Knowing when to renovate parts of your home can be tricky. Your roof will tell you when it needs to be replaced but faulty or worn siding won't necessarily show its age.
So, how do you know when it is time to re-side?
Here are 3 factors to consider to help you determine if the timing is right for you!
1. PLANS FOR THE HOME
The long-term plan for your home should be a factor in your decision to renovate your home's exterior.
Do you want to make this your dream home?
The cost of siding a home in Edmonton can be significant. If this is your forever home or at least somewhere you plan to stay a while, you'll enjoy the benefits of new siding for years to come. A siding renovation is an opportunity to give your home the look you've always wanted, so choose products with features that you value – like Hardie board for its fire resistance, or engineered wood siding for its authentic wood grains.
If this is your forever home, an exterior renovation is an opportunity to turn this into your dream home. Durable siding products with a beautiful aesthetic are a good fit. And, because you're sticking around for the foreseeable future, its an opportunity to pair the re-side with cost-saving upgrades like exterior insulation and new windows.
Only planning on sticking around for a year or two?
If you are planning on listing soon, you'll want to consider your home's curb appeal. A well-dressed individual gives a good first impression, and a home's exterior has that same ability. Old or worn siding can put potential buyers in the wrong frame of mind before they've even entered the house.
If your main priority is to improve the look of a house before selling, it makes sense that your new house siding needs to be economical. Check out our articles on cost saving options for siding to help find that balance - a beautiful exterior to pull buyers in, and a price point that keeps your renovation on budget.
If you're listing soon and plan to do a quick renovation on a budget, think about choosing a siding option that matches your community. If you've got a $500,000 lot, buyers (and your current neighbours) might not appreciate basic white vinyl siding on their future dream home. But if you're selling a starter home in a community with lower property values, cheaper siding options can work!
Do you need new siding for a rental property?
In terms of siding products for your rental house, most landlords would consider vinyl siding or Hardie siding depending on the expected lifetime of the house. If you're renting out an older property that only has 10 years left before it has to be gutted or knocked down, vinyl is the choice for you. You'll love the lower cost of the renovation, and vinyl siding is a great low-maintenance siding option as well.
If you're planning on holding your rental property as a longer term investment, Hardie might be the product for you! The up-front costs of a renovation with Hardie will be more expensive than vinyl, but because of the product’s longevity it will save you money in the long-term. It is also low maintenance and non-combustible, keeping your tenants and your investment happy and safe.
2. The value of re-siding
Think about what you’re getting out of redoing your siding. You’ll make your home's exterior look better, which is certainly worth something, but what about a more tangible value? One of the wonderful thing about re-siding is that you're actually set to recoup most of the cost when you go to sell the house.
Remodeling magazine runs an annual cost vs. value report for typical home renovations. Their 2018 report showed that replacing your siding recoups 77% of the cost on average. That was good for fifth on the list of all types of remodelling. That even ranked ahead of bathroom renovations and large kitchen renovations!
What's more, adding a manufactured stone veneer (often done during an exterior remodel) came in at number two on the list, at 97% recouped.
Re-siding is one of the most valuable home renovations you can perform and it can be a smart renovation choice even before it becomes an absolute priority. If you've got the itch to transform the look of your home, take comfort in knowing that it has a stronger return on investment than most other home renovation projects.
3. the age of your community
The age and style of your community will also play a role in determining when and how you replace your siding in Edmonton. There are no hard and fast rules for when you should choose to re-side. I've met people who replaced the siding on their 5-year-old house because they didn't like the colour, and there are many homes in Edmonton still with their original stucco from the 1960s.
Typically speaking, homeowners begin to start preparing for an eventual re-side when the house is between 30 and 40 years old. That's not to say a home built in 1988 has to get that work done this year. It also doesn't mean houses built in the 1990s and early 2000s shouldn’t be re-sided either. But if you take the time to drive through a community built largely in the 1970s or 80s, you'll notice a few things:
First, you'll notice that the majority of the home exteriors are starting to look a little bit worn. Wood siding will eventually start to warp or swell. Aluminum siding can dent, and expansion and contraction of the siding can lead to the corners separating. Old vinyl siding might look chalky and become quite brittle. Depending on factors such as UV and moisture exposure, some of the homes will have held up better than others - but the exteriors of these homes will not generally look like new.
The next thing you'll notice is that the occasional house has already been re-sided. Westridge is a great example of an Edmonton neighbourhood in this stage. The majority of the homes in this community were built in 1970s and every year a few more homes get a face-lift.
As a comparison, Aspen Gardens, which was mostly built a decade earlier, already has a significant amount of homes re-sided. This same case can be applied to many of the communities built through the 1960s.
If you're unsure about the timing of your re-side, I'd recommend that you use these dates and the rest of your community as a reference point. This information may only be a small factor in your decision, but it can help to let you know whether you're keeping pace with the rest of the housing market and your neighbours.
Want to learn more about the re-siding process? At Blue Jay Exterior Renovations our consultations are 100% free. We'd love to chat with you about your future siding project, even if it is years away! Call us today to book a consultation: