Wednesday, September 4, 2013

When a new landscape isn't enough

There are some things even the best landscape plan can't fix.  Sometimes the house just needs a makeover to improve curb appeal.  Since it's quite slow in the garden right now (shhhh, don't wake the dormant plants...) I'm going back in time to show the roofing project we completed three years ago this week which greatly improved the appeal of the entire house-scape.




The original plan for our house specified a metal roof and the builder must have cut back because the house was finished with a composition shingle roof in dull brown.  Combine this with a sea of river rock spread under the oaks in the front yard and you might understand why the realtor didn't even want to get out of the car back in 1995.  "Move on" she said, "no curb appeal".


Not so fast, the house was nice inside plus we liked the trees and the location so we ended up buying the house well under the comps for the neighborhood.  Then two years later we reluctantly left it to renters for eleven years.

Retired in 2008 and back in the house we began making landscape improvements right away.


That's better but it needed more.  By 2010 the roof was approaching 20 years with heat and hail also taking a toll.  We knew we wanted a metal roof and there was really no second option to consider.  We began getting estimates just as the recession was kicking in and a highly-rated local company gave us a very reasonable price so we jumped on it.

We painted the trim before the new roof went on.  The old trim was beige which had turned pink in the sun.  We changed  to a soft gray-green which will gray as it fades.  No more pink trim and a good powerwashing cleaned up the stone nicely.  Some improvement but the roof would be the big event.


The first step to a new roof was to remove the old shingles which made a huge mess.  I still find little bits of shingle in the flower beds.  As soon as the shingles were removed, the crew repaired the roof deck as needed and then covered it in roofing paper.

Once all that was done they started making the steel panels which were rolled with a machine on a trailer in the driveway.


Cut galvalume steel panels laid out in the driveway at the end of day one.  The roofing paper already looks better than the old shingles!
 

The garage roof is the most prominent roof feature and can be seen for several blocks in both directions along the street.  I kept a close watch on this part of the project.  Since it was the key to the entire project looking good, they spent some time planning to get it properly aligned.  As a crew they took great pride in doing a good job so it worked out well.  A big moment was when they put the long pieces over the garage.  49'-6" is the length needed here and 50' is the longest roll of steel available so we just made it with a bit of overlap for trimming.




 It was very hot,  up to 105F one day and I couldn't believe they kept working.




It's a long way up there pulling heavy steel panels.


Once the long panels were in place, we could all breathe a little easier.


The roofers kept working their way around and did slow down with frequent breaks when it was hot so it took them several extra days to complete the work.  We want everyone to be safe so no complaints.


The new metal roof helps a lot with summer energy consumption as well.  Reflecting the sun away has kept our attic and garage much cooler which has brought energy bills down.

My husband climbed up with his camera to take a look.  The natural steel roof is shiny and new in these photos, but it has taken on a patina in three years.  Pre-aged roofing panels are available for an extra cost, but we decided to let it age naturally.



I've been up there but not since the much more slippery metal roof has been installed.  Whoa, that's steep!


Looking back I can see a lot of positive changes.  One more before and after, the changes are still amazing to me as I go back through these photos.

Before, in Winter 2009 a few months after we reclaimed the house from renters and hacked out the overgrown front yard.


After, this is a similar angle from this past Sunday.  A much improved canvas for landscaping projects.


Now that's curb appeal!

27 comments:

  1. The new steel roof looks so smart and much more appealing indeed. Great difference!

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    1. Thanks, I should have mentioned that the metal roof is a popular choice for our area.

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  2. We have a metal roof and I love it! We had hoped that we'd hear the rain more, and sometimes we can, but not nearly like I imagined.

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    1. That does surprise our guests and others who ask about it. With the roof decking and underlayment it definitely does not sound like a barn inside the house.

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  3. I love the metal roof. It's crazy just how much of a difference that makes in the overall look. And that last shot with the three yucca color guard and blue palm frond peaking in the corner is wonderful!

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    1. Thus the title of the post. The new landscape certainly helped but it wasn't until the new roof went on that things began to pull together.

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  4. Big project. Big difference. Great look!

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  5. We have a metal roof too. Love it. Makes it so much easier to cool in the summer, plus it will practically last forever. Good choice.

