Most common home improvements

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 7%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 9%

Improvements that can be classified as “other” include the replacement of old plumbing, installation of new roof fixtures—such as shingles and gutters—installation of solar panels and other renewable energy collectors, construction of a new garage or shed, driveway repaving or installation, and storm repair. While these types of repairs are rarer, they may be necessary as part of the regular maintenance of one’s home. They also may be necessary to retain the resale value of the home.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 11%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 9%

Be it a new home or a house you have lived in for years, you may decide you want to give your home a new style. It may be that your furniture is worn or out of fashion. It may be that your needs have changed, say with the addition or departure of a family member. Or, it just may be that you are bored and seek an infusion of energy into your nest. Interior redecoration can be as simple as rearranging furniture or repainting walls to removing and rebuilding internal walls, reconfiguring room structures, installing new fixtures, and replacing the furnishings and floors. These can be do-it-yourself projects or handled by interior decorators and general contractors. Regardless, one should be prepared to pay a pretty penny: One interior decorating blog placed the cost to completely replace the furniture in the living room at between $14,400 and $49,500.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 11%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 14%

One of the first things we notice about a house is its exterior paint. A healthy coat of paint is not only important for the aesthetics of your home, but it is also a guard against water damage and an indicator that can denote deeper problems, such as paneling or shingle deterioration, pest problems, or wood rot. While the cost of painting a home’s exterior depends on square footage, the average cost for painting a one-story 1,000-square-foot home is $1,000 to $3,000, while a two-story 2,500-square-foot house can run you $3,000 to $5,000.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 11%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 15%

The heart of a home is its hearth. These days, the hearth is the kitchen. It’s where we all come together, be it to just grab something quick to eat or to prepare the family meal. The average person spends 37 minutes a day preparing food and cleaning up, and as much as two to four hours a day on all kitchen tasks. Renovating an average kitchen can cost about $24,076, or $75 to $250 per square foot.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 13%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 10%

It's easy to under-appreciate the roof. It is not as aesthetically forward as the landscaping or the exterior paint. However, a neglected roof can spell deep trouble for a home. Holes in a roof or missing shingles, for example, can allow water to enter the home, inviting water damage and mold. Larger holes can allow pests to enter the house and larger structural problems can even compromise the integrity of the building. Fortunately, roof repair is not expensive—at least if the problem is caught quickly. The average roof repair costs $841. The average cost to replace a roof, however, is $7,211.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 16%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 21%

The carpeting or flooring of a room can be just as important as the wall paint or the furniture. Worn, dirty, or badly damaged flooring can make a room look neglected and dingy. Worse, the wrong type of flooring—such as deep plush in an area that has heavy foot traffic or where household pets frequent—can make it difficult to properly clean your home or could invite bigger problems, like mold and pests. It typically costs between $1 to $3 per square foot to replace a carpet, $3 to $10 for porcelain tile, and $10 to $18 for hardwood. For a 330-square-foot room, this can add up to $1,660 to $4,620, including installation and materials.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 18%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 21%

Besides the bedroom and the kitchen, the bathroom is the one room you are most likely to be in. A British poll found that, on average, respondents said they spent three hours and nine minutes in the bathroom. A room meant for personal sanitation and waste removal, many people also use the bathroom as a personal sanctuary, a place to primp and to model, a place to sing, or for any other number of reasons. As the room is private by design, it is a preferred room for many to get away and be alone. As such, it is important that the bathroom is comfortable and inviting. While renovating a small bathroom can run you $3,500 to $7,000, an average-size bathroom can cost between $5,936 and $14,875.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 21%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 11%

Sometimes home improvements need not be as extreme as renovating a room or tearing down a wall. They can be as simple as replacing a bed or installing a new television. The things that we use to fill up a room can be just as important as the room itself; a newly upholstered couch or a new bookcase can change the look and feel of a room just as much as a new coat of paint.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 24%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 22%

Speaking of a new coat of paint, that’s something that can change your room in ways other than aesthetics. Depending on the paint’s formulation, you can make your walls easier to clean, change the way light is reflected in the room, make the room less appealing for mold and pests, significantly strengthen your walls, or even turn your room into a smart room. Room painting costs depend on the size of the room and the type of paint used, but for $200 to $1,000 to paint a single room, painting your walls can be a cheap way to renovate your house.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 26%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 12%

It is inevitable that as a homeowner, you will have to replace your refrigerator or oven. Sometimes, you have to—the coolant motor blows out, for example, or the insulation fails. Sometimes, you want to—perhaps you are interested in the newest features or you need more storage space for a growing family. Regardless of the reason, we depend on our household machines to make our lives easier, which means we are, at times, inclined to spend money to replace them when we are tired of them.

- Homeowners who made improvement in the last 12 months: 28%
- Homeowners who plan to make improvement in the next 12 months: 26%

There are few things that can affect your home’s curb appeal more than the condition of its outdoor spaces. Depending on where you live, municipal or community codes may require you to keep your yards in a certain condition. On top of this, you may be inclined to make your home more comfortable and inviting for guests and for your family. This can include grass mowing, yard arranging, snow or weed removal, tree pruning, garden planting and tending, or any number of jobs involving the front and back yards. For small jobs, landscaping can run you between $300 to $800. For an average house, a new installation can cost between $3,000 and $15,950.

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