The Cost of Upgrades and Are they Worth it?
People pay to upgrade their homes for a lot of reasons. Most people buy houses at a very affordable price and spend a lot of money making it livable. In other cases, people may choose to upgrade their home to be modern and trendy. Indeed, there are tons of reasons why you may look into upgrading your home.
However, it is important to note that the cost of upgrading a home will vary according to your location. For instance, the cost of upgrading an average home in Spokane is different from upgrading homes in high-borough Beverley Hills’ area. Moreover, the cost will also depend on what you are upgrading and things you want to have in your new upgrade.
In some cases, people upgrade their homes because the materials used initially during construction have gotten old or inefficient. This is like spending twice to build one house. You can avoid this situation by choosing the right material when building your new home. For instance, instead of making use of wood panels which can be damaged by termites, you can make use of PermaPanel known for its resistance against termites. PermaPanel can also be used to make your home energy-efficient, they can trap heat and ensures you save money on heating and cooling. When you make use of such feature, you will hardly think of upgrading your home due to the inefficiency of materials used in construction. In fact, PermaPanel will save you the headache of worrying about upgrading your home.
Average Cost of Home Upgrades
Generally, you will spend about 10% of the cost of your home to upgrade it. However, this can vary depending on the market. There are instances of some folks in Spokane who bought their home for about $150,000 and used $25,000 for an upgrade. In some cases, it could be less or higher than this average amount. Below is the average upgrade spending in some cities in 2005 to 2006:
- Las Vegas – $7000
- Milwaukee – $22,000
- Washington DC – $35,000
- Charlotte – $22,800
- Fort Meyers – $37, 500
Note that this price does not hold constant in the market. They vary depending on your area, period of the year, what you want to upgrade, and the homebuilder working on your project.
Breakdown of Cost of Home Upgrades
Below, we take a look at a breakdown of the cost of upgrading your homes. The figures here are based on national average cost. The cost to upgrade your home in Spokane can be a bit less than the national average cost.
- Kitchen:
Minor upgrades in the kitchen start at around $10,000. The average is around $20,000 but this can easily get to as much as $50,000 – $80,000 if you want a full kitchen upgrade.
- Bathroom
Upgrading your bathroom cost around $9,000 and can reach as much as $20,000 by adding more modern features.
- New Floors
If you plan on installing new wood floors, they cost about $4,400. However, you can spend less when you laminate, this is around $2800.
- New Roof
You will spend as much as $20,000 to upgrade your roof.
- Electrical updates
To remove old wirings and replace the old panel with new ones, you are going to spend between $3000 and $5000
- Replacement Windows
On average, you will spend between $8500 (vinyl) and $20,000 (wood) if you choose 10 windows and frames to save on your energy bill
- Replacement Siding
Expect to pay around $14,000 on average to put new exterior siding on your home.
- Contractor Fees
Every upgrade requires a contractor except you have the experience needed to do these works. Most Spokane contractors charge between 10% and 15% of the project’s total budget. For instance, you will pay a contractor between $5000 and $7500 if your home upgrade project cost $50,000.
Other Costs of Upgrading a Home
The table below lists the top 10 projects, according to national averages
| Project | Cost | Resale value | Cost Recouped |
| Garage door replacement | $3,470 | $3,411 | 98.3% |
| Manufactured stone veneer | $8,221 | $7,986 | 97.1% |
| Deck addition (wood) | $10,950 | $9,065 | 82.8% |
| Minor kitchen remodel | $21,198 | $17,193 | 81.1% |
| Siding replacement | $15,072 | $11,554 | 76.7% |
| Window replacement (vinyl) | $15,955 | $11,855 | 74.3% |
| Universal design bathroom | $16,393 | $11,581 | 70.6% |
| Bathroom remodel | $19,134 | $13,422 | 70.1% |
| Window replacement (wood) | $19,391 | $13,468 | 69.5% |
| Roofing replacement | $20,939 | $14,320 | 68.4% |
Are These Upgrades Worth It?
Ideally, people upgrade their homes to make it better or save money on heating and cooling. However, you can avoid spending these huge amounts of money when you make use of efficient home construction technology such as PermaPanel.
PermaPanel is more efficient, environmental-friendly, and will keep your home strong and trendy for many years to come. If you do consider the cost of upgrading a home, you will know it is much more affordable to construct your new home using PermaPanel. This will help you to save money and build your home to your taste.
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