Your Guide to Your Home Exterior Renovation

If you want to update the look of your home exterior, here are some areas to consider:

Insulation

When doing an exterior renovation, you have an opportunity to upgrade your insulation! Many of these older homes, such as the 80s home featured in the video above, are framed with 2×4 walls, which don’t leave much space for insulation within the wall cavity. By adding some exterior rigid insulation before replacing the siding, we were able to increase the total R-value of the home, making it much warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. This would otherwise require a major interior renovation, but now it just becomes part of the exterior renovation plan!

Siding

A major part of the look of your exterior is the siding or cladding you choose. Traditional natural wood might look great but it comes with a lot of maintenance. We have a blog post all about low-maintenance, high-quality wood alternatives, which you can check out here.

Some options for siding or cladding are vinyl siding, as well as James Hardie fiberboard. The benefit of Hardie board is that it is not flammable! And it has great curb appeal. 

Windows

Window Style

The style of your windows can really date your home. For example, the traditional wood-frame bay window we removed in the exterior renovation above really tied the look of the home to the 1980s. By squaring it off and using a style of window with less obstructions in it, we refreshed the whole look of the home. 

Zero-maintenance, High-Performance Window Products

Again, when using a wood-frame window you will have a lot of maintenance. When renovating your exterior, you have an opportunity to upgrade these to a low-maintenance product. In addition, these new windows can be triple-paned, so you get excellent insulation. So you get zero maintenance on the outside, and great performance with the triple pane.

Sun Stop

You can also choose windows that are treated with Sun Stop products to help reflect the UV rays and help to keep the heat out when you want it out in the summertime.

Entryway Brick Arch Removal and Remodel

Many 1980s homes have brick arches in the entryway. Replacing these arches and updating the style of the entryway will make a huge difference. We replaced the arches with a beam and purlin feature, and cladded it with a Lux Architectural product. This is a steel siding product with a wood grain print on it, which gives it a very nice look but with no maintenance. 

We have a blog post about the process of upcycling brick here.

You can view another renovation project where we also removed brick arches here: Curb Appeal Makeover: Before and After

Replace Your Front Door

There are three main types of doors: metal doors, wood doors, and fibreglass doors. Metal doors tend to be the cheapest, whereas fibreglass doors can be long-lasting as they don’t expand and contract when the temperature changes.

Aside from the type of door you choose, there is a wide range of styles which will impact the look of your exterior. Doors range from traditional to modern, and come in a wide variety of colours.

If you want more information about the types of front doors available, check out our post here: Replace Your Entry Door: What You Need to Know

Replace Soffits, Fascia, and Gutters

Another way to update your exterior look is to replace the soffits, fascia and gutters. Older homes frequently have lighter brown soffits, so by choosing a different colour we gave the exterior a fresher look. In the renovation above, we went with black for the gutters and the fascia and with matching Lux woodgrain soffits for the soffits. 

Replace Your Garage Door

Garage doors are often a major, visible feature of your home exterior. So replacing your garage door will make a big difference!

Choosing a garage door which is well-insulated will also increase the efficiency of your home. 

The number of windows (or “lights”) in your garage door will have an impact on both the way your door looks, and the amount of light you have inside your garage. In the renovation in the video above, the layout of the windows gives the door a very modern look, and lets in a lot of light inside the garage. It really rounds out the renovation.

We have some more advice about choosing the right garage door here: Remarkable Exterior Door Products for Garage and Entry

Make Your House Number a Feature!

There are always a few details that can really add an extra level of design to your renovation. One of these details is your house number. There are many creative ways you can make your house number stand out, and tie in with the overall style of your new exterior.

For more ideas on how to incorporate these features to boost your curb appeal, check out our blog post here: Simple Ways to Add Character to Your Home’s Exterior

There you have it—all the areas to consider when renovating your home exterior! Let this guide walk you through what you need to know to prepare for your remodel, and talk to your contractor if you have any questions. And reach out to us if you have questions about your exterior renovation project. Have a great day!