The exterior of a home can be the most important part of a house when you are trying to sell, its the first thing that future buyers see when they drive up and the last thing they see when they leave!

Our current renovation property needed a major facelift! When we purchased it, it had a rundown and dilapidated exterior that needed new garage doors, paint, windows, lighting and landscaping. We also needed to give it an updated look. The rusty siding, rotten windows and old paint color had to go.

We decided to hire contractors for couple of the exterior projects; paint and windows. As we become more busy with our careers our time is starting to become more valuable than doing our own work and cheap labor! Hiring those projects saved us a lot of time and stress, giving us more time to focus on our other clients.

The rest of the windows in the house were rotted and needed replacement. Poor installation of the windows when the house was built and gutters that were clogged allowed for water to consistently come in contact with the windows and cause rotting of the wood trim and windows. The old window detail above the garage was also in poor condition. It was removed and patched prior to installing the shakes. This had been sealed with a piece of plywood and looked terrible, a perfect way for critters to get in the attic! The shakes that we chose to use are a paintable, composite material that is easy to work with. A great option because you are not limited to certain colors! All of the old siding was removed on the peak of the garage and then new shakes were measured, cut and installed!

Garage doors can transform the outside of a house! This can seem like a daunting task but having your garage doors replaced can be done in a days work. We went with a wood style insulated door with arched windows and a color that would coordinate with the roofing material. Adding a beautiful garage door is one of the best “bang for your buck” projects you can do to the outside of your house!

There is still a lot to do with the exterior of this home but it is coming along wonderfully! The outdoor lighting is coming this week and landscaping will be the last piece of the puzzle to make this house marvelous! The house is currently being painted but here is a peak at the progress of the exterior renovation.  It is great to have working garage doors and I think the neighbors appreciate that the house is no longer looking like a vacant, eye sore in the neighborhood!

~K Kurtz, luxe living