Mid Terrace Exterior Help
Andrew
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
Hi there,
I am in the process of buying my first home which is a mid terrace house. The house is lovely, however the external of the house is really lacking. Weirdly the back of the house looks quite attractive. Is there anything I can do to the front of the house to give it more character and to give it more kerb appeal?
So far I've been thinking about addressing the following:
- Changing the colour of the door to either sage green or black
- Updating the driveway so it's grey or charcoal
- Installing a canopy above the door, not sure about the size or shape of this
- Installing a hanging basket with plants
Here are photos of the front and back for context
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Comments (14)
Andrew
2 months agoRelated Discussions
Ideas for our mid terraced garden
Comments (9)Start with the basics of where the sun goes (Aspect) and how you'd like to use the space e.g dining table, loungers, space for kids or a grown up sanctuary and so on. Then look at practical considerations such as creating privacy/blocking views you don't want (for example the houses to the rear right), and pay attention to the boundaries - your walls and trellis look like they need a makeover - so remember to factor this into your budget (and I'd consider painting the 'man cave' :)If your existing patios at each end are staying as they are, you could consider making the middle section a mix of planting and paths (ditch the lawn idea altogether) with some seating mixed in (unless you lave kids that need to kick stuff about of course. Or pop in some raised beds to create some change of level interest. If you're not engaging a designer then definitely mark out your plot on graph paper and sketch out some ideas. By the way if you want fruit trees, think about espaliered trees etc which are great space savers - but you need to pick your sunniest spot....See MoreAdvice needed - kitchen and living layout w extension, mid-terrace
Comments (18)Been thinking about this one overnight:- ( i have a sad life! all say ahh ) You do not have to have a window to call it a habitable room, however, I believe there is a building control requirement for the room to be vented through another, check that out. So, in short, yes the bedroom could be moved and not have 'windows' . I don't know the arrangement of the wall top left that goes in to the garden area, but bear with me. ............ would it be better to have a separate Galley kitchen? I would prefer so. Is there a possibility of a window far top left? A stud wall only takes up 4" so not a great deal of space, plus it would make the lounge / diner look a lot nicer without seeing the kitchen on view permanently & of course you get a longer kitchen run. ( I think the proposed one is too small ). Plus you gain a wall to the lounge area, always handy for furniture placement, as this is what is lost in an open plan arrangement. I also changed the bathrooms round as previously suggested, and had the entrance in the hallway for the second one. Please bear in mind as a said before:- Not to scale - don't have dimensions as had to guess, but on the face of it, likely do'able. I like running plans through estate agents...........ones that I know well and trust as I know they'll give me their honest opinion on what would infinitely give a better price on re-sale. Contained living and dining with separate kitchens, good sized bedrooms etc. So do ask one. Estate agents are handy, they will want you to get more for the property because, if they smell a sale, they get more commission! Roughly where i was going with this after some sleep!Of course, if you still want to go open plan with the living / dining/ kitchen, then lose the top wall and maybe consider a door system to open and close for entertaining purposes - No doors, fully open plan .with doors!...See MoreTired 3 bed 1900's terrace. How can I make the exterior look nice?
Comments (18)Hi I’m also a developer/PRL, and the best price of advice I was given when I was starting out was to remember that on low to mid range profit projects (if not all projects) controlling your spending is the most important thing to remember, and every £ you spend is a £ less profit. I too hate uPVC windows and would not have them on my own home, but many people do like them and see them as a positive when it comes to buying/selling – just look at the houses either side of your house, and I assume along the whole of the street; people do like them! With my developer head on I would suggest that you try to work with what you already have - clean the uPVC frames inside and out with a solvent based professional cleaner, these really shift dirt and marks, and to a certain extent make scratches less noticeable as it removes the ingrained dirt. Replace the interior handles – new ones can be found online at around £1.99 each if you bulk buy. Replace any worn seals with a new universal fitting seal (approx £16 for 20m). If any of the windows are blown/misted, look at replacing the sealed glazed unit instead of the whole window, again the sealed units can be found quite cheaply online. With regards to your porch, it looks like it is integrated with the front window, so removing it would be a time consuming and costly job, so I would leave it as is and possibly look at just replacing the outer door, ideally one with a glazed panel to give a bit more light. I know you said you don't like uPVC doors, however, composite doors are more expensive. As you won't be living there does it really matter if you install a white uPVC door, as long it is the most tasteful and least offensive one you can find. An alternative would be to install fully glazed French doors with both sides opening, which would possibly mean that the doors can open inwards. All of these can be bought online and be fitted yourself – however, you will need to check if you will require a FENSA certificate issuing for the work, otherwise this could cause issues when you come to sell. I wouldn't advise painting the uPVC, as it is really difficult to obtain a good finish, and nothing looks worse than poorly finished paintwork either inside or outside. As others have said, remove the nets, put up some nice curtains (these can be removed and reused on other projects), don't worry regarding privacy, as again you will not be living there, and it will allow more light into the room. If the privacy angle does bother you, you can always put a plain white voile (costs around £2 per m, and a couple of £ for the rod) up at the window with little or no fullness, which gives a more modern, less fussy finish. I would move the dustbins to the rear of the property, and put a couple of large pots in the front garden – I tend to use Olive trees as they can be shaped and don't mind too much if they aren't watered regularly – these can also be removed and used on other projects. Hope this helps – and good luck for the future!...See MoreSmall mid terrace extension
Comments (6)Hi Tanya, It may be possible to add a 4th bedroom upstairs but it would be dependant on several factors such as whether or not the property has full permitted development rights or whether it is situated on designated land (conservation area etc...). Even if it did have full permitted development rights to create a two-storey rear extension the depth of the extension (measured from the original rear wall of the property) would be limited to a maximum of 3m. Also you wouldn't be able to build within 2m of the side boundaries if you were building up to two-storey as there is a 3m height limit on the eaves height if you're within 2m of the boundary. Given its a mid-terrace house this would really limit the width of the extension. See link below for more guidance on this..... https://interactive.planningportal.co.uk/mini-guide/extensions-two-storey/0 Have you thought about adding a bedroom via a loft conversion? Do you have any idea how headroom there is in the loft?...See Moreminnie101
2 months agoI agree it needs greenery. The style of door doesn’t sit well imo. I would change it for something along the lines of the style of the grey one in pic 2 but a more contemporary one in any case.
If you go for a porch, I’d do a flat roof. Another houzzer has just posted their house with what I assume is the original (hope they don’t mind me adding it!). I would look for ones like I’ve added, not necessaily in those materials but the shape, nor the size of some but I had to screenshot rather than add the link!
perhaps in time upgrade the windows and drive but depends on the budget
Andrew thanked minnie101Andrew
2 months ago@rinked I like your left hand border idea. That would create a natural separation between the neighbouring house. I wouldn't go as far in turning it all into a garden, as the road is small and narrow with nowhere to park.
I used my very basic photoshop skills to mock something up. The addition of a simple planter along the left hand side already makes things look a bit better. It's a start.
Anna G
2 months agoAndrew
2 months agoAndrew
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Angie
2 months agoAndrew
2 months ago
Jonathan