Remolding best bang for the buck

I've remolding a few homes in my time starting back
when the cost of energy went from about a dime a
gallon for heating oil. I'm a believer in using the
best windows, doors, INSULATION AND MORE INSULATION.

I ran across this article and to my surprise only
one remolding costs gives you a return on your
investment when you sell it, INSULATION.

The nice thing about insulation is you get a return
on it everyday and there is no maintenance cost like
you would have if you invested in high tech ways to
save on energy costs.

I found this to be an interesting read, thought I
would share.
geo
best bang

I knew that but fought the WAR DEPT. for years over the cost of doing it . . I am still working on this old house and when i started it my first thought was five gallon of diesel and a match and today i am still leaning to the five gallon and a match.

Should we believe this article or believe the people who's picture is at top of article that buy houses and take them to the studs,invest 10s of thousands in remodel then resale at a profit? BTW,shouldn't that insulation be between ceiling joists instead of against deck between rafters?

Our first house was less than 900 Sq feet with only a crawlspace. It had electric baseboard heat and some months would cost 350-400/month to heat it. Room by room I gutted the house, replaced windows, insulated, and sheetrocked. Probably averaged 800-1000$ per room. Each year I did 1 room and each year saved another $20 per month on the electric bill. The house was older and somewhere in the past they dropped the ceiling from 9' to 8' and insulated some in between. I didn't insulate the attic until I was done fishing wires and remodeling. Our last winter there we blew in $250 of insulation in the attic, in 3 months we saved more than that on our electric bill. Found out where the heat was going .

Fast forward to our house now, built in 75 and insulated ok. We had Menards rebates built up and used them to buy insulation again. Blew 12" of fiberglass across the whole attic and we never have been able to notice the difference. Had a hail storm come through so we put in super duper vinyl triple pane, krypton gas, sealed windows from North Country to replace the origional leaking Pella windows. The windows leak less but I know we didn't save the money the said we would. I'm happy with the windows and love the service if anything breaks on them but for 2 houses new windows have done little if any to help. Your results may vary.

For selling or flipping a house that you won't be living in, I think: paint; removing clutter; and cleaning have about the highest return on investment.

One problem with remodeling is that even if you make a huge improvement, when it comes time to sell, the properties around you that have not been improved will be included in the "comparables" lending companies consider for mortgage limitations bring the amounts down.

Yes studies have shown that most heat loss is from the ceiling and can greatly effect utility costs. There is more to it.
Fiberglass bats work well but blown in fiberglass does not work very well if the attic is properly vented. It is so light the air goes right through it.
Blown in cellulose has more shrinkage but is much better.
The article is somewhat misleading. Most buyers are totally clueless as to how much installation is present. and a kitchen or bathroom remodel is often mandatory just to get a sale.

I agree, Cash in a can......