This makeover highlights all the problems with the original façade of this red-brick suburban house, and how they were addressed with a few strategic fixes that were done in under a week – and for around $5000 total.
SECURE THE PERIMETER
The broken remnants of an old steel fence were all that separated the front yard from the nature strip. By attaching the old aluminium roof sheets from the garden shed in the backyard, which was destined for demolition anyway, have a physical barrier to the street and a proper fence. Simply anchored the roof sheets to the existing metal frame, painted it with spray gun and, hey presto, an instant fence for less than a hundred bucks.
DEFINE THE DRIVEWAY
With no driveway, it was an open invitation for cars to drive straight in and park on the front lawn – never a classy look. Compacted gravel that was finished with two coats of Pour-On resin created a new driveway, which gave parking space for two cars. It’s a DIY product that creates a driveway at a fraction of the coast of a concrete driveway. And used those shed roof sheets again to close off the fence at the end of the driveway for a little more privacy.
TIDY THE GARDEN
Scrappy garden beds and random tufts of greenery gave the impression of a neglected, unloved front yard. Make new garden beds from low-cost timber sleepers and add new plants.
RENDER THE BRICK
By far the biggest expense was rendering the ugly red-brick house with a terrific product called Rockote – a render and paint in one. It cost around $4000 to partially render the walls, but the uplift in value it achieved was close to triple that. Offset the charcoal colour of the house with a light-grey paint for the roof tiles, downpipes and guttering, and crisp off-white for the window frames.
MAKE AN ENTRANCE
The final task was tackling the front porch. Timber slat screening, which painted off-white, creates a sense of entry. Some charcoal paving paint for the bare concrete steps and landing ensures it blends in with the rest of the house.