As if all the blue and mauve trim on the inside of the house isn’t enough, we had some outside trim that needed some attention. When we bought this house we knew we had four major things to deal with: the roof and the furnace, a few bad trees, and this last bear: some rotting areas of siding and trim that needed to be replaced along with a fresh paint job for the whole house. But at least we knew about all of them going into the house purchase (and the first two didn’t end up draining our wallets) – so maybe that softened the blow a little? Speaking of soft, I give you… our siding.
This hole was big enough for a bat or a mouse to crawl in. I’ll pause while you ewwww for a second.
Some of the wood trim and siding just couldn’t be salvaged and would need to be completely replaced. And the rest of it was in desperate need of a cleaning, scraping, priming, and two fresh coats of paint to protect it from rotting like the other stuff that was already too far gone. Given the extent of the rot, the sheer size of the project, and the fact that a lot of it was high off the ground, we knew it was a job for the pros. So we got four estimates and ultimately chose the crew that made us feel the most confident, who was a local chain called Certa Pro Painters. It didn’t hurt that they were recommended by a neighbor up the street along with a wish-she-was-our-neighbor friend of ours. They also were the most flexible (which enabled us to save an extra 1k by doing some things ourselves, but more on that later).
After picking who to go with, it was color picking time. We decided that we wanted the trim to be one color and the siding to be another color, just so the house had a little more dimension. We didn’t hate the existing cream on cream trim and siding, but we did love a few other possibilities more, especially after walking around the neighborhood and staring at other brick colonials to see what they had going on. So after a whole lotta house-gawking, we came home and stared at our paint deck.
We decided we liked the idea of a putty color (not too brown, and not too gray – sort of right in the middle) since that tone is kind of “related” to the brick, so it ties in. We waffled back and forth between the two colors with the red arrow in that top swatch for a while and finally settled on the lighter one because we worried the darker one might be gloomy for the siding. Then for the windowsills and trim we picked a nice not-too-yellow-and-not-too-blue white tone.
Spoiler alert: we picked the wrong color and should have gone with the darker one for the siding. But thankfully we caught it early enough (just as the first coat was starting to go up) that they were happy to apply the darker tone as the second coat, which had great coverage since it was only a shade darker. So this is the final choice. Pretty, right?
It’s such a rich look, and because the brick is such a visually “weighty” color, it’s a really nice balance. The lighter color was so washed out it almost still looked cream – or even like a soft white. So… disaster averted!
See how the triangle over the portico looks like it’s a soft whispy white-ish color? That was just one square lighter on that swatch (yet it looked about three shades lighter when the light hit it!). You can see Danny applying the final color right over it, which really helped the white trim pop more while holding its own with the strong brick and the dark shutters behind it. Whew.
The process was actually pretty fun to watch (we didn’t envy them for a second up on those crazy ladders for five days in 90+ degree temperatures). The first step was power-washing the entire house, then they scraped the trim and siding before priming anything that was raw wood, and painting everything (two coats for the siding and trim, and one coat around the windows since they were just going from cream to white). If the wood/siding was in bad shape, they cut it out and replaced it. In the end, they had cut out and repaired about 20 pieces of rotten siding and trim, so it broke down to one day of power washing, two days of rot repair and scraping, and two days of priming/painting.
As for the paint, they used Duration by Sherwin Williams, which they said was awesome for the exterior and had really nice thick coverage (so we’re glad our house won’t be all sad and rotten again anytime soon). The colors we ended up going with were Snowbound (for the white trim) and Anonymous (for the putty colored siding).
We’re so happy with it. And we’ll never doubt those house painting tipsters again when that say “go a shade darker than you think for the exterior of a house since the light that hits it will wash things out.” We really thought we could just look at the swatches outside, but it was crazy how light/white that very clearly gray-brown swatch looked once it was up on the house! Three cheers for second chances. Oh man, we’re so thankful.
Here’s what the house looked like when we got it:
And here it is (a little closer) now. More dimensional, right? So much less… brown.
