The first thing visitors or passers-by see of your home is its exterior. The interior might be where you spend most of your time, and therefore where you might invest most of your money in decorating, but the exterior of your house is just as important for both curb appeal and for your own enjoyment and satisfaction.
While it might be best for the safety of everyone involved to leave things to a professional, it is possible to renovate your house yourself. In fact, there are some projects that even amateurs can do with enough guidance and information and without much difficulty. So here are some DIY project ideas that you can try the next time your house’s exterior needs a makeover.
Before you start, always make sure that you’ve got all the right tools for it, wear the proper safety gear, inform everyone in the house of your project, and don’t be ashamed to ask for help if you need it. Safety should always be a priority and no amount of renovating is worth putting yourself and your loved ones at risk.
It’s also recommended that you learn basic carpentry skills which will make the process easier and quicker and do your research before starting on a new project if you’ve never done it before. And with that, let’s dive in.
Paint your house’s exterior
Painting the outside of your house is always a good way to start with exterior renovations. Whether you’re giving it a new pristine coat of the same color, or trying out a new shade, painting your house’s walls can drastically change the way it looks. And what’s more, it’s very easy to do it yourself! With very minimal guidance and research, painting your own home has never been any easier and it’s often the first step people think of when they think of renovating their house. If you’ve been looking for the right excuse to get some painting done, here it is.
Replacing your front door
It might sound simple at first, but replacing your front door can often present a challenge. Still, installing a new front door can do wonders to a house’s exterior and is one of the less costly and less time-consuming ways you can upgrade your exterior. If your front door is starting to look worn and like it could be broken down or kicked in easily, you might want to replace it with a newer, sturdier ones.
In addition, the right door could really elevate the way your house looks. Most new doors come in pre-hung frames that certainly lessens the work load on your part. Replacing a door can be tricky, but once you’ve got the hang of it, you can even start slowly replacing all the other doors in your house as well.
Replace your windows
Just as you would replace your front door, replacing or repainting your windows could add to your home’s new look. If you recently replaced your front door or repainted your house, you can also replace your windows to match the rest of your exterior, especially if your old ones no longer fit in with your new design. You might need to be aware of building regulations and also have some level of carpentry skills, but if you’ve managed to replace your front door, then replacing your windows shouldn’t be too daunting a task.
Render your walls
For a much more advanced but also much more rewarding renovation, you can try rendering your walls and giving them a new finish. If you want to completely change parts of your house’s exterior, such as making walls more even or adding texture to them, rendering is the way to go. You can easily buy any kind of wall rendering product, from cement to polymer, in any hardware store, and learning how to do it yourself could be a useful skill to have in the future.
Rendering is not only cosmetic but can also be used in repairs and restoration, such as when you want to cover up shoddy brickwork and the like. As with most home renovations, always have a plan in mind, consult experts if you need to, and be wary of your budget.
