The exterior of a house can improve the value and overall appearance of a house. That’s why it’s a good idea to know the best cosmetic updates to house exteriors that you can make to your home. When you know what they are, you can work on them to get the home of your dreams that’s going to welcome you warmly each time you get back home after spending time elsewhere. Here are 10 cosmetic updates to house exteriors that you can work on to get your home to a state that makes you proud of owning it.
1. New Shutters
The first item to consider when brainstorming cosmetic updates to house exterior is exterior shutters. These can give your house a neat, polished look that guarantees improved value and feel, especially if you get them installed by a professional. To begin with, you should pick the right type from the five types that exist. These are Bermuda, Bahama, board and batten, flat panel, raised panel, and louvered. The best one will depend on your home’s design and the final look that you’d like.
Your local shutter services should be in a position to give you advice on the best shutters to get. This is not just in terms of appearance, which is not the only thing you have to consider when making cosmetic updates to house exterior. The other considerations that you need to make include the right material, the best color, and ease of installation and maintenance. Depending on the climate of the area where your home is, a certain material would work better for you than another one, so think about such details to make the best call.
2. Backyard Patio
If you don’t have a backyard patio for your home, it’s a good idea to add it to your list of cosmetic updates to house exterior. Local cement companies in your area can help you install a backyard patio that will be solid and attractive, lasting for a long enough time to be a great investment. This project also expands your home’s livable space, making it a lot more valuable and practical for you and your family. If you have guests or simply want to relax outdoors in a private setting, your backyard patio will serve you perfectly.
If you install it with a concrete floor, remember to find out the necessary maintenance that you need to perform to it. This will help it stay in good shape for a long time before it needs repairs to be done to it, keeping it both safe and attractive. The main maintenance that you’ll need to do to it is cleaning it thoroughly and sealing it. If you like, the experts who install it should also help you with the maintenance. For a handy person who can get some free time every now and then, the maintenance is easy enough to do yourself as long as you have the right tools for the job.
3. Lawn Maintenance
Lawn maintenance can never be left out of any list concerning cosmetic updates to house exterior. That’s because the lawn is your home’s most prominent outdoor feature, and it frames the home in a beautiful light when it’s in good shape. This is the reason why you need to start with the best layout and move on to getting the right greenery to use on it. With this will come the regular use of a mower, which you can either pay someone to do for you or take on yourself.
If you have brown patches or other issues with your lawn, you should talk to a lawn specialist and seek their advice. They may ask to perform an inspection first so that they can make the best suggestion. Some of the causes of problems with lawns include weather damage, lack of water or nutrients in the soil, or even using the wrong type of grass for your lawn. Once the professional lets you know what the problem is and shares a solution, adhere to it so that you can reap the benefit, which is an attractive lawn that you’re proud to call your own.
4. Pest Control
A safe and attractive house exterior needs to be free of pests all year round. This is because they can be discomfort and possibly even diseased to anyone who attempts to spend time outdoors with bites and stings. They can also build nests on spots around your lawn, some of them even burrowing into organic elements like wood around your property. This weakens the elements, damaging both their structure and appearance, and giving you a hefty bill to pay for repairs or replacements. To avoid all of this, get in touch with a local exterminator.
While this may not be an actual change that’s made to your home exterior, it can directly impact the appearance of the house for the reasons outlined above. To make sure that you don’t leave your house at risk of pest infestation, you should learn about the tell-tale signs that various pests leave around your home’s exterior. This way, you can call the professionals at the first sign of trouble. As a result, it will be faster and more effective for you to get rid of pests around your property.
5. Roof Repairs
Roofing is one of the most important details of a home’s exterior. It spans a massive area and protects your family and property from exposure to the elements. This puts it in danger of various issues which could be both structural and cosmetic. As such, it deserves a prominent spot in any list you’d come across talking about cosmetic updates to house exterior. Expert roofers in your area can help you keep it in the best shape by performing frequent inspections of it. In case they find anything to be wrong, they’ll suggest a solution to it.
