1970s ranch update -
james lemay
3 years ago
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3 years agoAmanda Smith
3 years agoRelated Discussions
1970's ranch with little curb appeal
Comments (28)Your house is nice looking. It does need better landscaping. More on that later. As viewed from the street your roof is prominent. That means you can't go cheap on roofing. What you have now is not attractive. I don't know how many more years it will last but when it needs replaced I suggest architectural shingles in a darker shade.It will make a big difference. At that time you could replace the gutters on the front. They just don't look right. If you think you might make changes to the roof line that would be the time to do it. Actually I do not suggest making changes of that sort unless done for a functional reason. It is not a cost with good return on investment. Looking at your stoop I have to wonder how risky it is to change the bulb in the outdoor light. It needs to be wider as mentioned above. A path to the door would be very appealing. It looks like you live in a semi rural area with no sidewalks. How often would the path be used? You will have to decide if it is worth spending the money. I would make an enlarged stoop a priority over the path. What you have now is small enough to look ridiculous. It looks like you have some nice plants. They are not placed well and are possibly too close the the house. Relocate them spacing as suggested by Yardvaark earlier. Perennials will help the bed look more filled in while the shrubs take the time to grow. Some conifers grow slowly. Don't plant shrubs in front of the stoop or next to the steps. Shrubs need room to grow and you don't want them crowding the entrance. It would be worth investigating the cost of a retaining wall on the left side so the lawn could be more level. In the example above I am picturing the top terrace as being your lawn. Here is another area with a patio on the higher tier and lawn in the lower tier. You would have real steps instead of the silly bits of lawn. ^last one You might want to remove the lawn from the area nearest the road. It looks dangerous to mow and would be more attractive with ground cover which can include prostrate shrubs. Here is an image I borrowed from another site. It looks to me as if you could get a wider door and have a solid window to the left of it as opposed to a prefab sidelight. In doing so the door is much closer to being centered. What you have now is nice in my opinion and suits the house. I only suggest if it really bothers you that the gable is not centered. I am not a skilled artist so my mock up is very basic. I see that I did not make the stoop wide enough. It should extend equally from center and I know a handrail is needed too. If no one else mentioned it, a larger light fixture would be a big improvement. It looks like you just have an exposed bulb right now. On the right side I have two recommendations. First that you plant a tree that will stay smallish about 15 feet off the corner of the house. I would also suggest a row of broad leaf evergreens to eventually screen the view of the neighbor on that side.They came out looking columnar which I am not suggesting. Choose any shape you like. Do not add dormers. Do not paint the brick. Do not watch Fixer Upper....See MoreSeeking opinions on new flooring type/install
Comments (10)I looked at the patchwork quilt that is your subfloor (I used the other link...thanks for that). To do this 'right' (as in you NEVER have to do it again...ever!), you get the nasty subflooring up...completely up. If that means getting down to the joists and building up again, that's fine. Bite the bullet and do it. My question is: the hardwoods that I saw in the other link - are they still in the house? Or did you rip them out? If they have been left in place, I would find a species/cut/width/thickness match (should NOT be difficult...they look pretty regular) and then run the rest of the house with the match. Once installed you can then have all the floors refinished at the same time (assuming the existing wood is solid and refinishable). BTW: In your original post I spotted a lot of water damage on the kitchen ceiling. Has that been addressed?...See Moreneed help with flooring prep!
Comments (7)I have to live there so least amount of work isn't my biggest concern. lol No one around here currently has any 5/8" underlayment available. So my two options to match the 5/8" underlayment in the living room is either 5/8 cdx or 5/8 advantech. The advantec is t&g. I am pretty sure I will be doing hardwood or similar nail down flooring. I am looking for the best final result without ripping up anymore subfloor. I can't add felt between subfloor and underlayment unless I rip up the 5/8 underlayment in the living room....See MoreFront door advice for 1970s NC Ranch?
Comments (4)Unless you're changing the windows, stick with something closer to their style. If your door color were a few shades darker in sage green tones and the shutters matched, it would be quite pretty. Get a handle on the landscaping too. Don't paint the brick. Here's a combo that is VERY popular on Houzz, although the green colors have never really been nailed down well....See Morejames lemay
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