We’ve all heard that the first impression is the last impression. Just as people are judged by their dressing and body language; your home’s value is often formed based on the condition of your exterior. The exterior of the house gives your guests, and even potential buyers or real estate agents, insights on what to expect from the rest of the property.  Therefore, maintaining your curb appeal can make or break it for your property.

Planning on redoing your home exteriors can be quite exciting. With so many aesthetics and looks to choose from; you will find yourself scrolling through Pinterest all night. While the scouring and planning phase is the most fun part – it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to the nitty-gritty.

Depending on how extensive you want the renovations to be, the cost of redoing home exterior can range anywhere from $5000 to $20000.  These expenses will include all the major elements like painting, fencing, and even some basic landscaping (more on this later). Furthermore, adding other fixtures like garage doors and decorative items will increase the charges as well.

Is the Cost of Redoing Home Exteriors Worth It?

The basic cost, averaging at around $7,700, might seem like quite an amount but it is actually one of the cheapest parts of your home makeovers, and well worth the bucks.

Revamping your home exterior increases the overall value of your property with a rest on investment of 80%. This has led to around 57% of homeowners in the US opting for upgrades in their exterior in 2019.

Now that we’ve established the profitability of redoing exteriors; let’s look at everything you can do to bring back the outside charm of your home – while staying within your budget.

Design services

The first thing you need to establish is whether you’ll be designing and planning yourself, or hiring an expert. As doable as it may seem, people often get stuck trying to envision what would go well with their house structure. Deciding whether a paint color will match the feel of the rest of the house or if a certain type of railing fits your stairs can leave you overwhelmed and confused.

This whole process can also be quite time-consuming and requires extensive research. Hence, people often opt to sit with professional designers and decide how they want the renovations to be.

Unfortunately, these designers can be quite expensive; with the average hourly rate ranging from $100 to $200. So, if the entire project takes around 20 hours – that results in an additional cost of $2000 at least.

Although a plus point of hiring these designers is that they have their team of contractors. So, you won’t need to spend any more time hunting down the right people to carry out your renovations.

Landscaping Costs

This will form the biggest part of your total cost of redoing home exterior. Landscaping requires you to consider many different factors like land usage, preparation, planting, installation of new additions.

Your landscaping costs vary based on the size of your front and back lawns, and the actual amount of landscaping required. Simple jobs like basic lawn care and tree servicing cost as little as $50 to $100 per hour while major installations and complete landscape redo can range from $3000 to $10,000 (or $4 to $12 per square foot).

Some common costs involved in your landscaping will be:

Installation from scratch – if you’re doing a complete landscaping redo, the cost incurred will range from $3000 up to $10,000.

Seeding the Lawn – this is a basic yet crucial expense to make your lawn look healthier and greener. The cost will be $300 to $700.

Sod the Yard – depending on the type of grass and the dimensions of your yard; a professional sod installation is priced at $0.90 to $1.80 per square foot but this cost can easily be lowered by purchasing sod rolls of $0.30 to $0.85 and DIY-ing the installation.

Removal of trees – to make space for your landscape renovations; it’s important to get rid of the old, near-dead trees. The average cost ranges from $250 for small trees up to 30ft high, to a maximum of $700 for trees up to 60ft.

Sprinkler System – to maintain your newly landscaped lawn, you will need a good sprinkler system that covers most of the yard. Based on whether it’s installed on a quarter of an acre or half-acre of land; the cost varies from $1900 to $5400 – making the average cost per square foot of watered ground approximately $0.40.

Landscaping Permits – remember that before starting any major landscape renovation, you might require permits that can cost around $1000.

Besides these basic restorations, you can further amp up your landscaping by installing artificial turfs, ponds, and water fountains. It all depends on the amount you have set aside to make up the overall cost of redoing your home exterior.

Pro Tip: a good practice is to take out 10%-15% of the total house value on landscaping.

Painting Costs

The average amount for painting your home exterior ranges from $1800 to $3200 (or $1.25 to $4 per square foot) depending on the size of the house and the quality and undertones of paint used. Having several windows and doors might further increase your cost but remember; simply getting a new paint job can raise the value of your property by a whopping 25000 to 50000 bucks.

The overall cost of a complete paint job can be broken down by the home size:

One story building – $780 to $1750 for 800 to 1800 square feet.

Two-story building – $1750 to $2300 for 1800 to 2400 square feet.

Three-story building – $2300 to $4370 for 24000 to 4500 square feet.

The labor cost of $30 to $40 per hour should also be kept in mind. Additionally, if scaffolding needs to be rented for extra precaution it will cost you $825 per week.

Remember that a good paint job will protect the structure of the house from extreme weather, mold, and mildew as well as corrosion – adding to your exterior’s appeal for a good 10-15 years.

Exterior Doors and Windows

Freshly painted walls paired with a new door and clean, trimmed windows can completely transform the exteriors of your home. Doors are the focal point of your house’s structure. Dated and worn down doors can take away the effect of all your other renovations. Additionally, new doors increase security.

Front Doors – $500 to $2000

Garage, Back and Side Doors – $250 to $700

Screen Door – $170 to $350

Security Door – $400 to $800

Double Doors – $1500 to $4000

On the other hand, new window panes drastically improve the overall appearance of your house. You can change up the panes based on the exterior look you’re going for; be it modern and chic or a more rustic, and boho vibe.

All in all, you can expect to spend an average of $250 to $1000 on your windows and doors.

Deck

If you’re planning on getting a new deck built on your entrance, it would cost you an average of $25 per square foot. This amount can vary greatly depending on the material and deck size you opt for. Let’s break it down based on both these factors.

Deck Size

8×10 – $1200 to $2800

10×12 – $1800 to $4200

12×20 – $$3600 to $8400

And so forth.

Deck Material

Bamboo – $3 to $4 per square foot

Cedarwood – $4 to $8 per square foot

Pine – $5 to $8 per square foot

Redwood – $7 to $8 per square foot

If you need further guidance on how to best redo your deck, let us help you!

Siding

One of the key components of your home exterior makeover, redoing the siding can easily yield over 80% return on investment. Costing $3 to $11 per square foot, the general homeowner spends about $9500 on sidings for a 2000 square foot house. Since siding can be done in a wide variety of materials, your total cost will depend on the quality and exoticness of it.

Wood – $2 to $6 per square foot

Vinyl or Aluminum– $3 to $11 per square foot

Stucco – $4 to $8 per square foot

Brick – $7 to $15 per square foot

Miscellaneous Decorations

After renovating the basic structure of your home exterior, let’s get into décor to bring it to life. Decorations play a big role in adding a personal touch to your exterior; be it pristine and sleek or more warm and earthy.

On average, these miscellaneous decorations can cost you $300 to $500. It includes porch furniture, pillows, and flowerpots. If you want to further zhuzh up your backyard you can even invest in a fire pit ($700), picnic benches ($100), and a BBQ grill ($150 to $2000).

Lighting

Now that the exterior has been remodeled to look gorgeous and be more functional, you need to make sure all that work is visible. Proper lighting that complements the paint job, landscaping, and porch furniture can take the final look to a whole new level.

Your exterior can be illuminated in many ways, including lining the pathways with fairy lights, installing tack lighting, and even adding outdoor lamps and lanterns.

On average, homeowners invest $300 on good lighting to enhance the feel of their home exterior.           

In the End

Remember, it’s always best to budget out your total cost of redoing home exterior before starting. Your property may have issues with its basic foundation which will need to be addressed to ensure successful renovations. This can result in you going over-budget and cause unnecessary stress.

Reach out to professionals to help you with every step and you are sure to end up with a house that looks inviting and beautiful.