Home Project Summary

Maintaining a Home

Ideas, costs, tips and plans - the information you need for a successful Home Maintenance project

February 2011

Homeowners have many important questions about their Home Maintenance Project. How much will it cost? How long will it take? What problem areas do I need to watch out for? Can I recover my Home Maintenance investment when I sell? Can I do some of the work myself? What can I do to make sure that the work is done right?

Costs, materials and best practices for the example Home Maintenance project will help you answer these questions. Use this information to develop a budget, bid requirements, hiring contracts and a project plan.

Use the following information to understand your options, make good decisions and get quality work at a fair price.

Home Maintenance - Project Overview

The approximate costs and value of a typical Home Maintenance project are summarized below. Use higher estimates for larger metropolitan areas and the lower estimates where home prices are below the national average. Adjust costs for substitutions or refinements in the last section. For size differences of up to 25%, scale total costs in direct proportion to the size of your project. Use the adjusted costs as a basis for setting a material budget and for comparing contractor bids (if you choose to have a professional perform the work).

Project description	Common maintenance tasks for the home interior. Painting, floor refinishing, appliance maintenance and lighting updates.
Project size	1850 square foot home, cost per year.
Material and labor cost	$2,475 - $2,888
Material cost	$1,222 - $1,426
Do-it-yourself assessment	The typical Home Maintenance project can be completed by a moderately skilled do-it-yourselfer; as with any project, high quality Home Maintenance requires attention to detail and careful planning.
First year Return on Investment - ROI	Returns vary widely and are affected by the range of home prices in your neighborhood, the overall condition of your home and sensible design choices. A high quality Home Maintenance project in an appropriate neighborhood can return as much as 77% - 91% of its initial cost.
Long term Return on Investment - ROI	Returns will be impacted by the range of home prices in your neighborhood, the overall condition of your home and sensible design choices. A high quality Home Maintenance project can return as much as 67% - 78% of its initial cost
Green rating	Home Maintenance projects can incorporate renewable or sustainable resources and environmentally friendly materials.

Home Maintenance - Proven Ideas and Project Tips

Review these tips, design suggestions, options and lessons learned before finalizing your Home Maintenance project plan.

To keep Home Maintenance costs low and quality high, specify simple wall and ceiling transitions and use common surface finishes
For best home resale value, follow a consistent design and decorating theme throughout the home
Perform major Home Maintenance work with permits to help protect value at resale time

Home Maintenance - Project Plan and Details

The following list includes major work tasks commonly performed during Home Maintenance. Use this list to understand the timing and sequence of different steps in the Home Maintenance project. Click any Task name for a complete written specifications, FAQs and quality checklist for the task - this essential information will help you control Home Maintenance project cost and quality.

Task

Service Provider

Duration

Do-it-yourself difficulty

Target cost

Seal Door

Finish Carpenter

1 d

Level 1 - Basic

$43 - $75

Seal Windows

Finish Carpenter