Exterior renovation – Water and rodent damage

This home had some exterior damage and water issues that needed to be repaired. Since the owner traveled frequently, she wanted a qualified professional remodeler she could trust to get the work done efficiently even when she wasn’t in town.

Palmer’s Project Goals and Challenges

• We wanted to visually unify the house, which had many layers of siding that had been applied over the years.
• A window air conditioning unit was a cause of concern. A squirrel had moved into the wall below the unit, causing leaks and allowing excess water to funnel down the unit supports directly into areas where it would damage the exterior and interior framing.

Solutions

• We began by removing all the various layers of vinyl, laminate siding and rotted wood that had been covered up by the home’s previous owner and installed new HardiPlank square edge siding. Maurene, our designer, helped the homeowner select attractive colors and we repainted the exterior of the entire house, including the brick.
• We stripped all the gutters, removed the aluminum fascia and replaced them with new large 6” gutters and downspouts.
• We evicted the squirrel, and repaired the water damage caused by the leaking unit.
• We then created custom shutters and replaced the existing front door unit.
• When it came to the design of the front porch, the homeowner wanted to remain consistent with the style of the neighborhood. She took pictures of homes she liked as she was walking around, and I then designed the front porch to borrow from those she liked and to coordinate with the style of the house. (The placement of the existing dormers made fitting the porch in a challenge, but the end result looks as if it was always a part of the home.)
• To update the home and increase its efficiency, we replaced all windows with remodeler sash packs, and in some cases, we replaced the entire window units with brand new, efficient vinyl models.
• There were some roofing issues as well, but the homeowner’s budget would not allow her to put in a new roof. Once our roofer examined the roof, he discovered that it had extensive hail damage. She was thus able to get her entire roof replaced through her insurance, which prevented further damage and made the house look much better.
• There were several additional repairs we completed while we were on site. What the homeowner thought was a loose step in rear deck staircase actually fell apart when we were removing it. We discovered that all the wood in contact with the ground had rotted out. We replaced the rotted wood and she now has a much safer rear deck.
• We had a plumber repair several leaking toilets as he was removing a wet bar in a closet that eventually will be replaced with more functional open shelves.
• The homeowner had four dated globe lights hanging in the kitchen that we were able to replace with more functional recessed lights. Fortunately, we were able to place the new lights in the same spots as the old fixtures, without having to redo texture or sheetrock.
• Thanks to our experience working with long-distance clients, we were able to efficiently coordinate with and communicate with our client despite her frequent business trips, and she was thankful to have someone who could take care of her project when she was not there.
• In all, the project took just 7 weeks to complete and was finished on time and on budget.
• The result is that the home has a completely new exterior done correctly with rot-resistant materials.