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Revealed: Top 10 home improvements

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Posted:
21/06/2017
Updated:
21/06/2017

The most popular home renovations could boost the value of your property

Homeowners are splashing out on new bathrooms more than any other home improvement, according to Gocompare.com.

The comparison site found that nearly two in five (39%) homeowners who carried out a major home improvement in the last five years opted for a new bathroom.

The next most popular renovations were new kitchens (38%) and a new boiler or central heating system (34%).

Top 10 home improvements in the last five years

1 Installed a new bathroom 39%
2 Fitted a new kitchen 38%
3 Installed a new boiler or central heating system 34%
4 A garden make-over 26%
5 Installed double glazing 26%
6 Built an extension 17%
7 Knocked through rooms 12%
8 Fitted solar panels 12%
9 Created an attic conversion 10%
10 Added an extra bedroom 9%
 
Insurance warning

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The research also revealed that 41% of those carrying out renovations did so without telling their home insurer, which could invalidate their cover.

Matt Sanders, home insurance spokesperson for GoCompare explained: “While you don’t need to inform your insurer about routine decorating or maintenance, you should inform your provider if you’re planning on carrying out any major building or renovation work, otherwise you could risk invalidating your policy. 

“When planning a major renovation project, one of the first things you should do is to review your buildings and contents insurance to make sure that you have adequate cover both during and after the work has been completed.”

Most home insurance policies don’t cover tradesmen or their work, so you should always check that they have their own insurance in place. It’s also sensible to check that any tradesmen you employ are qualified to carry out the work and registered with a recognised governing body.

Sanders added: “Remember, after completion of the work, you may need to increase your sum insured to reflect any increase in the rebuilding costs of your property and any increase in the value of your possessions.”