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Whether it is fixing a leaking ceiling, making the home more energy efficient or simply making a change, everyone has a different reason for wanting to renovate. But whatever the reason retailers are well advised to tell their customers that renovations can be a great way to enhance the quality of life of the family, improve their home and increase its resale value.

Once a homeowner factors in the money they can save on heat, electricity and water, many renovations also offer a great return on investment - up to and including paying for themselves!

To help homeowners decide which renovations are right for their home, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Appraisal Institute of Canada offer the potential "payback range" that some of the most common home improvement projects will typically have on the resale value of a home.

The best returns on renovation investments are projects that target your kitchen and bathroom. They recover between 75-100 percent of investment when overhauled. your next best investment is interior/exterior painting which has a return of between 50-100 percent.

The lowest payback range involves renovation projects like swimming pools or skylights. The recovery for a pool is about 10-40 percent and up to 25 percent for a skylight. Other payback ranges include:

Roof shingle replacement: 50-80%
Furnace & heating systems: 50-80%
Basement: 50-75%
Adding a recreation room: 50-75%
Installing a fireplace: 50-75%
Flooring: 50-75%
Constructing a garage: 50-75%
Window & door replacement: 50-75%
Building a deck: 50-75%
Central air conditioning: 25-75%
Landscaping: 25-50%
Interlocking paving: 25-50%
Building a fence: 25-50%
Asphalt paving: 20-50%

Reference: "Hardware & Home Centre Magazine"