Kerb Appeal – Why It Matters

For some homeowners, the bulk of their energy goes into maintaining, designing and primping the interior of their home alone. The exterior is often sadly neglected and forgotten.

This is a huge mistake because kerb appeal isn’t something that only matters when you’re putting your home on the market. It matters all year round.

Well maintained homes cost less over time because things are less likely to deteriorate. Break-ins are significantly less likely to happen if a home looks well managed because intruders are generally put off by the presence of outdoor lighting and well-trimmed bushes and shrubs.

If your home looks beautiful on the outside, it will have more appeal locally should you ever decide to sell and maintaining the exterior of your home isn’t as much work as you might think.

Sort out the bigger issues first

By “bigger issues” we mean doors, windows, guttering and canopies. These are the “features” of your home’s exterior and if they’re worn, rusty, rotten or in need of a paint-job then it stands to reason that your home won’t be looking its best.

Replacing doors and windows might seem like a big expense but in actual fact it is a sound investment. Your doors and windows need to be in top condition in order to effectively do their jobs…that is to let in the light, provide access and at the same time ensure that the elements don’t sneak inside your home and create damp issues.

Once you have these basic elements in place, you will find that it’s simply to primp up the rest.

Adding plants

Even if you’re not much of a gardener and prefer to have a paved front garden, don’t forget how much appeal some simple pots and planters can add to the exterior of your home.

Keep things small if you find gardening too difficult; add window boxes if your home is a traditional or heritage property and you will immediately increase kerb appeal.

Outdoor lighting

Choose stylish but functional lighting – sensor lights are good if you live in an area which has a low amount of foot traffic, but beware of this if you have a small front garden with lots of foot traffic passing by; you don’t need a flickering light disturbing your peace at night.

Solar lights are cheap and effective and can look wonderful in the garden of a contemporary home. All you need to do in terms of maintenance is clean them now and then and ensure they’re charging efficiently.

Invest in new doors and windows

Remember, the importance of kerb appeal is far outweighed by the importance of your home being warm, secure and draft free, especially during the winter months.

New doors and windows aren’t a luxury but a necessity and once you’ve made the initial outlay, you will be able to rest safe in the knowledge that your property is well cared for.

If you are thinking of changing your soffits, fascias or bargeboards, it might be a good time to look at new guttering, especially if you currently have metal guttering which can cause soffits, fascias and bargeboards to deteriorate faster.

For answers to any questions you may have about the issues raised here,  get in touch to speak to one of our friendly and knowledgeable team members.

Categorised in: Bargeboards, Soffits & Fascias

This post was written by Summit Cladding