Given the choice, most Canadian homeowners would opt for hammers, nails and paint brushes, rather than packing tape and cardboard boxes.

Fully 80% of Canadian homeowners say that, if their home needed major renovations, they would rather renovate, than sell and move, according to the 2006 RBC Royal Bank Renovation Survey.

As well, 70% stated they are planning renovations or home improvements over the next two years.

“Renovation intentions are slightly lower than last year — down by six points — but at 70% they still remain very strong,” noted Catherine Adams, vp, home equity financing for RBC Royal Bank, in a news release. “Canadians continue to consider any investment in their homes to be a very good investment indeed.”

Almost half (48%) are planning to do the renovation themselves, and 40% will be using a contractor — an upward trend since 2004. Fewer plan to complete the reno using family members (15%) — a downward trend over the last two years.

According to the survey, Canadians planning renovations indicated they plan to spend $8,982 on average — up slightly from 2005. To finance their reno expenditures, these Canadians will be less likely to tap into cash or savings than they were two years ago (48% in 2006 compared to 69% in 2004). The two alternate options most often cited by those surveyed who didn’t want to use their cash or savings: lines of credit (38%) and credit cards (26%).

The survey also showed that establishing realistic reno budgets continues to be a concern. Of the 64% of Canadians who budgeted for renos completed over the past two years, four out of every ten went well over their budgets – on average by 88%. Additionally, only 13% of Canadians planning renos would consider a home equity line of credit or a homeline plan – the lowest cost of all the borrowing options.