5 best and 5 worst remodeling jobs for the money

1. Best: A new steel entry door

Cost: $1,137
Resale value: $974    
Payback: 86%

Replacing your front door with a stout, 20-gauge steel entry door is the standout improvement project.

The best steel doors are surprisingly good-looking. They add a sense of security to a home, which is undoubtedly why homebuyers value them so highly. A 20-gauge replacement door costs $1,137 on average, nationally. It adds an estimated $974 to a home's sale price, according to the real-estate agents who responded to the survey.

In some of the survey's nine regions, the project performed even better. Homeowners can recoup as much as 95% of the investment in the Pacific states.

The survey's door is factory-finished with a clear, two-pane, glass panel and color on both sides. The cost includes a new brass or antique brass lock set.

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2. Best: Replace exterior siding with fiber cement

Cost: $13,083
Resale value: $10,379
Payback: 79%

It's no wonder that fiber-cement siding -- made of cement, wood fiber and sand -- is a hit with homeowners. It's rot-resistant and durable in a wide range of climates. It's often backed by a 25- or 30-year warranty. Manufacturers use it to convincingly imitate cedar shingles, wood clapboard and stucco. The panels are primed and painted at the factory, and the color on them can last 25 years.

Remodeling Magazine's sample project includes removing 1,250 square feet of old siding and replacing it with new fiber-cement siding, factory primed and factory painted. The cost includes trim.

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3. Best: Add a wood deck

Cost: $9,327
Resale value: $7,213
Payback: 77%

Adding a wood deck is the way to go. You get roughly three-quarters of your money back, on average and, in eight of the 81 cities surveyed, homeowners are earning a payback of more than 100%. In nine other cities, the return averaged 87%.

The wood deck project includes pressure-treated joists, 4-by-4-inch posts anchored to concrete piers, pressure-treated deck boards, a built-in bench and planter, stairs, railings and balusters.

Composite decking doesn't deliver as good a return since composite is more expensive than wood — $15,084 on average for Remodeling Magazine's 16-by-20-foot sample project. A composite deck came in as 16^th best. It pays back 68%, on average.

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4. Best: Install a new garage door

Cost: $1,496
Resale value: $1,132 
Payback: 76%

You'll get the best bang for the buck these days from exterior replacement projects including doors, windows and exterior siding, Remodeling Magazine editor Sal Alfano says. This garage-door replacement is a perfect example: It delivers about 76% of the investment back when you sell the home.

Exterior replacements give homebuyers a good impression of your home right off the bat, Alfano says. Besides paying back well, these jobs may help a home sell more quickly and for closer to the asking price.

This project involves installing a new, four-section garage door on new, galvanized steel tracks, reusing the existing motor. It's a single layer, noninsulated embossed door with two coats of baked-on paint and a 10-year warranty. The project price includes removing and disposing of the old door and tracks.

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• Bing: Learn more about Remodeling Magazine's 2013 report

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5. Best: Minor kitchen remodel

Cost: $18,527
Resale value: $13,977
Payback: 75%

Your best kitchen remodel for the money is a modest project. This $18,527 project upgrades a 200-square-foot kitchen. Included are 30 linear feet of new, midpriced laminate countertops and new raised-panel fronts and hardware for the cabinets and drawers. You get a new, energy-efficient cooktop and wall oven, new medium-quality faucet and sink, new wall coverings and resilient flooring and repainted kitchen trim.

A major remodel of this same 200-square-foot kitchen using modestly priced products runs $53,931, on average. The payback drops to 69%. It includes new, semi-custom wood cabinets and a new 3-by-5-foot kitchen island, laminate countertops and a standard-issue double stainless sink with a single faucet.

If you've always wondered what it would cost to go whole-hog on a kitchen remodel, here's the answer: For $107,406, on average, you'll have top-of-the-line custom cherry cabinets with built-in sliding shelves, stone countertops with a backsplash of imported ceramic or glass tile, a new built-in refrigerator, cooktop and 36-inch commercial-grade range and vent hood.

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5. Worst: Add a new, upscale garage

Cost: $80,511
Resale value: $44,034  
Payback: 55%

Among the worst projects for the money, a fancy new garage comes in at fifth place. It's ranked 32nd among the 35 projects surveyed.

The two-car garage is a 26-by-26-foot freestanding building with footings and a slab-on-grade foundation. It has a 2-by-4 wood frame and gabled roof topped with 25-year asphalt shingles. It has vinyl exterior siding, five big double-hung vinyl windows and an entry door. The garage door uses a 100-amp breaker connected to the electrical panel in the home and 50 feet of conduit buried in a trench. Inside, the walls and ceiling are finished in drywall. The modular storage system has cabinets, work surfaces and task lighting.

You can build a simpler garage the same size for a little more than half the money — $48,806 — and recoup 64% of the cost. What’s missing, mostly, is the interior finishing.

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4. Worst: Install a backup power generator

Cost: $11,410
Resale value: $6,014
Payback: 52.7%

Superstorm Sandy demonstrated why a backup generator can be a good idea. So why aren't buyers paying big bucks for homes that have them? It may be that the magazine's version is more elaborate than necessary, Alfano says. The propane-fueled generator turns out 70 amps in two 240-volt circuits and six 120-volt circuits. 

"We assumed that you had to dig a drench, make a foundation, all of which adds up. You could probably do the job with half the costs," he says.

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3. Worst: Build an upscale master bed-and-bath suite addition

Cost: $220,086
Resale value: $114,569
Payback: 52.1%

We’ll break it to you gently: Your fantasy of adding a divine, private master suite to your home isn’t going to give you back much money if you sell your home. By all means do it. But enjoy it yourself, because you'll get an average of only 52% of the cost back.

This is a total dream job, a 32-by-20-foot master bedroom and bath built over your existing crawlspace. The floors are heated and there's a sitting area. You'll have custom built-in storage and bookcases and a high-end gas fireplace. The walk-in closet and dressing area have mirrors, natural light and extra storage for linens.

The bathroom has a stone shower with a custom, frameless glass enclosure. A whirlpool tub on a custom stone platform is tucked into a windowed corner.

You can scale back the job a bit by spending a mere $101,873 for a 24-by-16-foot addition. This gives you a better return, 63%. You still get the walk-in closet and dressing area, the whirlpool tub with a ceramic tile platform and a separate tiled shower and double sink. There's carpet on the bedroom floor and ceramic tile in the bathroom in this version.

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2. Worst: Add a sunroom

Cost: $72,179
Resale value: $33,529
Payback: 46.5%

If you're dying to throw money away, add a 200-square-foot sunroom to your home. With footings and a slab foundation, post-and-beam exposed framing and low-E windows, screens and movable shades, you'll get a very sweet spot to hang out. But buyers aren't likely to see it as an asset for which they'll pay extra. Sunrooms recoup less than half of their value.

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1. Worst: Remodel a home office

Cost: $27,292
Resale value: $11,911           
Payback: 43.6%

The absolute worst bang for your buck is a home-office conversion. You can find more expensive projects, but, at least among the 35 projects considered in this survey, you won't find a lower return on your money.

The home office had its moment as a home-remodeling dream project, but that was years ago. Yours may still pay off, or pay off better, if you work from home and can deduct much of the construction and operating expense from federal taxes (Bing: How do you do that?). But their popularity with buyers has waned, Alfano says.

Buyers tell real-estate agent that what they really want is flexibility. Installing built-in cabinets, drawers and bookshelves could turn your extra room into a liability.

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