The old saying goes, “never judge a book by its cover”, yet, most of us are guilty of judging a home by its curb appeal, including its siding. Homes reflect character, however, what’s outside your home may be telling a very different tale than those who are dwelling in it. How do you want your story to read?
Homeowners don’t want a one size fit all, cookie-cutter home. We want our personalities reflected through some part of the exterior of our homes. There’s more than just building in character in charm, you need to consider stormy weather. Weather can be vicious and destructive.
It’s time to add character and charm to your home, and to plan for stormy, vicious weather, all while giving your home personality. Personality will be complimented by the ultimate in aesthetics as well as storm-worthy strength in-performance. Both go hand in hand.
How To Add Character And Charm To The Exterior Of Your Home
Let’s just say for the sake of argument, that a major storm swept through last evening. Now is the time to look at the exterior of your home for storm safety. Then let’s couple that up with adding character and charm to the exterior of your home and you might be doing a light renovation.
Many of us focus on making a house a home, but don’t focus on the reality of making our home loaded with exterior character rather appeal. Stop that now. Change it all easily!
While storms can be frightening and certainly rather loud, the damage they’re able to do to your property should be your number one concern. It’s not just because it may end up costing you a lot more than you budgeted for, though, as a loose roof shingle easily could come off at the gust of wind and hurt somebody else.
Let’s Start With Safe-Proofing Your Home
There’s nothing worse than imaging destruction to your home is there? You want to believe that the four walls that surround you like a warm blanket are indestructible, but you have to make them that way. Unless you worked with your builder from the beginning to alleviate storm proofing you home, this part of safe-proofing has not yet been accomplished.
Here are a couple of clever tips to get you started with safe-proofing your home right away. It just makes it a bit easier to lean back and put your feet up while the storm is causing mayhem outside.
Storm Safety From The Doors Out
Remember the story of the 3 little pigs and the wolf? Well, think of the wolf’s warning, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your door down!” Think of this like bad wind in bad weather.
While it’s bad enough to have your front door blown out by the weather, it can actually cause a lot more damage to your home as the wind will funnel upwards and may even push your roof off if it’s strong enough. That wolf did not have the lung capacity for that, but storms have it!
What do we do to get ahead of the storm, or so to speak? Let’s concentrate first on sealing off doors and windows. Make sure that the strong wind has no way of entering your home. Your main source of this is the entrance door and your windows are not just sealed off but also strong enough to withstand the pressure of the wind.
Do not forget to add on a storm door, which adds a great bit of life to the exterior and a tad of character too. When you remove the glass you can add a screen which is perfect for sunny and beautiful days! Bonus points because a screen door/storm door adds character and charm to the exterior of the house!
To Do List
Reinforce the hinges, for example, or add an extra bolt to the door where it meets the floor. If you’re preparing for a particularly strong storm, it’s a good idea to reinforce your entrance door with a steel sheet.(that is something you need to keep in the garage for storm time!)
You can do this yourself. DIY things like this just take simple tools, and you need to keep a stash charged and ready to go!
Garage Doors
Don’t forget your garage door which is another entrance the outside world. If this is too weak, you risk seeing some proper damage to your vehicle so have a look at getting stronger garage doors if yours is rather outdated – or you could consider reinforcing this one as well.
More On The Front Door
Accent your door areas differently than your mainframe to achieve a cohesive, functional design that is distinctly your own. You need to put the right materials towards the exterior frame, and I am sharing that as well.
It’s important to create strength in all areas, and while the doors are now storm ready, they are only as good as the walls that support them, right?
Mother Natures is a beast that needs to be tamed or she can destroy the exterior charm and look of your home. When she shares her wrath, everything from UV to extreme temperature swings might maim your siding. Truth be told, you need to be ahead of Mother Nature and contain her reign!
Moisture, humidity, rain, sleet, snow, freezing temperatures, and sunshine all take part in changing your exterior. If you are a person that wants to do it right the first time or correct what is done, then read on!
