Direct added value to your home:
Finish out unfinished living areas
Upgrades to bathroom and kitchen
Add additional living area
All other items completed to home have negligible value added benifits in terms of Apprasial added value.
Hardi has about 30% cellulose fiber in it and the rest is cement. Hardi shrinks after it is installed so you must keep it tight to the the next board and not leave expansion gaps on either side. It definitely must have slip sheets under the joints. It must be caulked at the corner posts and openings. If you cut it, it must be doped or painted as it is installed.
LP Smartside on the other hand expands after it is installed. Approximately 3/8 of an inch. horizontally for the length of each board. They have a gauge to place between each horizontal lap to allow for expansion. Here again I would use a slip sheet behnd the lap. Both prodcts are susceptible to moisture. So here again you must dope or paint any cuts as you install if you are using a predinished product. Both Hardi and LP require you to where masks to keep from breathing in the dust. Not good for your lungs.
If you really want a good product with a superior finish, consider steel siding. Vinyl is just plastic and it breaks when hit by hail requiring it be replaced. Get a grill any where close to it when barbeciung and it melts. Steel can dent in a major hailstorm, and it normally doesn't. but it still won't leak. Hardi board and LP will cost you more to install if prefinished than steel and steel is virtually maintenance free. My house has steel on it since 1975. Most vinyls will last unitil the next big hailstorm and then you have to replace. The one drawback for steel is, it is harder to repair than vinyl. but can be done by a skilled craftsmen, without removing the whole wall.
Like Jim said before, a proper attic insulation will help with lowering your electric bill as well as heat reflective roof shingles and exterior paint, ex. tex-cote. For windows we use Anlin, 100% american made using the newest heat reflective technology. GreenLiving specializes in exterior energy efficient home improvements!
Windows that have a .28 u factor or. Slightly lower, if installed correctly sealing the perimeter with foam are generally adequate for most homes. They will have low -e and argon normally in the csvity between the insulated glass. Now if you want to go for triple glazed glass and low e and Krypton glass, you can get down to .17 u. Generally the additional cost and added weight do not pay for the added expense. You may do well to also add insulation in the attic and make sure you ventilate the soffit and fascia. Heat tends to travel up. Make sure you get a good installer that know s how to insulate and do a quality install.
Hi. Hardi is a siding made of painted cement board. SmartSide is a painted wood product. Both are rigid materials and stay perfectly straight on the house. Their drawbacks are very visible seams and both require painting after about 10 years.
HardiePlank is a fiber-cement siding, whereas SmartSide is an engineered wood product. Fiber cement products do not rot as easily as wood products and most builders will recommend fiber cement over wood for that reason. If you choose either of these products, you will need to be dilligent about maintaining them (painting, checking for rot, etc.). Your other major option would be vinyl siding, which does not have the aesthetic appeal of wood or fiber cement, but is much easier to maintain.
Same as others said, Remodeling magazine's Cost Vs. Value report is a great resource!
As a roofing contractor, of course I am going to suggest an upgrade to your roofing system. And that's not just a biased opinion either. Working with a lot of realtors in our area it has been proven that the roof can be as much as 40% of your curb appeal. Especially when the system incudes things like the right color drip edge on the rakes and eaves, and high profile ridge caps. Both of those items are relatively inexpensive and can make a very noticibale difference compared to homes that don't have them. Selecting the proper type of shingle of course also plays a huge role. About 95% of re-roofs these days use a standard architectural tpye compositions shingle but picking something from the designer line can realy make your home stand apart. Then again, other rof covering options besides ashphalt shingles can make an even greater impact.
As a GAF Master Elite Copntractor, we are partial to their line of products and I have included a link below to their designer apshpalt series.
Good luck!
http://www.gaf.com/Roofing/Residential/Products/Shingles/Designer
I agree with Chris. The Cost vs Value report is the "go to" guide and is impartial. Personally, I like to focus on first impressions and curb appeal. Exterior dressings like corwn mouldings and simple shrub pruning is a great low cost way to give the home a wow factor.
You might also contact a couple of local realtors to see what people in your area are looking for in the home they want to purchase.
Check out the 2018 Cost vs Value Report from Remodeling Magazine.
2018 Remodeling Cost vs Value Report
This will give you an idea of the average return on your investment in the region where you live.
The one factor it will not give you is number of intangibles you may receive from the project you're considering.
Make sure those are also part of your equation before making a final decision on the impact a remodeling project may make on the "value" of your home.
I would recommend that you look at remodeling magazine. They do an annual study of cost versus value For mini interior and exterior home improvements.