Updated December 2022
Home exterior upgrades are a worthwhile investment for your home. They are necessary to help protect your house from damage, while also helping maintain your home’s value and curb appeal. Because upgrades can be expensive, it is best to have a plan to do them in stages and spread them out over time. Having a home renovation plan to tackle your home exterior upgrades allows you to budget appropriately and address all the upgrades you need in manageable bites. Here are our tips on how to create a plan for your home exterior upgrades in 2023.
Create A Needs And Wants List
This is always the best starting point when creating a home exterior upgrades plan. It allows you to prioritize your projects so you implement the changes that will have the most impact first. Your needs would be addressing issues such as energy-inefficient windows, repairing or replacing damaged siding, or replacing eavestrough systems that leak. Your wants would be the cosmetic upgrades you’d like to make to your home exterior, such as new siding, attractive masonry detailing, or replacing your front entry doors.
Fix The Threats To Your Home’s Integrity
The most important upgrades will address the possibility of water intrusion and structural damage. Water penetration causes more damage to homes than you might think. Improving any elements of your home that currently increase the risk for water damage should top your list, including:
Structural repairs include fixing damage to the major systems of your home such as the exterior walls, masonry, and windows. As mentioned above, any aspect of your exterior that leaves your home vulnerable to the elements or pests should be the highest priority for your exterior upgrades. When you make these changes, you maintain the integrity of your entire home.
Arrange For Quotes
Once you have your home exterior upgrades list complete, find an exterior contractor specializing in all of your exterior upgrade services. Our experts at Weaver Exterior Remodeling can come and provide quotes for the work required so you can set a budget. You might be surprised by the pricing, and how some projects are more affordable than you thought. With accurate quotes for the exact work required, you can set up a timeline allowing you to pay for the projects in affordable steps.
Assess Your Home For Damage
When we are at your home, we will assess your house for damage. You may have missed some important but less obvious issues requiring attention when making your wants and needs list. These issues tend to be needs, such as malfunctioning eavestroughs or degrading fascia and soffits. We can also look for early warning signs of damage to important systems that protect your home, including masonry issues, eavestroughs, windows, doors, and more. This is a very important step because it impacts your budget and how you prioritize the work required. It also prevents serious damage to your home that will end up costing you more money in the future.
Consider The Design
Your exterior contractor can also bring samples of different materials to consider for your design upgrades. You want to consider the design elements of your exterior upgrades and how they work with the architecture and style of your home. Homeowners often don’t think to consider neighbouring houses and how their own home fits in with the rest of the street.
You also might be surprised at how simple changes can make a huge impact on your home’s curb appeal. If you are doing your cosmetic upgrades in stages, you need to have a plan for the overall design, to maintain a consistent and harmonious look. It is not uncommon for homeowners to come up with their design piecemeal with no cohesive theme, which can lead to a haphazard appearance that can actually ruin the overall aesthetics of your home. Design elements to consider in your exterior makeover include:
- Windows
- Entry door
- Siding
- Masonry
- Soffits and fascia
All of these details work together to create a uniform look and consistent sense of style to increase your home’s value.
Improve Energy Efficiency
This is a high priority as it can save you money over the time you own your home. It also keeps your home more comfortable all year round. For example, over 40% of a home’s heating and cooling energy can be lost through windows and doors. There are four home exterior upgrades that improve energy efficiency:
- Windows: Double- and triple-glazed windows offer improved insulation and energy efficiency while also helping keep your home water- and moisture-resistant. They have a low U-factor meaning they help reduce heat loss. The lower the U-Factor, the more energy-efficient the windows. As a result, they maintain the desired air temperature inside and keep unwanted temperatures outside. ENERGY STAR® windows are certified as meeting or exceeding energy-efficiency specifications through strict guidelines set by the Canadian government. Installing these windows provides you with top-notch energy-saving features including improved air tightness, low-E glass to reduce radiant heat loss, and argon gas infill to slow the transfer of heat through the window.
- Entry Doors: Properly installed ENERGY STAR® entry doors ensure a tight and secure seal to keep out the extreme heat and extreme cold temperatures. Steel and fiberglass doors won’t bow and the frame won’t warp, and are ENERGY STAR® certified to reduce energy consumption.
- Patio/sliding glass doors: Energy-efficient patio and sliding doors come in a range of low-E glass options, to help you save on your energy bills. Composed of polyurethane filling and low-E glass, these doors can save money on your energy bills all year long while offering lovely views of your backyard.
- Siding: New aluminum or vinyl siding is extremely energy-efficient, ensuring heat won’t escape in the winter and cool air remains inside in the heat of summer. When properly installed with tiny venting holes, air circulation prevents the growth of mold or mildew.
Customized doors and windows, in hand with improved siding can protect your home from the elements, maintain interior comfort, and provide an instant makeover for your home’s exterior.
Easy Maintenance
Last but not least, home exterior upgrades that can reduce time spent on maintenance make life easier while also increasing your home’s value, including:
- Gutter guards for eavestroughs
- Vinyl windows
- Low maintenance vinyl or aluminum siding
- Aluminum fascia and soffits
All of these upgrades reduce the annual labour required on home exterior maintenance, such as dealing with peeling paint or cleaning gutters of leaves and debris.
When you are planning your 2023 home exterior upgrades, speak to the Weaver team first by calling 705-725-4977 or request a quote today.