Performance & Durability – Start Here
When you take a look at the exterior of your home what is taking away from it? Is it old siding that is a mess? What do you see? Is there warping, color loss (fading) or maybe even some serious cracks in it?
Your product of choice needs to withstand the test of time. It needs to be durable, warp proof, and have a 100% warranty., Yes this exists, and not in a fairy-tale world.
What you are seeking is a siding that offers the ultimate in aesthetics and performance. You crave siding with exceptional color consistency, finish adhesion and fade resistance! Why? Because you simply do not want to have to go through siding your home again. Once and done is the way to go! Get the exterior right once you know how
Traditional Does Not Work Here
Our world is changing. The weather is the fiercest we have seen and products on the market have been upgraded and modified to reflect and meet the harsh weather. You want the best of the best for the exterior of your home.
That means saying NO to vinyl siding! Look for products that contain no vinyl. Push the boundaries and require your siding product to be sustainable, termite resistance, as well as resistant to fungal decay.
Considering that you can seek and find this right now, are you ready to make that change? Moisture from storms just eats siding up, and there’s more. We have shopped a lot for products and learned so much, I just feel compelled to share with you!
Get The Right Product
You want fiber cement products because they are tougher than the elements! The products all stand up to intense storms and ever increasing harsh weather. Also seek out fiber cement products because they are water-resistant which protect against swelling, warping and cracking.
Water can also lead to mold and guess what? The products resist mold! Last but not least, all products are fire resistant. All you have to do is have it installed and suddenly your exterior appearance is charming and full of character. And it promises to stay that way!
Let’s Top It Off With Color & Visual Aesthetics
The hardest part of any home decision is getting the color right. Fortunately, color products are created. and over time most of the newer products on the market don’t fade. Colors are now baked onto the board for superior color consistency and finish adhesion. Simple, easy and fabulous,.
Aesthetics – The Final Piece To Charm!
With plank lap siding, or shingle siding or panel vertical siding, you have the design versatility to achieve a look that’s distinctly your own. Consider mixing profiles to add visual interest and accentuate your homes most inviting features.
Perhaps you’d like to frame the door area one way and use a different design on the rest of the front? Mixing things up is what creates the eye to move, and enjoy. Visually pleasing concepts happen with differentiation and you also lose that cookie-cutter look we all dislike!
Don’t Forget To Check The Warranty
Look for a siding that offers at least a 15 year warranty. Some of the better siding companies offer 100%. Charm and character are easily achieved by using the right brand of siding, mixing profiles to add visual interest and of course beautiful color. You got this!
The Exterior Of The Home
Your busy adding charm and character to your home and you are weatherproofing it, but you can not forget the exterior weather-proofing either. The roof is another concern.
Hire someone to inspect your roof quickly or at least had a look at it yourself if you’re experienced with climbing these kinds of heights. It’s not just your roof which may go flying if it’s not strong enough. Roofs do need to be replaced so have yours checked, before you get into that storm season.
Don’t Forget Outside Furniture
When you live in a nice climate, you spend time outside and you should. However, this means you have a collection of free-to-fly objects. Garden furniture, kids’ toys and even that expensive BBQ Grill all can be be damaged or end up damaging someone unless you take care of it.
The key to this is, of course, to just be attentive and don’t leave a single bicycle behind as you prepare for the storm ahead. Make sure items are collected and stored properly in that garage door you just reinforced. Keep control.
Now that you have added character and charm to both the exterior and interior of your home, it’s time to relax! As a homeowner you have done what is in your control. Still in need of more homeowner tips? Check out how to increase curb appeal. ~Dana XO
Dana is a lifestyle writer. Through DIY, vast travel experiences and spending a lot of time in coastal areas, and warmer climate areas. She has a wealth of insider tips to help those out who have not considered some of these tips! This post contains affiliate links, which means danavento.com may receive a commission on the sale if you use the link to make your purchase. This does not change the price of the product. This income directly offsets the cost of web hosting and maintenance so we greatly appreciate your support. The links help you find the best of the best, have fun shopping!