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    1. We'll never have to replace it and that was an important consideration.

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  6. What a difference this makes! Your house is lucky to have you!

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  7. You were so clever to see the diamond in the rough, despite the realtor's efforts to discourage you.

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  8. Wow, I really like that steel roof! And it's fun to see the before and after. Much improved!

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  9. Wooow, what a difference!! The old roof was lovely, but the new metal roof looks great! Your post is always interesting because you show us the process of improvement!

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  10. The white roof makes the house look so shiny and cool. In a hot climate, definitely the color to cool off the house. My DH roofed the nearly flat roof of our woodshed last year, by himself, and I talked him into a metal roof so it wouldn't be so hard to sweep the fallen leaves off the roof. I'm amazed at the workmen having to pull those heavy strips up there on the steep roof, and no safety lines or anything. Maybe they wear special shoes? We roofed our house once in San Diego and the black tar paper started blowing over the roof, then it rippled from the heat, it rained, we were so glad when we got the shingles on. The heat would burn my feet through my shoes. The original shakes were only on boards with spaces between and twice I slipped between the boards with a foot until my leg went as far as it could. Ouch. Great to have someone else do the work.

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  11. Since we have the same roof you know I agree! There is nothing we have done to our home, inside or out, that has had more of an impact than our galvalume roof. I was also surprised that the weathered one was more $ - significantly more $....especially when the only other color that has more reflectivity than the galvalume is a white one. I liked the silver best anyways...and boy oh boy does it ever reflect that sun away. I am really happy with ours too - I always pictured our home with it when we purchased...planted a lot of silver plants knowing that one day the roof would be silver. The hail and wind storm took care of that for us. It is more quiet than the old aluminum shingles too....
    Love your before and after shots! CURB APPEAL ALRIGHT!

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    1. The savings and the curb appeal are hard to beat.

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  12. That beautiful new roof made a huge difference, as does the garden under the trees. I'd love to install a metal roof when our current shingle roof goes (soon), but since we've never yet thought we'd stay in one house long enough for it to pay off, I expect we'll go with shingle again. Too bad. If I thought we'd be here for the long haul, I'd put metal on in a heartbeat.

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    1. It is too bad, I think they'd look good on your house since there is a lot of roof showing and the house is a lighter brick. I'd recommend at least getting estimates on both and shopping around a bit before deciding. We discovered that standard shingles were not as inexpensive relative to metal as they once were.

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  13. You are right it makes a huge difference. Thanks for the great tip-suggestion.

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  14. Shirley, I love your house both before and after. The new roofing makes it more modern and smart. I also wonder the nice sound you would hear when it rains hard... The new trim colour was a simple but key feature to me, you outlined boldly all the windows and gave more depth to the house design. Well done!
    Alberto

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    1. The window trim is an interesting point. It is metal and was not painted yet somehow looks fresher and newer with the updated trim color and brighter roof.

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  15. Indeed, there's nothing like a metal roof. Alas, the only one I have is on my shed. I'm tempted to spend a rainy night out there and listen to the sound.

    Also, your finding shingle shreds embedded in your garden makes me more sanguine about the stuff I find in mine. My discoveries do seem endless, however.

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    1. The sound on the roof is usually the first question we get but it is quite dull compared to a shed or barn.

      It is endlessly interesting what you find. We once found a full set of keys, including car keys, while planting bulbs in Virginia and found one raised bed here had been filled with trash like plastic take-out containers.

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  16. Letting it age on its own was a great idea; since you refreshed the coating on the sides of the house, it should age along with it. At least it won’t look weird as compared to having an aged roof and a fresh wall and vice-versa.

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  17. You have a spacious outdoor area, and that gives you many opportunities to try a lot of landscaping ideas. Well, for me, you only need a little work out there. You just have to trim those plants a bit, so that your home won't look preoccupied. Anyhow, the new roof improved the look of your outdoor area. The color of the roof shingles blend with the green surroundings.

    Matt Kucik @ Meridian Landscaping, LLC

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  18. It will definitely help in saving on AC consumption and whatnot during the summer. Though it may get a bit noisy during the rainy season, but one can learn to live with that. Hopefully it ages well but stays sturdy for the years to come!

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