The new roof was definitely a game changer, but the fresh paint is a pretty noticeable upgrade too. Even just the white trim around the windows and the porch railing feels nice and fresh from the curb. It’s one of those things when we drive down the street to come home we’re still doing that double take since our brains are taking a second to catch up with the current look.
Here’s the back before, which we thought made the siding part on the top right look a little too light and unbalanced (gah, choppy photo, sorry!):
Now it just feels more evenly weighted, so it sticks out less and looks more integrated.
And here’s a closer shot that shows how the sunroom looked when it was all cream before.
Now it has a crisper feeling, and the dark storm windows on the house tie into the dark tones in the brick as well as the putty color in the siding – so the sunroom feels more tied in and less like a little add-on-pop-out in the back.
When it comes to the cost of rot repair/house painting, that definitely varies depending on where you live, how much rot you have, what type of house it is (mostly brick or all siding), how large your house is, etc. The receipt’s in one of our moving chaos piles (aka: lost in the Bermuda Triangle) but I think it was around 1K for all of the wood rot repair and over 2K for the scraping and painting. Update: Just remembered we got 10% off because John’s a member of ACAC, so any locals getting an estimate should show their membership card if they have one!
Writing the check was another one of those bleeding money moments, but we were able to knock 1K off their original estimate by offering to DIY some easier-to-reach spots ourselves that we had faith we could do well. So here’s a tip for anyone who loves tackling what they can while leaving the stuff that’s out of their league to the experts: just break it all down in your head and see what you think you can bite off. We said “hey, we’ll gladly paint three areas ourselves!” which are: the garage doors (we think we’ll go a tone darker than the siding with those)…
… the interior walls, trim, and ceiling of the sunroom (everyone quoted that since it’s technically an outdoor room), and the front door and sidelights.
Not only did that save us a cool grand, it means we have more time to think about what colors we want in those areas. Predictably, I’m the most excited about a new front door color. Nothing’s off limits. Seriously, every swatch in the rainbow is in the running.
One roof-related casualty did occur when we accidentally ran over a screw that had landed in our driveway, but thankfully it was only a $29 fix (we could get it patched instead of replacing it) so all’s well that ends well.
Oh home improvement. You take our money and sometimes you even flatten our tires, but we keep crawling back.
Kristin says
LOVE the colors!! I’m crazy about grey and even grey-bluish houses now. Can I ask what kind of siding you have? I thought you could only paint over wood and not vinyl siding. Am I wrong? If so this opens a world of possibilities!!
YoungHouseLove says
Ours is hardboard, so it’s sort of a wood-like composite. I don’t think you can paint vinyl, but I’m not sure.
xo
s
Kate says
Sure you can. We had some vinyl siding painted at my house.
Diane says
On a similiar subject… Painting question… I painted my front door last summer. We find that the door “sticks” when we open it. It even took some of the paint off the side that is up against the weather stripping. I used a semi-gloss. I’m anticipating that you may paint your front door soon so not sure if you can give any advice on this when you do. Thanks for letting us read about all the exciting updates to your new home!
Kathryn says
This post from their last front door make-over might help in the mean time. https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/08/old-yeller/
Faith@The Stirring Place says
Great tips! Our next house will most likely be a fixer and I’m taking all the notes I can on how to minimize our headaches (where possible).
Ariana says
Love the second coat color. Perfect putty- not too gray. Color me crazy but I am thinking a light blue for the door?
YoungHouseLove says
I love blue too!
xo
s
Julie says
I love the color of your siding. Ours is very similar, and definitely makes the white trim pop. We have stone on the front of our house, not brick, so I painted our front door black last year. I’m not crazy about it. I can’t wait to see what color you pick for your front door. I need some inspiration!
Ariana says
I am slow chanting: Light blue door! Light blue door! Light blue door!
