Guest Blogger: Green Home Improvement Projects with Big Payoffs

Guest Blogger #426, Entry #1041, March 25, 2012

Is this the Next Green Revolution?

If you’ve got home improvements in mind, you’d probably like to recoup some of their cost at a later date. If you also care about the environment, you’ll want to keep those upgrades green. Don’t worry. You can do both and still come out a winner. Those valuable improvements needn’t break the bank.

Better yet, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, over 70 percent of their cost can be recouped when you sell. Here’s how.

Add green to your pocket with a bedroom attic conversion

Image via: Houzz

Add an Attic Bedroom

If you’ve got an attic, you can have an extra bedroom, and you can do it responsibly by using drywall composed of post-industrial recycled materials. At decorating time, remember that you can buy zero-VOC interior paint everywhere nowadays. Potential cost recouped on an attic bedroom addition: 72.5 percent.

Replace that Beat-Up Siding

By putting new siding on your home, you will not only improve its curb appeal. You’ll also add as much as 78 percent of the job’s cost to its resale value.

It’s important to choose a quality siding, though, and if you want to keep it green, consider fiber cement. This popular new material, manufactured from cement and wood fibers, is durable, affordable and environmentally responsible.

A Door to be Proud Of

Replacement of the entry door will add to your home’s appearance, and a full 73 percent of its cost can be recouped, as well. Don’t replace with wood, though. The superior strength of a steel door will provide your home with a greater degree of protection.

Spruce up your front door

Image via: Houzz

Don’t Forget the Garage

The addition of a new steel garage door will not only add to your home’s curb appeal. It will also help to protect the bicycles, tools and sundry items that most people store in their garages. It’s hard for a thief to kick in a steel door, and the potential payback in this case figures at 71 percent of the cost.

New Windows for Energy Savings

When climate-controlled indoor air decides to make a break for it, drafty windows usually serve as the escape route of choice. To reduce your carbon footprint, consider replacing those worn-out windows. It’s green to save on energy, and a full 69.1 percent of this upgrade can be recouped, as well.

Replace windows with energy efficient ones

Image via: Casaresidence

Any of these upgrades will increase the resale value of your home, and the construction materials available today make it easy to improve and still be green.

It is a guest blog post by M. Fortie. She is a renewable power pro and writer. She blogs for the Residentialsolarpanels.org solar panels systems blog. If you want to learn how to calculate the cost of solar hot water system, become a Facebook fan.

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