The words “renovate” and “remodel” are often used interchangeably when it comes to real estate, contracting, and interior design. In a renovation, a kitchen is still a kitchen and a bedroom is still a bedroom, but repairs and updates are made. This usually includes things like painting, installing new floors, and changing items such as cabinet knobs and faucets. For example, if rotten pieces of wood are discovered, the area (wall, subfloor or roof) will be removed and rebuilt with new wood.
Because renovation usually costs less and because it involves repairing and updating the basic features of a home, homeowners often get a better ROI on renovation projects than on remodeling projects when they sell their home. 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.