YoungHouseLove says
I do love a slow chant…
xo
s
Ashley says
Y’all need to slow down or else the house will be finished by winter!!! It looks fantastic! :o)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! Well now that we have those four urgent inspection items ticked off the list we’re looking forward to taking our time to figure out what the heck we wanna do inside! And peeling some wallpaper and painting blue trim until our bank account comes back to life.
xo
s
marjo says
Anonymous is a fabulous color! I painted a picket fence Anonymous so it would blend with the neighboring weathered privacy fencing.
Congrats on knowing when to call in the pros.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Marjo! Love the idea of it on a fence!
xo
s
Alyssa M says
I painted my parents’ house for book money one summer during college. I’m sure they were happy to keep the cash in the family, and I appreciated having the work before my life-guarding job started, but it took a LONG time to scrape, prime, and paint two coats. Looking forward I would definitely do smaller exterior jobs myself (and I’m happy to hear your tip about negotiating in this way), but having pros get the job done seems like a good investment.
Your house is looking really great — it’s amazing the way the exterior has been transformed with paint, new roof, and tree removal. Congratulations on some terrific investments!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome to do that over the summer for book money! Here’s hoping Clara’s as down with DIY as you are!
xo
s
Kami says
Is that wood or aluminum siding? We were thinking about changing our siding color but wasnt sure if painted aluminum siding can be done or would last?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s hardboard which is sort of a wood composite, so it can be painted and cut out/replaced like wood can. Anyone know if you can paint aluminum siding with any lasting results?
xo
s
Mamaw says
Love the darker color on the siding as well. Love how the new roof looks on the house when compared to the old roof. Y’all did a great job, as always. Keep up the good work.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Mamaw!
xo
s
susanne says
Sorry if someone already asked…..Is that vinyl siding?
thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s hardboard which is sort of a wood composite, so it can be painted and cut out/replaced like wood can.
xo
s
Nicole says
I vote for blue on the front door!
gwen says
the dark really does make a difference! i don’t know that my initial thought would have leaned that way, but it looks amazing!
Julia says
It looks fantastic! Thankfully my brother does interior/exterior painting and did our whole house last year.
YoungHouseLove says
So lucky!
xo
s
Catherine says
Wow, that’s amazing how much better it looks with those few changes. It looked pretty great beforehand but even better now! Mind you, if it was me, I think I would have happily handed over the extra money just to have it done… and, my husband? Definitely!! He isn’t the DIY type (poor guy has to put up with all my crazy ways in that arena).
Eri says
Sorry for posting second time in this thread, but just one non-painting-related question. I knew you’d wanted to redo the cracking concrete walkway, but today’s photos (the 6th and 9th from the top) really show best what it looks like at this point, making me realize yours is almost exactly the same as mine (* and of course I HATE mine… old, dull, ugly, cracking).
So, what’s your plan? Not about designs or materials yet, but about the demolishing side. Do you plan to rent a jack hammer from Home Depot and destroy it yourself? In that case, how would you throw away lotta concrete debris (Bagster again?) Or, is it possible to hire someone?
We’ve been giving it a lot of thoughts, so it would be great if you can share whatever you have in mind at this point. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, I think we’ll have to use a demolition hammer (rented from HD) to get that gone eventually. Although that might be down the line. As for the concrete that it leaves, maybe a bagster! Not sure yet. Anyone else have ideas for getting rid of scrap concrete? Could someone use it for something if you sold it for free?
xo
s
Eri says
Thanks Sherry. I’ve bookmarked this (http://designdininganddiapers.com/2013/05/how-to-install-a-stone-patio/) so paste it here just fyi. This “local top soils place” I’ve not fully researched yet in our area, but sounds like one of the cheapest options if available.
I’ll chime in when you eventually get started with this Listy item (and I wouldn’t mind if it’s 10 years from now :)).
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Eri! That’s awesome. I’d love to hear how things go for you!
xo
s
Kay says
Oh wow, I’m so scared of heights that just looking at the pictures of the guys on ladders freaked me out! This seems like the perfect job for the professionals and I think you chose some beautiful colors for the house.