If the roof doesn’t have any damage but doesn’t look great from the street, you should have it cleaned. This will not only improve its appearance but its safety as well. That’s because when there’s no dirt and debris on the roof, it won’t hold moisture for extended periods and therefore expose your roof to rapid wear and tear. It will also be hard for pests and rodents to try making a home on it, which could also cause fast deterioration.
6. Clean Pipes
You should remember to work on the elements of your home that, while not directly being cosmetic elements, have a direct impact on the appearance of your home. One of those to add to this list of cosmetic updates to house exterior is cleaning your pipes. A cesspool pumper should help you manage the waste from your home, cleaning the pipes to ensure that there’s no likelihood of clogs. Excessive grease and a buildup of particles that shouldn’t be in the pipes could cause these clogs or even damage the pipes, leaving you with an unsightly mess to clean up.
Hiring the right professionals to come and perform regular inspections of your home’s systems is the best thing that you could do. That’s because they’ll be in a better position to let you know if and when you need to replace various elements of your home’s plumbing. As a result, you could find it quite affordable to keep your plumbing functioning perfectly all through the year.
7. Refinished Siding
Siding installation can help you give your home an instant upgrade, especially if the current siding is damaged. With cracked and otherwise damaged siding, you risk excessive air leaks that will leave you with inflated energy bills to pay at the end of each month. It could also make it easier for moisture to find its way into your home’s walls, causing rot and water damage. This is a health hazard for your family, and it also ends up taking quite a lot of money to replace because there’s rarely room to make repairs where water damage is concerned.
When thinking about the necessary cosmetic updates to house exterior, this should definitely be a part of your list because it’s essentially your home’s face. If it’s in a good state and has no damages save for dirt grime or even stains, this is an easy fix. You just need to call professionals to pressure-wash the siding, and it’s going to look as good as new. If it’s been a long time since you had the siding painted, and it still looks unattractive after a thorough wash, find external painters to repaint it. You can get through a few more seasons without needing to repaint.
8. Fix Foundation
Your home sits on the foundation, and this makes this element of your home an important one to keep in good shape. Regular inspection and maintenance should give you a solid foundation, as long as you make any repairs the moment they become necessary. If you ignore the foundation for long enough, it may get damaged, and this will become evident in other parts of your house. For instance, the walls may develop gaping cracks as the foundation moves in response to the damage.
The doors and windows will follow next in showing the damage by becoming problematic to shut and open, or even getting rocked off their hinges. Before things reach this extreme stage, call a local foundation repair company and find out if it’s possible to do any repairs. While foundation repair may be expensive, this cost will not come anywhere close to the total cost of repairing everything that could get damaged if you allow the damage to go unchecked. The entire house risks collapsing if the foundation fails suddenly and completely, putting your family’s lives at risk.
9. External Storage
It’s a good idea to add external storage to your home so that you have a safe place to keep yard tools and other items that you use outdoors. In fact, if you have outdoor furniture, you can also store it securely in custom sheds that you construct outside your house when the seasons are no longer conducive to spending time outdoors. This is a great way to make use of your outdoor space, especially if you have a lot of it. Work with a professional who will help you pick the right material and use the best construction methods for the job.
With custom sheds in your yard in a secluded area, you’ll no longer have to deal with a lack of storage indoors. You can also finally free up your garage to use it for something else. This way, you’ll have an easy time parking your vehicle safely or using the garage for any other use you may have, including as a guest suite or even a craft area. With proper external storage in your yard, you’ll have an easy time keeping your home neat and tidy all through the year.
10. Refinish Driveway
Last but not least, you need to refinish the driveway of your home to ensure that the exterior of your home looks amazing. If you end up with missing pavers on your home’s driveway, there’s a risk that someone could trip while they walk over it and hurt themselves. It’s also an unpleasant sight and can negatively impact your home’s curb appeal. Leaving pavers missing for a long time also makes it quite likely that the driveway will experience worse damage and call for more extensive repairs.
These are 10 of the most important home updates that you could make to your home’s exterior. When you make all of them, your home is going to be significantly improved. It will also be more valuable because the renovations that you do are going to pay for themselves over time. Apart from planning for the project, the other important detail that you need to put into consideration is finding the right professionals to work with. A job that’s properly done is going to be well worth it because it will stay in good shape for a long time before it needs to be inspected or even repaired.
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