SEO is worth it for remodelers, but the honest answer requires two caveats: it's not fast, and it's not free even when you do it yourself, because your time has value. Realistic timelines for a new or under-optimized site are six to ten weeks before long-tail terms start moving, and three to twelve months for the more competitive head terms.
What makes it worth it long-term is the marginal cost after that ramp - once you're ranking, each additional lead is close to free, unlike paid ads where every lead costs the same whether it's your first or your thousandth. For a business selling $20k–$40k jobs, even a handful of organic leads a month pays for the investment many times over.
The mistake most remodelers make is treating SEO as the only channel in month one, then giving up when it hasn't produced leads by week three. It should run alongside outbound, referrals, and paid ads early on, and take over as the dominant channel as it matures.