Rosie on the House: Looks like remodeling is making a comeback

Thinking about remodeling? If so, youre not alone. Recent U.S. Census Bureau figures say that homeowners spent $130 billion on remodeling last year. Thats up 3.1 percent from 2012 and is the largest amount of home remodeling spending since 2007.

Maybe you dont know what to fix first. First, ask yourself if youre staying in your house awhile so that you can take advantage of what you do.

Even if you are leaving, remodeling kitchen or bathroom can be a great selling point for your house. But you may not recover more than about 70 to 80 percent of what you have invested.

If youre staying, then money might still be an issue so you might want to start with the master bathroom which can be less expensive than the kitchen.

Still, you might have to invest at least $15,000 to have a major impact, including a new tub, new shower controls, a new toilet, new countertops and a tile floor.

An upscale remodel including a new shower with ceramic tile walls and luxury fixtures, a custom bathtub, stone countertop with two sinks, and custom cabinets could cost more than $50,000, according to Remodeling magazine.

Many homeowners are particularly interested in removing all the cultured marble from their bathrooms. That includes those one-piece cultured marble countertops with the built-in sinks.

Theyre replacing them with granite or quartz.

Theyre taking out cultured-marble tubs and putting in two-person, walk-in showers with frameless glass walls and fancy showerheads.

If youre thinking about that, remember to keep at least one bathtub in your house because everybody needs a tub once in a while. If you keep a tub in the master bath, put in a sleek standalone that uses less space.

View post:
Rosie on the House: Looks like remodeling is making a comeback