Another Brick in the Wall: What to Consider When Giving Your Property a Facelift

Welcome back to the Velvet Runway and this feature about What to Consider When Giving Your Property a Facelift.

While we can become incredibly preoccupied with just the interiors of our home and just focusing on furnishings and the aesthetics, we must remember that renovating the exterior walls is just as important and can enhance the functionality, improve the overall look, and add value to the property. It is also critical for the overall longevity of your home, which is why you need to prioritise the exterior renovations as much as the interiors. So, what is it that we need to focus on in order to make sure that we can do this properly? Here’s a number of things to bear in mind.

Another Brick in the Wall: What to Consider When Giving Your Property a Facelift

Evaluating the Current State

This is always the best place to begin, and evaluating the current state of the exterior will give you a far better understanding of what you need to fix, but it also gives you a bit more insight into the overall scope of the project.

Conducting an inspection of the wall for signs of damage, for example, cracks, mould, or peeling paint, is one approach, but you also need to assess the condition of the guttering system. Absolutely essential to preventing ongoing water damage, guttering that’s clogged, damaged, or sagging in places will cause water infiltration and can be highly detrimental to the structural integrity of your property.

Because guttering is an essential system for the property’s roof, you need to redirect rainwater away from the walls and the foundation, so ensure that you choose the right materials, companies like clearambershop.com can offer help with guttering, but also look at the size the positioning and how much maintenance is necessary.

Does the Exterior Just Require a Quick Clean?

Because updating the external walls can be a major undertaking, you’ve got to go for the low-hanging fruit first to ensure that you are able to determine what is essential. While the exterior of the property may need massive renovations, this is not always the case. The first thing most people can do after undertaking a thorough examination of their exterior walls is, very simply, to give the bricks or stones a deep cleaning.

If your home looks just a little bit dirty, a pressure washer might be all you need to make a few simple changes, all within a low budget. There are plenty of companies that can help; aliloca.com offers pressure washers, sometimes known as a karcher, and you can rent it rather than invest in one.

A pressure washer can use water, and in some cases, some cleaning products, to penetrate between the brickwork to get rid of that dirt and grime. This will result in an almost instant facelift. When using a pressure washer, be sure to clear the area of anything that could be damaged, as the water is particularly high in pressure.

The general rule of thumb in using them is to start from the top of the wall, working your way down. This means that you can then push any dirt at the very top and gradually let it come away. When you are washing a tall exterior wall, make sure that you are safe first and foremost, especially if you are climbing up a ladder. But when your walls are clean, you’ll have a far better understanding of what you then need to do to progress. If your walls look good enough, then you can leave it be. If not, now you’ll have a far better idea of what you can do to make it look and feel like home.

Repairing Stones and Bricks

Sometimes all your home needs are a few simple swaps. Look at the exterior walls and see if there’s any cracked chips or missing pieces. Because if you’ve got little pockmarks all over your home, repairing some loose pieces with mortar can be all you need.

This is absolutely essential because if these pieces go missing or they’re very loose, this can cause more damage, especially when the autumn and winter weather hits, and comes with more than its fair share of rain! If there’s major damage to your walls, you could replace certain sections with something different, for example, a different style of brick or stone or other materials like siding or wood.

Addressing Your Budget

Any renovation project can be complex, and we must hire professionals who have expertise in exterior renovation to guarantee a successful project. However, if you are determined to do it all yourself, you’ve got to keep a very close eye on your budget. The financial factor can be one of those gross underestimations- we can think that because a small piece of the exterior wall is insignificant it therefore may only cost very little to repair.

It’s always worth preparing yourself by looking at tradesman websites and seeing what the average cost is for fixing a certain part of the wall, roof, or chimney, so you can better prepare yourself. It’s also worth bearing in mind that there can be unexpected expenses throughout the process.

If you’ve moved into a property where there’s been surprise after surprise, you can be in for quite a shock because instantly your budget is stretched beyond its capability. We’ve got to be realistic, but also if we have a builder come and tell us that something needs fixing right away but we don’t have the budget, we’ve got to determine if we can realistically pay for this, or are they using scare tactics so they can get more money out of this?

Unfortunately, it’s one of those things that we really need to weigh up, and the only true way to determine if you can trust the tradesperson is if they can be recommended by others.

Final Thoughts on Another Brick in the Wall: What to Consider When Giving Your Property a Facelift

Renovating the exterior walls of the property is a significant undertaking. But while there’s a lot to bear in mind, the equation to do it effectively is about careful planning and consideration. You may want to improve kerb appeal or safeguard it for longevity purposes, but needless to say, an exterior renovation is always a worthwhile investment.

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