The Exterior Transformation of the West End

One of the best parts about the renovation of the West End was the exterior transformation which consisted of removing the vinyl siding and then painting it with bright and cheerful colors. Anytime I have the chance to remove siding that covers original underneath I typically go for it. So, when the owner of this cute little historic home reached out and I got the opportunity to buy it, taking the vinyl siding off was one of the fist items on my agenda. Today I’ll walk you through what this house looked like before, all of the exterior repairs we made, and how cute it turned out.

The Before

While the exterior wasn’t bad, it had a gray vinyl siding installed along with vinyl covering the soffits and trim around the windows and doors. One of the most prominent features of a historic home is the wide door and window casing followed by exposed rafter tails. All of these original details were covered up with the vinyl which only meant one thing – it had to go.

Removing the Vinyl Siding

Let me say this upfront. Removing vinyl or any time of siding that covers original siding underneath is always a risk. While you can do some exploratory investigating before jumping in with both feet, it’s always a gamble. You can find more about the process of removing siding here and what might lie beneath here. When I could no longer wait, I started along the back to see what was underneath. It didn’t take long for me to see that the majority of the original siding was in great shape although the windows had been notched out which in my experience is typical.

Regardless I was all in and over the weekend, one of the guys worked to take the rest off and what a difference it made.

It’s as if a breath of fresh air and new life came to this cute little house while also restoring it back to what it looked like originally. The best case scenario if you ask me. So with the vinyl siding gone it was time to get to work on the exterior repairs.

The Repairs

Repairs from the Vinyl Removal

As I mentioned above, the typical repairs for house in this situation are to the notched out window sills. Vinyl siding needs to sit flush up against the existing siding and therefore the window sills, the bottom part of the window trim that protrudes out, was usually notched out. Typically speaking, the sills need to be removed. This way you can replicate them and then installed which is what we did at the West End. It takes some carpentry skills but is doable.

The second repair we discovered when the vinyl siding came off was to the back left corner. Previously a small porch, it had been enclosed but did not have wood siding on the outside. We were able to salvage wood from the inside of this space to then install to the exterior after framing and insulation. It’s not a perfect match but once painted worked well enough.

Front Porch Repairs

The other exterior repairs needed came to the front porch handrails going down the steps. The existing ones had rotted out and needed to be replaced. So, we took this opportunity to make the replacements look like the upper porch railings.

A few other odds and ends repairs were made and then it was time to turn the house over to the paint team.

Choosing the Paint Colors

This was such a cute and small house so I wanted to make the exterior color scheme both fun and refreshing. I picked a blue-green color for the siding, Breaktime SW 6463, with bright white paint for the trim. I then chose a complimentary yet bright orange, Emberglow SW 6627 in semi-gloss, for the doors and love the contrast.

The After

Once the paint team finished working their magic, this little historic house really came to life. It’s such a fun color scheme that almost has a coastal vibe to it. And since it’s perched up on the corner at the end of the street, it’s a great sight in this historic neighborhood.

EXTERIOR SOURCES:

PAINT COLORS:
Body: Breaktime SW 6463
Trim: SW Extra White in gloss
Door: Emberglow SW 6627 in semi-gloss
Porch Floors: Valspar HGSW3472 Avaitrix

SOURCES:
Front Porch Fan/Light
Vintage Mailbox
American Flag

For more sources at the West End, click here.