Curb Appeal Ideas Needed For Lake House Renovation

[BettyM]

Just bought this lake house and we are trying to come up with renovation suggestions for my builder:

Picture 1: Back view facing lake

Picture 2: Future garage and basement view

Picture 3: Front walkway from street

Picture 4: Close up of front view

The house is 40 X 30 ft. The walkway is 15 ft wide. Plan to remove the deck next to the house to make a 20 ft side addition. The 9 ft. screen porch on the back of the house will span the back of the house and become heated living area. A deck will stretch probably another 15 ft on the back.

The current ceilings are 8 ft. The new additions would have 9 or 10 ft ceilings.

We like bungalows or craftsman style houses. We are thinking about using some combo of brick, stone, Hardiplank and/or Hardishingle. We will do update bathrooms, update the kitchen, replace windows, replace doors, replace sheet rock, enlarge and add new rooms.

My friends think that the roof needs more of a pitch. We are debating whether to remove the roof or just do a change of pitch for the 20 ft addition which would add a slight pitch from the street.

We don't really need a second floor but if we raise the roof . . . craftsman columns would look more in proportion. Not sure the added cost of removing a roof since we probably will have to add new shingles to match the shingles anyway.

We could renovate the main house and the back of the house now. The side addition requires a variance which will take 2 months. We would like to get started now but the builder suggests waiting to do the renovation so that everything can be done at once.

Any ideas to add curb appeal to this house?

[Art]

Before you spend big bucks, hirer someone with better taste than we have.

[Rick]

house

replace

debating

shingles

would

For the money you're going to spend doing all that, hire an architect....

[BettyM]

I have the interior floor plan designed but I am stumped on the exterior design.

I have spoken to 3 architects whose work I like on new houses. All have declined the work. Hard to find an architect that will work on a renovation.

[ameijers]

(snip)>

You bought it anyway, in spite of what we told you last time? IMHO, you are planning to gild a lily. It is what it is- a servicable, if unstylish, entry-level lakefront house. The changes you list will NOT add an equal dollar value to the house. 'Curb Appeal' is close to meaningless, since you can't SEE the house from the curb. Now, shorefront appeal is something you can maybe do something with. If you enclose the current porch like you said, and go out another 15 feet, from the water it will look like a forest of telephone poles. I'd go with decks closer to water level, if you can figure a way that the stairs won't look like a mountain to prospective eventual buyers. And lots of luck trying to keep a tall deck in place on that sloped a lot. The lot looks like it was a stretch to build what they did there.

As to exterior- forget about looking like a designer house- it never will. Go for something that blends in with the terrain, and is low upkeep. Surrounded by trees like that, which kill paint jobs, I'd be looking at unfinished cedar or something, with a metal roof so the needles and leaves slide off. Gutter cleaning over a 3-story drop on water side isn't fun.

aem sends...

[Don]

"Rick"> wrote

Or a local designer, emphasis on the word local. S/he would be most knowledgeable on the codes, material preferences and construction techniques as well as budget issues. This doesn't neccessarily require an architect but it does require person(s) with knowledge and experience.

[phaeton]

Wasn't this a really old manufactured home?

[BettyM]

Yes . . . it is manufactured.

[BettyM]

You are probably right. Might not get my money out of it in the short term but I plan to live there for a long time.

I think the exterior could be improved on all sides. I see homes on resort mountain and wooded lots that look beautiful. Usually they are a combo of brick/stone/hardiplank. A siding that can be pressure washed.

[Goedjn]

Are you planning on living in the house, or selling it? If the latter, clean, paint, repair, and leave it at that. If the former, why are you asking us? Do what YOU like. Better yet, don't do anything at all, put the money is a bank account, and in 5 years, buy the property next door.