An Impressive Exterior Finishing Job on the Waterfront

The first issue to tackle was a double roofline on one gable. It looked odd; even the facia boards were different sizes between the house's front and back. We cut off the lower roof and removed all the facia boards. We would install new boards that were thicker to make everything more sturdy. They would also be wider, helping tie everything together and making the roof look "beefier."

There was a large overhang at the front of the house that blocked sunlight in the porch area. The clients wanted it shortened, which would fix the light issue. This would also help make the overall look more cohesive as it would match the rest of the house.

Next up was the workshop roof. This addition started as a shed that was moved over and connected to the house. The walls were ok, but the roof was collapsing due to undersized rafters. Many were also spliced together and oddly spaced. Adding properly sized rafters, spaced correctly, fixed the issue.

We took the opportunity to correct the overhangs, so they were the same as the rest of the house, helping fix the cobbled look. After sheathing and strapping, we installed the steel roof.

The roof of the main house was the largest issue. The largest section in the front had two different slopes. When we ran a string line down the edge, it was over 2 inches high in the middle. It was also quite wavy from side to side. It required a week's worth of shimming the strapping to keep things flat.

After replacing the fascia boards, it really started to look polished. We opted for a "rake" edge corner on the roof gables as they really change the look of a steel roof, making it look more polished. After adding the soffits and fascia, the rooflines now looked "tied together."

The workshop roof was not the only issue it had; the original owner built the exterior walls with an upward slope. That was fine by itself but looked odd with the rest of the house. We shimmed the siding to get it straight and reframed the doorway. After the vinyl siding and door capping, that section blended seamlessly with the rest of the home.

The main beam on one side of the foundation had also rotted away. We jacked up that end and installed a new beam.

Window and door capping often makes all the difference to an exterior finishing job. Butting the siding right up to the window or door lacks definition and looks amateurish by modern standards. Having it done can make your project really "pop."

The client wanted a gazebo on the property spruced up. Originally it was just going to have a steel roof installed to match the other items on the property. We suggested adding soffits and fascia to finish it off, have the look of a modern metal gazebo, but have a much longer lifespan. The results were amazing, and the outdoor space created is very inviting.

The sauna was in rough shape externally. The wooden frame on the windows were rotted and the glass practically fell out when we removed them. One was covered over and the other was replaced with a unit we removed from the main house.

We added the steel roof and siding as we did with the other locations. The door was sticking so we removed it and planed it down. It was faded but pretty solid so we proposed to do a faux antique finish. It turned out amazing although the pictures don't do it justice.

Vinyl isn't a good choice next to the wood storage so we took some left over metal from the flashing and used it where the siding might get damaged.

There were two sheds on the property that needed some work to blend in. The first was new but never finished on the exterior. We added the usual siding and capped the doors in black sheet metal. The owner had issues with bears getting into the garbage, so we created two "bear resistant" trash storage bins attached to the shed. In the front, we added a box for tire storage. We will put the house number on the shed in the spring, and the shed really going to stand out from the road.

The toolshed has some interesting features. The sheathing on the bottom was rotting due to trapped water from compost left next to it. We covered the lower portion in black sheet metal and added crushed stone for drainage. The door was capped, new hinges added, and a better door handle installed so the people could no longer accidentally lock themselves inside. :)

We really enjoyed working on this project, and the owners were wonderful. They mentioned some other interesting projects they wanted to tackle in the future, so we may be back there soon.