Which Way to Go: Restore, Remodel, or Renovate?

Are you thinking about remodeling a room or area in your home? Wonder if you should renovate it instead? Or perhaps a simpler restoration project is the way to go.

Confused? You’re not alone. Scores upon scores of homeowners and contractors alike use these terms interchangeably. And yet there’s quite a big difference between them, the average costs for each, and the value they may or may not add to your home. Read on to find out which home improvement direction might be best suited for your home, lifestyle, and budget.

Remodeling is the act of altering the structure or form of a room or building. Removing walls, raising ceilings, or expanding the square footage of a home all fall into the remodeling category. And while a remodel might be the best way for you to turn your home from a 3- to a 4-bedroom house – or the other way around – it’s almost always the most expensive way to go as it requires the most materials, resources, and labor. Additionally, it can also be the most time consuming of these three options.

Renovation, simply put, means to renew. It’s the process of improving the style and/or function of a space by fixing what is already there. Old elements might be taken out, new ones might be added, but the footprint of the room is not altered. For example, you might be tired of your dated 1980s kitchen and decide to paint or replace the cabinets, install a new countertop and backsplash, and add new flooring. A few weeks in you decide to open the kitchen up to the dining room by taking down the wall and guess what happens then? Right, your home renovation just leaped into the realm of remodeling. Renovating a room can still become costly, especially if you’re replacing old with new, but it’s typically a lot more cost efficient than remodeling.

Restoration is when you return something to its former glory. Commonly used when referring to historic properties, the restoration also can apply to any significant improvement project regardless of how old or new the home might be. When you patch holes in walls, rip up the carpet to reveal and refinish hardwood flooring, or install fixtures and finishes that are in keeping with the age of the home, you are restoring it. Generally speaking, restoration is typically the most cost-effective way to go, assuming the house has good bones. Also, because you’re working with what is already there and bring them home back to its original condition, a restoration is often the more environmentally way to go.

So guess what all of this means? Nine times out of ten, when we speak of “bath remodeling,” what we really mean is bath “renovation.” For that matter, the same thing is true about most kitchen upgrade projects, too. But no matter what you call it, you can call on Conway Services any time for all the help you need with making plumbing work for you in new, better and more exciting ways. We can even suggest plumbing ideas for your kitchen or bath project that you may not have even considered.