Catherine says
Oh, I forgot to say, I vote for orange on the front door! I painted mine orange awhile back (we even live in a rental – I have a pretty awesome landlady) and it makes me so happy every time I drive home.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds really pretty!
xo
s
Andrea J says
Your house looks fantastic with the new paint on the siding! As for the front door… if every color is up for consideration, I would like to nominate lime green–like so: http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/door/exterior/exterior-door-ideas/?socsrc=bhgpin052213limegreendoor&crlt.pid=camp.xYFmZ5l8rBBl Maybe with the side panels flanking the door in grey? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Love that too!
xo
s
Sara says
Looks awesome, guys! I know that when it comes time to repaint the exterior of our home that selecting a color will be so challenging, so thanks for sharing your experience!!
Candace says
I vote light blue for the door! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3-ImvFEovlE/UDL-MEQvFCI/AAAAAAAAFo0/e2tnAsRcr6c/s640/IMG_5443.JPG (leaving the shutters black).
We painted 85% of our house… and then hired someone to finish it. The side of our house is a hill that changes a full story in grade, so we were struggling with doing that ourselves purely on logistics. Now that this house is on the market… we are eyeing a sage green for the new abode!
YoungHouseLove says
Light blue is fun!
xo
s
Julie says
The color looks great! I’m not a bad decorator, but I definitely have trouble choosing just the right shades of paint. Any tricks or recommendations when choosing shades of certain colors? If not, I’ll just be going off your paint breakdown of your previous house anyway. :)Looks great and congrats on the progress!
livingontheledgeblog.blogspot.com
YoungHouseLove says
I think doing the test pot of paint thing helps safeguard things (if we had done that we could have seen how they read in the light in larger areas and hopefully picked the right one!
xo
s
katalina says
when you bought this house i wondered what you would tackle first. I woul dbe overwelmed — but then I don’t have your dyi skills!
I think you are very smart to tackle alot of the problems before winter instead of going into indoor painting and cosmetic fixes–roof, furnace and roof rot repair and I think I forgot the 4th one…
katalina says
the trees!
Becky says
I’ve been spending my weekends painting my trim (well what we can reach. we will have to pay someone to come out and get the 2nd level done) Also my siding and trim has little hole all over it because of a woodpecker. It likes to wake us up early on the weekends pecking our house. I love the new darker color cant wait to see what color you paint the door.
Holly says
Looks fantastic! We are currently working on some exterior projects as well, and chose some very similar colors for our mostly brick house. “Anonymous” was one of the paint swatches that I stared at for hours before ultimately going with BM Copley Gray (a bit more green than Anonymous) for the siding, and SW Maison Blanche for the trim. We used SW Sealskin (dark charcoal with a bit of brown to it – almost the same color as our ORB fixtures) for the doors. Can’t wait to see what color ends up on your front door! I am hoping for a bright pop of color :).
Kayla says
You guys are creeping me out a bit (in a good way)….My husband and I have been on a journey of making improvements to our house—a project that has evolved for sure. Unlike you–we don’t have a “list” of items, we’d like to improve, we are just making our way through the house. Our current project started with hardwood floor installation (still in progress) in which it was nice to see your blog regarding your own experience with installation. In tandem, we refinished our carpeted stairs to hardwoods–whew what a ton of work (we might be ahead of you guys on this one). Ok, back to floors—since we demo’d the whole downstairs and are living on subfloors for weeks now, we noticed a leak in the kitchen (subfloor was wet around the window). Naturally, we took a “time out” from floors and got someone to look/quote new windows and look at siding. We unfortunately have masonite siding and it appears to be the culprit full of rot :( . After a 20K quote to replace our old wood windows and put new vinyl siding on our house (we have very little brick unlike you)…..we took a LONG walk around the neighborhood to explore our neighbor’s siding. At some points I was (as you said) gauking and at some points, I felt the urge to ring their bell and ask them what company they used (I refrained). Here’s the funny part—as we were walking, I literally said to my husband….”I wish young house love would just post about siding and tell us what to do”….and boom—-you did. Thanks for all your help from floors to stairnoses to siding….thanks for being so open and we look forward to continuing this journey with you.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thanks Kayla! Gotta love a good house gawking field trip!
