There are fewer challenges to a marriage than the topic of home renovations. What will it cost? Is it a do it yourself job? Who do you hire? and the really significant question, “Why? It looks fine to me.” If this sounds familiar, there is some ammunition you can stock up on before the conversation starts.

The age old question of how much will an improvement add to the value of your home is probably the wrong place to start when considering upgrades, since frequently renovations don’t add as much value as most homeowners think. A better question is how does this improve your lifestyle for the number of years you plan on living in the home, rather than using a renovation as an investment strategy.

However, there are improvements that do tick a few boxes when it comes to improving value, and they’re not always really big ones. For instance, according to Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value study, changing the entry door has a 96 percent cost to value ratio for a relatively small investment.

Kitchens and baths continue to give a good rate of return on cost with a minor kitchen remodel costing the national average of around $19,000, returning 82 percent of the investment. But spending $50,000 on a home or condo with a market value of $150,000 would be a mistake if you want to see any of that money again. Bathrooms are a funny thing. Some of the studies indicate that an extra half bath can increase the value of a home almost as much or more, depending on the size of the house, as a full bath. Luxury homes require more half baths, which are sometimes attached to pools or entertaining areas.

Small changes like replacing regular doors with French doors and changing the garage doors will give you better than an 80 percent return as will new decking, coming in at 87 percent, and adding a bedroom in an unused area of the house like an attic will also return over 80 percent of cost. Some improvements that do not get a good cost to value return are home office remodels returning 48 percent, backup power generators at 67 percent and master suite additions also at 67 percent.

If your husband, wife, significant other, partner or good friend is fine with doing renovations then you may want to consider actually buying a home classified as a fixer. Fixer-uppers are an increasingly popular option for home buyers looking to save a little money in exchange for a bit of elbow grease. Sometimes this is a good idea, and sometimes the discounted price of a home needing a major renovation does not justify the effort and cost of that renovation.

A study by Realtor.com identified cities that offered the biggest price breaks for properties needing work. For example; Naples, Fla., properties that were defined as fixer-uppers based on information contained in the listing were discounted 28 percent from other similar properties in the area. But in Riverside, Calif., the discounted value was only 10 percent and in Prescott, Ariz., only 2 percent hardly worth the effort.

In our area where waterfront is king, if you were lucky enough to find a fixer-upper you could afford on the water, it could be a great investment. Never-the-less a thorough inspection is required since hidden structural problems in a home could easily wipe out any savings if it’s not discovered prior to purchase.

It’s always good to pick your battles, and home renovations can prove to be your Waterloo. As long as you understand that renovations have very little to do with real estate investing, but a lot to do with enjoyment and lifestyle.