How to improve the exterior to our 70's abode!

5 years ago

If there's one thing I don't enjoy, it's driving up to our house and seeing this white cladding! What are the alternatives? Does it have to be other cladding? Could brick slips work?

TIA Becky

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E D

5 years ago

Hope you don't mind me saying this, but perhaps you can also consider replacing the window dressing.

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Comments (11)

E D
5 years ago
I quite like your '70s abode! :).

I have no idea wether brickslips would work but painting the cladding could provide a simple but effective way to improve its look.

A light sage green perhaps? I would then do the vertically visible part just under the garage roof as well.
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I agree, new front door, and some planting. The main problem is that everything is unrelieved red-brown! walls, windows, door, drive. Except the garage door, which then looks like a mistake! This is a common problem. You need to break up the brown. Render or cladding is probably overkill, there are more subtle solutions. Please don't put in an oak or stained timber door. It might look great in its own right, but will just be changing one brown for another! A painted timber (or composite) door would be best, with the garage door painted to match. Choose a shade of grey or green, avoid red and purple, as you need a good contrast to the brick. Ideally change the windows to cream, or grey-green, but if not, try the shutters. They are a bit 1960s, but might actually suit the style of this house! Painted to match the doors. Consider taking up some small areas of paving near the house to allow planting to create a break between the brick drive and the brick house!
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Hi Edwina, It's going to be the greenery that makes a big difference to this. Plants are used for softening designs all the time both exterior and interior. I love the garage doors and think ever have done a great job too - well done. I love the idea of rendering it but think you have to work with the rest of the road so if no one else has its probably not a great idea :( Regarding the images of changes on the property - I offer a 3D visualisation package that I would be happy to give you a price for if you drop me a person message on the profile page. This will depend on the budget you have as to its worth for you. All the best, Gina
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How about a nice wood and slate roofed porch over the front door? It will add a bit of rustic charm, if that’s your scene. My brother recently did this with a rather plain 1950’s house he was working on. They changed all the windows to steely blue coloured frames and the front door to match. Looks lovely. I don’t have a picture, but this is an example of similar porches. If it’s too rustic for you, you could go for a more modern look.
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I think your bungalow looks lovely with the painted window frames and the purple and white plants in the front garden. I‘m not sure renewing the guttering would be a priority for me, unless they needed replacing. It all looks pretty good to me but you could perhaps consider painting it the same colour as the window frames. Looking at your garage mock-up I would say this needs some more thought. Imho this could look much better. Admittedly I wouldn’t know how, but I’m sure the clever people here will come up with some nice ideas.
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A B
5 years ago
It’s probably the estate agent photo ;) but I agree painting could work. I used to drive past a very similar house where they had painted the cladding grey and it looked really nice in my opinion
Becky R
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks ED! You'll be pleased to know the net curtains are already down...this photo is from two years ago when we first bought it
Mark R
5 years ago
Black aluminium windows and cedar cladding. White render on the lower half. Otherwise go with a pastel colour paint on the cladding. Pale blue or grey.
Ribena Drinker
5 years ago
I have to say, I like it as it is - except for the nets of course!

I'd perhaps try painting it first to see if that is a change enough, but I would also look at planting climbers too - a lovely climbing rose or a clematis, to soften the bareness.

You could plant in deep planters as you have a path right in front of your house, which is what we've had to do - but it works quite successfully.
E D
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Yes, definitely more planting. It will soften the rather square lines/angles of the house and its surroundings.

Is the path running passed your house a public one?
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
5 years ago
PRO
Earth Designs Garden and Build London and Essex
5 years ago
Paint it all one colour. Colour is trans-formative and will make a real

difference. Try black if you are feeling bold.
PRO
i-architect
5 years ago
It looks like the cladding could be UPVc and not timber. If so then I would replace it with something else because it's not so easy to paint or change the appearance. You've got loads of options: Red cedar / Japanese charred timber if you're feeling brave / rendered board - through coloured render has lower maintenance / hung tiles or slate / profiled metal or zinc if you like the industrial or contemporary Australian look... many options. You will want to decide based on the durability, the maintenance needed - cost and frequency of maintenance, and cost of installation.

If the existing cladding is timber and not UPVc then you could start with painting it a different colour - this is your cheapest option and will give the biggest change for your money. I wouldn't paint the brickwork - it never lasts and will always need continual maintenance repainting it, and looks terrible as it starts to wear away. I would choose a colour for painting the existing cladding that is harmonious with the existing brick. You can get stains for brickwork, which I don't have a lot of experience of so can't advise you on - but this might be a way to change the brick colour permanently without giving you lots of ongoing maintenance. If all the other houses have this same brick colour though, then it might look a bit odd to make your bricks look just a bit different.

The other thing to think about if you decide to change the cladding for something else is insulation. The chances are that there is not enough insulation in that cladding area and that you will get a lot of benefit from adding extra insulation there before you cover it up with a new cladding finish. Technically from a building regulations point of view, if you are making material changes to part of the "external envelope" (the outside walls) then you are supposed to upgrade the thermal performance (how well the wall keeps in the heat) to at least current building regulations standards. This means that you should be achieving somewhere around the 0.30 U-value. I know a lot of people aren't aware of this and building control departments don't usually have the ability to keep tabs on this kind of work, but if you want to update your house then thinking about how well it performs at keeping the heat in during the winter will be worth it, especially if you plan to live there long term. If you do upgrade the insulation make sure you get a building control sign off for it. This may also improve your EPC rating. Not everyone is checking EPC when they buy property yet, but this is likely to become more and more important in the future. So might help you with resale.

Finally! If you want to create a big visual difference then consider the planting to your front garden. A small tree and some beautiful plants with a variety of foliage will make a huge difference. Get a landscape architect or a garden designer to help you, especially with choosing a tree - because you want a small tree that doesn't have an invasive root system so you're not causing problems for your foundations.
nstomo
5 years ago
I've seen this style of house painted in a really dark grey with a chunky dark grey door with a silver vertical handle which really transforms it. Sorry I don't have the photo though.

How to improve the exterior to our 70's abode!

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How to improve the exterior to our 70's abode!

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