xo
s
Wendy says
Great minds think alike! Our house is painted with Anonymous and Pearly White, and I love how the color works with our bright turquoise front door. http://www.oldtownhome.com/2011/5/30/Tree-at-Last-Tree-at-Last/index.aspx
I have to say the SW paint has held up really well. We last painted in 2005 and are only now starting to think about when to do it again. Looks great. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Your house is gorgeous Wendy! And I’m so glad to hear that the paint holds up so well!
xo
s
Meg M says
While I must admit it looks fresh, I have to say I liked the color combo of the brown roof and cream trim/siding better than the new colors. But I’m glad you’re in love with it, that is what’s important, right? That is what is so great about design, decorating and people preferring different colors; otherwise we’d end up living in houses that all looked exactly alike and that would be no fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Amen Meg!
xo
s
Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says
Looks great! And how enjoyable it must be to hand over a job to the professionals every now and then. I know when we’ve hired out work (arborists, brick layers, etc.) it’s like a treat better than sliced bread in a world without knives.
Ahh . . .
Katy
Eliezia Rodrigues says
I am Brazilian, and I’m totally inspired by you. Sorry for not having your book here yet. It sure would be a great success! I just bought an apartment and I’m dying to start reforming. I’m using the translator, so sorry for any word or phrase meaningless. kisses
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! You’re so sweet Ellezia!
xo
s
Anna G says
Your home is looking fabulous! Like many others, I can’t wait to see which color you guys choose for the front door!! I’m assuming there isn’t a HOA from the comment about, every color in the rainbow being in the running. That makes it even better! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Thankfully there’s no issue with a nice happy door!
xo
s
Susan says
Our house is an oldie but a goodie, and it’s that same reddish brick like yours-our front door got painted aqua last year and we love it.
It really freshened up the 60 yr old brick and made it look a bit more modern. Mt pet peeve color with brick is yellow!
( I lived in TX for a while, and “red and yellow-kill a fellow” is forever in my brain-vault as a way to identify the poisonous Coral snake that could be found in our area…)
Megan says
I love the gray! It makes it look so fresh and pretty. That cream was really washed out and to me, cream can easily look like a dingy white.
I feel ya on money being sucked out of your pocket. We are currently working on my daughter’s big girl room remodel and the cost of drywall alone is crazy high, plus the rest of what we are doing. Feel free to watch us as I blog about it… http://thebrickbungalow.blogspot.com/search/label/Lily%27s%20big%20girl%20room I have high hopes and one happy little girl who gets to pick out the colors soon.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, I bet your daughter is going to have so much fun picking out colors! All the best of luck Megan!
xo
s
Abbey says
I literally cannot wait to see what color you choose for the front door. It’s like a blank slate now! Ahhh! Please do it soon! Ours is red now, but your yellow front door inspired me to paint the front door to our shed yellow (it is a humongo shed with a full size door that looks like a small house in our backyard).
McKenzie says
I vote lime green on the door! Like this one… if the link works! http://jenbowles.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c4e0553ef0163000add92970d-popup
YoungHouseLove says
Loving all the door votes guys! So fun to hear what you’d pick!
xo
s
Jennie says
I am loving every step of watching you work on what seems like your forever house. This one feels different; special. I am cheering for you along the way!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jennie!
xo
s
Jodee B says
Are you guys going to paint the front door and the shutters the same color or different ones? What about the garage doors? Are they getting a fresh color too? Can’t wait to see what color you guys pick. I think I’d do a pretty blue color. I love the gray on the trim!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we mentioned in this post that we are painting the garage doors and the front door and the inside of the sunroom ourselves to save money. So the garage doors will go dark (either black like the shutters or dark brown like the storm windows) and the shutters will stay black since we love them (with the front door as a bright color for fun).
xo
s
Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says
Wow that looks much improved. And great reminder to go bold or go home on the exterior colors.
My best, Lynn
Alex says
Looks awesome!! Can’t wait to see what you do with the door.
