Requests for bathroom and kitchen renovations continued to be the most common job encountered by remodelers in 2015, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

The NAHB issues a survey each quarter to its remodeling members to determine trends in this industry. Bathroom and kitchen remodeling jobs have been the most popular for several years, but the market share of other work has also been increasing recently.

"While bathroom and kitchen remodels remain the most common renovations, basements, whole house remodels, and both large and small scale additions are returning to levels not seen since prior to the downturn," said Tim Shigley, 2016 chair of NAHB Remodelers. "Clients want to add more space, but remodeling a significant portion of the home is no easy feat. That's why it's important to work with a professional remodeler who has the integrity and expertise to take on these large remodeling jobs."

Eighty-one percent of remodelers said bathroom remodeling was among the most common jobs they performed in 2015, followed by 79 percent who said kitchen remodeling was prevalent. Forty-nine percent of the respondents said whole house renovations were among the most frequent jobs they performed during the year.

Room additions grew significantly more popular in 2015, with the share of remodelers saying this was one of their most popular jobs increasing from 40 percent in 2014 to 47 percent. This share was up from a low point of 33 percent for 2012 and at its highest level since 2005, when 57 percent of remodelers said additions accounted for a large portion of the year's work.

Fewer people were interested in replacing their windows and doors in 2015. Thirty-six percent of respondents said this was a common job during the year, down from 45 percent in 2014.

The least common jobs for 2015 included a finished attic, cited by 3 percent of remodelers; historic preservation, cited by 10 percent; and adding or enclosing a garage or porch, each of which was cited by 16 percent.

Remodelers were also given a number of possible reasons for a homeower to remodel their home and asked to rate them on a scale of one to five based on how influential they likely were. The most popular reasons included the desire for new or better amenities, with an average score of 4.3; the need to repair or replace new components, with an average score of 4.2; and needing or wanting more space, with an average score of 3.8.

Remodelers thought homeowners were least likely to remodel their home in preparation for a sale. Respondents gave an average score of 1.3 when asked if people were likely to remodel a home to prepare for a distressed sale and an average score of 1.8 when asked if they were likely to remodel in preparation for a non-distressed sale.

The NAHB survey includes special questions for each quarter. In the survey for the first quarter of 2016, remodelers were asked what share of their jobs involved the removal of interior walls, pillars, or similar features to create a more open layout on the main floor.

When the responses were tabulated, a median of 40 percent of remodeling jobs involved this work. Thirty-two percent said up to one-quarter of their jobs involved the creation of a more open floor plan, followed by 25 percent who said they did it in up to half of their jobs, 20 percent who did it in up to three-quarters of their jobs, and 13 percent who did it in 76 percent to 100 percent of their work. Nine percent said none of their work in 2015 involved the removal of interior walls or similar features.

The NAHB sent surveys for the first quarter of 2016 to 1,821 of its remodeler members. The remodeling report is based on 274 responses they received.