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Sunday, February 2, 2014

5 Home Improvements For Under $3,000

Five Home Improvements For Under $3,000

 

Ways to Improve Your Home for Under the Average Tax Refund for Homeowners


While our last blog post was about reinvesting your tax return money in home improvements, we decided to elaborate on how to reinvest your tax refund into home improvements.  With the average tax return for homeowners right at a little under $3,000, we decided to list a few home improvements that can be done for under $3,000.  While homes and room sizes vary from home to home, and neighborhood to neighborhood, we will list the average square footage of the space being described in each home improvement.  We will also list the home improvement being described, along with average material cost, and average labor cost.  While our blog article won't hold true for every home, this article can serve as a general guide for what homeowners can do in home improvements for around $3,000.  With that in mind, here are five home improvements most homeowners can achieve for under $3,000.

1.) New Paint - While one of the most popular home improvement projects, this home improvement ranks at the top of our list because many homeowners are capable of painting the interior of their own homes.  In addition, painting tools are generally not as much in cost compared to the tools required to do other home improvement projects.
    • Average Square Footage: 1,500 square feet
    • Average Material Cost for New Paint: $600-$1,000 (based on quality, texture, and brand)
    • Average Labor Cost: $0-$1,000 (based on if homeowner performs labor, height of walls, amount of trim, etc.)
    • Average Price for Painting Home Improvement: $1,300
2.) Bathroom Remodel - Remodeling the bathroom in the home is also one of the more popular home improvement projects homeowners like to take on.  While this project is probably not something the average homeowner could take on by themselves, a advanced DIY'er could probably handle this home improvement with a little help from a professional plumber or flooring expert.  Our bathroom example will include a new toilet, new vanity with top, new faucet, and new flooring.  This example will be based on the assumption a professional bathroom remodeling specialist will be performing all the work.
    • Average Square Footage: 75 square feet
    • Average Material Cost for Toilet: $100-$250
    • Average Material Cost for New Vanity: $150-$300
    • Average Material Cost For New Faucet: $100-$150
    •  Average Material Cost for New Flooring: $250-$400
    • Average Total Material Cost: $850.00
    • Average Labor Cost For Bathroom Remodel: $800-$1,500 (dependent on demo cost, materials used, and scope of work)
    • Average Price for Bathroom Remodel Home Improvement: $2,000
3.) New Flooring in Living Area - In today's era of technology, many families and homeowners, spend a lot of time in the den or living room of their home.  From watching television, to playing entertainment systems games, to trying to get better wifi connection, the living room is one of the most used rooms in a home.  With large amounts of foot traffic, flooring can get worn, stained, broken, or just plain boring to look at.  Also, many homeowners may be looking to upgrade to a more durable flooring product for this high traffic area.  No matter what the reason, new flooring in the living room is a very common home improvement project for many homeowners.  This example will also be based on the assumption a professional flooring contractor will be performing all the work.
    • Average Living Area Square Footage: 400 square feet
    • Average Material Cost for New Flooring: $1,000 (based on $2.50/sq. ft. price)
    • Average Labor Cost For New Flooring: $1,000 (based on $2.50/sq. ft. price, including demo cost to remove old flooring)
    • Average Price for New Flooring in Living Room/Den: $2,000
4.) Partial Kitchen Remodel - Another room in the home that sees high traffic is the kitchen.  Families and individuals spend lots of time in the kitchen cooking, eating, working, etc.  As with any high traffic area, the kitchen can get worn and dull to look at.  So instead of doing a complete kitchen remodel, many homeowners will decide to do a partial kitchen remodel leaving more expensive items like appliances, cabinets, counter tops, and furniture for later.  For our example, we will be doing the cost of new flooring, a kitchen back splash, and new paint.  All prices will be based on the assumption a professional kitchen remodeler will be performing the work.
    • Average Kitchen Area Square Footage: 300 square feet
    • Average Material Cost for New Paint: $300 (based on quality, texture, and brand)
    • Average Material Cost for New Flooring: $750
    • Average Material Cost for Back Splash: $150
    • Average Labor Cost for Partial Kitchen Remodel: $1,350
    • Average Price for Partial Kitchen Remodel: $2,550
5.) New Outdoor Deck - While all our other home improvements have focused on the interior of the home, this home improvement concentrates on the exterior of the home.  With spring right around the corner, many homeowners will be looking for an outdoor living area to spend their time in the warm spring days and summer nights.  Four our example, we will again be using a average deck size, using traditional lumber, and based on professional installation.
    • Average Deck Size: 340 square feet
    • Average Material Cost for Lumber: $1,500-$1,800
    • Average Labor Cost for Deck Construction: $1,000-$1500
    • Average Price for New Outdoor Deck: $2,900
While just a general list of some of the most popular home improvement projects being done in our area of the country, you can see there are a lot of home improvement projects that can be done for under $3,000, the average tax refund for many homeowners in America.  Your home may be larger or smaller then the average square footage sizes we have used in our examples, however this can be a good guide for how to budget for these home improvements.  Not only will these home improvements make your house feel like a new home, they can also help when going to sell you home.  If your a homeowner in the Salisbury NC, Charlotte NC, or Concord NC areas looking to use your tax refund to make home improvements like these, then contact MB Construction Company for a free estimate.  Thanks for reading our blog, and stay tuned for other interesting home improvement news, tips, and ideas.

Authored by:

Brad Basinger
MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone:704-267-7763 (Brad)
Email: brad@mbconstructioncompany.com
Website: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com

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