Also, isn’t next week wedding week???!
YoungHouseLove says
Alas, I think we’ve covered every last wedding-y thing we can think of but yes, our six year anniversary is coming up (ahhh!) so we have a fun giveaway lined up for you guys.
xo
s
Plein Jane says
A question on replacing parts of the siding: Did Certa Pro also do that? You didn’t have to have a separate company do that? We also have some damage up high, but assumed we’d have to deal with two firms to patch and paint. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, they did the repair and the painting. We only contacted companies that did both since we wanted them both taken care of (and knew we’d probably get a better price by bulking them) so I would just call folks and make sure they do both before having them come out for an estimate.
xo
s
Plein Jane says
I meant to ask: What has been the reaction of your neighbors so far to all the changes? I’m sure they can see the improvement, with the dead trees down and a new roof and paint. There must be a lot of relief in the ‘hood!
YoungHouseLove says
Everyone has been so sweet! Our house was pretty “dormant” looking for a while, so they all seem excited to see us showing it some love. The best reaction so far was someone saying “I love the new railing you installed!” and we said “That was actually always there! We just painted it!” – we all were cracking up together!
xo
s
Lorraine says
I live close to one of the great lakes. And our builders used lots of wood on the houses in our neighborhood. What a mistake. It rots, and EVERYONE is having to find some type of solution. I replaced ours with vinyl. Did you consider a solution like that? will your exterior need to be painted every few years?
YoungHouseLove says
We did consider that for a second but it would have been more than our budget could handle, and we chatted with a neighbor up the street who has a fully siding-ed house (no brick) and she said she has her painted every 10 years (she has lived here for 30 years) and it’s good, so we’re hoping for that luck!
xo
s
Lorraine says
every 10 years – that’s not bad!!
julia says
It looks great! My fiance works for Certa Pro Painters here in Vancouver – so glad you were happy with them!
xo julesinflats.com
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah they were great!
xo
s
Ashley A. says
Looks great! Now you can start adding some “In Progress” shots on your House Tour page!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! I wanted to do that yesterday but didn’t have time! Today hopefully!
xo
s
sarah b says
Do you have any tips, or did you get any tips, when just a small section of siding/trim needs to be scraped and repainted? I live in a 100+ yr old house that has wood siding of various ages (some is still original, while some has been replaced over the years) and in some areas, the paint is starting to peel even though the house was repainted 2 years ago. Basically I am wondering if I can just scrape that small section (like 1 ft) and repaint just that section, or if I need to scrape the entire board (8 ft) and then repaint the entire wall. Obviously if it is rotting I realize it probably needs to be replaced.
If you’re ever thinking about doing a post about yearly/seasonal exterior home maintenance (caulking, sealing, paint touchups), I would find that very helpful! :)
Ugg, sometimes house maintenance stuff overwhelms me.
YoungHouseLove says
I think you have to scrape the whole thing so it doesn’t look lumpy when you repaint, but I think you could scrape just the bad boards and then repaint them all and hopefully they’d match. And as for the annual maintenance post, we have been meaning to write something like that for years! Hope we get to it someday!
xo
s
Jessica says
I vote white garage doors with black trim to match the peak of the roof above it! Looks great!
Jessica C says
Love the new look! I love how the darker color make the dark tones in the brick just pop.
And sorry about the tire! We have gotten two free replacement tires (just paid disposal fee) after similar nail/screw run overs. Sam’s Club has a free tire repair/replacement (if eligible). Definitely recommend them.
YoungHouseLove says
No way, thanks for the tip!
xo
s
Anna says
We just got our front railing replaces and I need to paint it white. Little did I know that I’d have to choose frm 40 shades! How did you pick your white trim? Our house is a taupe color with some grey-green tones. It’s so hard to choose! I don’t want it to look off-white or muddy. Would love your advice!
YoungHouseLove says
We just tried to look for one that wasn’t yellow-white or blue-white. Our deck only had about 10 to choose from, but it still felt kind of random and tough to narrow things down, but we love Snowbound!
xo
s