What’s the Deal With Curb Appeal?
The easiest, least expensive way to improve the value of your Monmouth County home is to keep the building’s exterior clean and fresh. In the real estate trade, that is called curb appeal. Literally, curb appeal starts at the curb in front of your home and carries with the eye right up to the ridgeline on your roof. It refers to the overall image, or “first impression”, that your home makes to the guest, visitor, or casual observer. The structure itself, of course, plus the lawn and landscaping, driveway, walkways, patio, porch, and hardscape come together to form curb appeal.
Does Curb Appeal Really Count?
I’m not planning to sell, at least not any time soon, so why is curb appeal important, you might ask? For several reasons. And the most important one has nothing to do with selling your home. It has everything to do with it’s “livability”. Livability is the sum of all the factors making your home a healthy and pleasant environment. Sure, it’s a reflection of value, but more importantly, it’s the sum of those exterior elements that contribute to your overall Quality of Life: the natural and constructed environment, and its condition.
Look at it this way: everyone likes to make a good impression on visitors and guests – we want to be proud of our homes, after all. More important, however, is the feeling a clean environment instills in you, the homeowner, every time that you approach your home. All Clean Exteriors NJ can bring back the pride of ownership that you deserve without breaking the bank.
From Down At The Curb All The Way Up To The Roofline – All Clean Exteriors NJ Delivers.
Not all the aspects of your home can or should be cleaned using the same cleansers, equipment, and techniques. For example, many common roofing materials will be harmed by traditional power washing techniques. In fact, the wrong cleanser or the wrong equipment setting can result in damage to the underlying structure as well as the roof itself. It could even negate the terms of your roofing warranty.
Likewise, proper care of bushes, plants, and exterior landscaping before cleaning is of paramount importance to prevent damage due to either abuse, uncontrolled cleanser runoff, or simply inadequate training for washing technicians.
Power Washing vs Soft Washing
Experience is everything when it comes to the issue of cleaning intensity, and All Clean Exteriors NJ has dealt with it all! From structurally weakened asphalt roofs to the most robust stone and concrete on-the-ground surfaces, our technicians are skilled at selecting the appropriate cleanser and cleaning intensity to match both the underlying material and the situation at hand.
Want to learn more about the difference between this techniques? Check out this previous article; Soft Washing v Power Washing
Concrete, Stone, Slate, and Brick Curbs and Driveway Aprons
Curb appeal begins at the approach to your home, right at the street. Time, weather, and daily use all take a toll on our surroundings. Whether Belgian block, concrete or stone, curbs, driveway aprons and the driveway itself, over time, all become dirty and often stained beyond what a simple hosing down canaccomplish.
Blacktop, Stone, Paver, and Cement Driveways and Walkways
The driveway and walkways that approach your home set the stage and the tone for all that follows, up to and including the interior of your home. Each material presents its own store of challenges – and that’s where experience counts.
Porches, Patios, and Columns
Architectural porches, patios, and roof columns all can add distinctive appearance and flavor to your home. Unfortunately, these are often overlooked when it comes to sprucing up the appearance of your property. Each situation and its underlying material should be examined before cleaning commences, to select the appropriate cleanser and cleaning equipment.
Clapboard, Vinyl, Stone, Brick and Structural Sidings
The variety of materials used in siding, and its accumulation of dirt and stains over the years, can be confounding for the average homeowner to undertake cleaning on their own. Without the proper equipment and training, it can be a simple matter to severely damage residential siding. Proper training, real life experience, and the appropriate gear makes all the difference.
Gutters and Leaders
Your home’s gutters and leaders are an integral part of the house’s water management and removal system. When they become clogged by leaves and other debris, they create an eyesore of overflowing gutters. Worse yet, they allow water to accumulate around your foundation, potentially leading to serious damage and very expensive repairs. Gutter cleaning should be conducted on at least an annual basis.
Windows and Shutters
Clean, shiny windows are like opening your home’s eyes. The improvement in curb appeal is often dramatic. More importantly for you, the homeowner, your view of the entire world is improved, as well. A bright home environment can lighten everybody’s mood!
Composite, Tile, Slate, Metal, and Exotic Roofing Material
Every roof material presents its own beauty and advantages; they also bring unique challenges when it comes to cleaning. It may seem obvious that asphalt roof shingles would deteriorate more quickly than, say, tile or slate. And maybe that they would each accumulate stains in their individual ways. Perhaps, also, cleaning them would require very different techniques. And once again, expertise counts for all.
The Proof Is In The Pudding
Results speak for themselves. I invite you to browse our gallery of completed work to get a feeling for the kind of challenges we undertake, and the splendid results that we can achieve for you.
