Thanks millworkman. I am not sure where you got the 75k number from. Our budget for this project is 15 - 20k and we feel that some increase in curb appeal will help make a good first impression and match the level of finishing on the interior. Many homes in our area have invested in updating their exteriors and landscaping. We would welcome any color and material suggestions within our budget.

Are you selling right away? If so, don't change the siding. Make your house an "as is" sale, and let the next owner invest in the exterior if they want to.

We aren't in a rush. We anticipate selling in 2 - 3 years. Trades people in our region are already booking into next summer so we want to get a plan together this Fall and have work done next year. Our design choices will be based on future resale rather than what one might do if staying longterm.

Priority is to make the house sound and in good repair; that would include repairing the issue with the garage by replacing the sagging lintel. The back side of the house without the shutters looks so much better with your single pane windows. Too bad the front and back windows are not the same color. Fading is one thing, cracked and deteriorating is another. Major paint companies do make paint for vinyl. Consider removing the shutters and painting all the siding in a new color, taking the roof color into consideration as well as brick and stone.

"Thanks millworkman. I am not sure where you got the 75k number from. Our budget for this project is 15 - 20k"

Have you gotten a quote from a siding installer as of yet? I may be high, but I think you will find your budget low.

Great ideas! We would like to remove the shutters to update the look but not sure what we will find in discolration of the vinyl behind shutters and would have to deal with holes left behind. If we plan on paining the siding we could cover up both issues.

We agree with making things sound and in good repair. We will definitely be repairing the lintel. We anticipate that all the brick will need to come down to fix it. We see this as an opportunity to put something back up that enhances the house. Do you have any suggestions?

Any color ideas for siding and/or brick?

Millworkman, thanks again for offering input! We wouldn't redo the siding, just paint it or maybe reclad the front facade with a stone veneer and leave the sides and back as is. Doing the whole house in stone cladding would definitely be out of our budget. Cheapest solution would likely be to paint the brick, shutters and around front windows but no idea what colors to go with.

IMO, replacing the stone with cladding would help narrow down the color options. If you were staying there, I'd suggest James Hardie cement board for siding. It may be too expensive for the real estate market.Try to match the style of the siding you have, and just paint it. I wouldn't touch the brick. I think staying with the sage tones would look nice with the brick.

Poppleton Park, Birmingham, MI Exterior Makeover · More Info

If you are planning on re cladding only the front brick…I would say NO. At MOST, I would would suggest repainting your front vinyl to match the back of your home. Remove the shutters, too. Your windows are single pane. Are they in good shape? They lean modern. I would go in that direction for any “improvements” for resale. That would mean in landscaping and minor changes (after you match color in the front and back of your home).

Thanks ptreckel. Interesting idea of just repainting the faded vinyl to bring it back to its original sage. Definitely a cheaper solution if we can match the colour. Could maybe get away with just doing the front and side that gets lots of sun and is visible from the street. I would like to remove the shutters and by painting we could cover up the holes. The windows are in good shape other than the faded trim so we could paint them white to match the back. We will give it some thought.

Hi decoenthusiaste, I may have misunderstood you. Are you suggesting we replace the stone by the front door with siding that matches the upper floor?

Yes, that's what I would do. The stone just doesn't cut it for me and seems to be the issue with finding the right colors for the warm brick. Replacing it with siding that brings the second story color to the entry, and garage door would work better, IMO.

The least amount of change is the most return on money spent. Landscaping and a good paint job, with maintenance attended to, is the best route here. Don't make large expensive changes that make the home appear worse.

Thanks decoenthusiaste, Also an intersting idea. I agree the stone by the front door isn't the nicest. It has some pink/peach tones that we don't really like.

Thanks for your input Floored You: TileDesigners, Definitely don't want to make look worse! lol

We are in the process of getting a landscape design done. Going to get rid of the ungly concrete walk and front porch and use more neutral colours in the replacement hardscapes. Before we select our hardscape materials we want to have a plan for the house that will tie everything together.

The idea of renovating for resale is generally a negative investment. For every dollar you spend expect to get a return of 50 cents.

So how much do you really want to gift the new owner and how much do you want to keep in your pocket for the next house?

You must do any repairs that are needed and must make the home look and feel as though it has been well maintained. Paint is your best friend right now - makes everything look fresh and new - costs very little in comparison to most other options.

Don't paint the brick or the stone. If a buyer comes along that doesn't like the brick they can paint it. If a buyer comes along who doesn't like painted brick they can't unpaint it. You will lose buyers.

I got a home inspection 2 years before selling and then had the same guy come out right before selling and inspect again. Fixed everything that an inspector is likely to find,

Have everything trimmed and mulched and if your selling in the spring/summer add some inexpensive annuals to add color and fill in any spaces that are not great.

Hard trimming now gives the plants time to recover and get some new growth over the next year or two till you sell.

I would paint the small area in stone the same colour as the siding and remove all the shutters.

Here are my suggestions - just with paint...

Thanks for doing the drawing lisedv! I am better with visuals. Appreciate your ideas and time to reply.

Hi Jennifer, Thanks for the advice. Good point about not being able to go back, should we paint the brick and future buyers not like it. The primary reason why we are willing to spend some money on the exterior and landscaping is that it is overdue and would not show well as is. We've been meaning to do it for some time but when the pandemic hit we put our plans on hold because we were so busy and didn't need to pay a premium to get the work done quickly. Sad to be doing it for someone else to enjoy but as you stated we want the home to look well maintained. Selling as is, would not only decrease the selling price but shrink the pool of potential buyers who are willing to take on these projects. Our neighborhood has been slow to turn over. Still have a few original owners who haven't done much to their homes. In the past 5 - 6 years we've had more owner turnover and the new owners have been updating their 1970s homes. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the sale price of the renovated homes compared to ones that haven't been updated. The price difference is far greater than the investment we plan to spend or would be required to compete. We just want to make design choices that keep the pool of buyers as large as possible.

Landscape, landscape, landscape. I guess paint if the house color looks faded, and as you say, you need to for the maintenance.