Renovating for a Modern Design and Dealing with Unwanted Guests

Our customers in south-west Edmonton knew it was time to renovate their exterior when they realized that no amount of elbow grease was going to bring their original cedar siding back to its former glory. On the rear of the home that sees the most sun, boards were cracking and swelling, and woodpeckers were attacking the siding all over the place.

The customers selected James Hardie siding in Iron Gray for their front elevation, and accented it with Black Water HardieTrim boards at the corners and windows & doors. In order to save on costs, they chose vinyl siding for the large side and rear walls. And finally, the front door wall became the dominant architectural feature, showing off Lux Panel steel wood grain siding in the colour Saddle.

Before we got started on the siding portion of the project, the customers hired a window replacement company to change their windows and doors. The window installers reported higher than usual ant activity around the south-west corner of the home, so we were on our guard for an infestation. Even still, we weren’t ready for what we uncovered: the entire rear-lower portion of the home was absolutely infested with carpenter ants!

We called in an exterminator to deal with the carpenter ant infestation over the course of two sessions. Luckily, the ants made their home in the thick layer of Styrofoam insulation rather than eating into the wood. We had to strip the siding, spray the Styrofoam, strip the Styrofoam, spray the plywood, strip the plywood, and spray the stud cavity to make sure the ants were gone for good. From there, we re-insulated the studs, installed new plywood, and new Styrofoam before we could continue. We also found a significant section of rotten wood to replace, just as a special bonus.

These homeowners definitely got more than they bargained for when they started their renovation project, but it’s a good thing that they proceeded when they did! The exterminators estimated that the ant’s nest was at least 10 years old, and they would definitely have chewed up all that valuable insulation if they’d been allowed to continue unchecked.

If you have an exterior renovation project on your mind, you need a contractor that will competently take care of unexpected issues as they arise. You can trust Blue Jay Exterior Renovations to keep you informed of any unusual conditions, and give you professional recommendations that always put your best interests first.

Schedule a consultation so you can receive your free quote!