Garage Door Replacement Now a Top Five Home Improvement Nationwide

A national study on the value of popular home renovation projects has found that replacing an outdated garage door is both affordable and one of the best projects homeowners can undertake to improve their home’s overall value. Remodeling magazine’s 2014 Cost vs. Value survey reveals that garage door replacement delivers an average 83.7 percent return on investment (ROI) for homeowners while costing around $1,500, far less than other popular home improvement projects, like a major kitchen remodel (about$55,000) or a family room addition (about $81,000). This makes mid-range garage door replacement one of the most affordable home improvements and best values that homeowners can undertake, says Joe Dachowicz, vice president of marketing at Overhead Door Corporation, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of overhead doors and openers for residential and commercial applications. “For so many house styles, the garage door is a home’s largest exterior feature, so this is a great space to give a facelift,” said Dachowicz. “By upgrading an ordinary garage door with one that complements the rest of the home, owners can dramatically improve their home’s curb appeal at a very affordable price.” Upscale garage door replacement, with an average cost of about $2,800, delivers an 82.9 percent ROI and was found to be the least expensive upscale project evaluated by this year’s survey. As in past years, this year’s survey determined the ROI for garage door replacement by evaluating the $1,534 cost on average to replace a basic garage door with a mid-range door model. The survey found the value of that replacement at home sale to be $1,283, or 83.7 percent ROI; an increase over last year’s 75.7 percent ROI. In the upscale home improvement category, the survey evaluated the average $2,791 cost to replace a mid-range door with an upscale door and found a$2,315 value of the project at home sale, which equates to an 82.9 percent return; an increase from last year’s 75.2 percent ROI. Finding the perfect garage door to complement any house is as easy as going online to the Overhead Door website and the Overhead Door DoorView^™ Design Center, said Dachowicz. “The Overhead Door DoorView Design Center is a great visualization tool that anyone can use to find the right garage door for any home. You can literally see what a difference a new door will make on your home,” Dachowicz said. “Optimized for use with tablets, users simply upload a photo of their home into the visualization tool, and then they can try on any door, style and door color they choose to find perfect door.” Now in its 27^th year, the Cost vs. Value Report is conducted in partnership with the National Association of Realtors. Hanley Wood, publisher of Remodeling magazine, asks NAR members nationwide to evaluate a variety of home remodeling jobs and then project the ROI homeowners could expect to receive when they sell their homes. The study, available at www.costvsvalue.com, details both the national average value returned for common renovation projects, as well as the expected ROI in nine U.S. regions and 101 U.S. cities. For access to detailed renovation data on the go, an iPhone-app is also available through the Apple iTunes store.