage door, or changing a house's siding, will bring the homeowner approximately 75 percent, 98 percent, and 76 percent of their ROI, respectively, when the house is sold.
