Planning a full exterior renovation in Bolingbrook? Order of operations, bundling savings, and how one contractor handles your entire project in Will County.
If your Bolingbrook home needs more than one exterior project, the order you do them in saves money and rework. This guide covers what to do first, what homes in different parts of Bolingbrook tend to need, and how to plan it over one season or several years.
Bolingbrook homes at a glance
Bolingbrook was incorporated in 1965 and its first subdivisions, Westbury and Colonial Village, date from that decade. The village kept building through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, so the housing runs from compact 1960s ranches to large newer two-story homes.
The older Bolingbrook ranches have low-slope roofs with long eaves. Low slopes shed water slowly, so underlayment and ice barrier matter more here than on a steep roof.
The original Bolingbrook ranches often still have aluminum sliders or early replacement windows from the 1980s. Both leak air badly by today's standard and are simple, affordable openings to replace.
Many of the 1960s Bolingbrook homes still have their original aluminum siding, now chalky and dented. It comes off cleanly and the walls underneath are usually sound.
What Bolingbrook homes usually need first
In Westbury, Colonial Village and the other original 1960s neighborhoods, the bones are simple and sound. The usual priorities are a roof if it is due, then windows and the entry door for comfort, then siding and gutters to finish the look. These homes are small enough that doing two projects in one season is realistic.
In the subdivisions added through the 1970s and 1980s, wood is the weak point: wood windows, wood or hardboard siding, wood fascia. Check each for rot. Often the siding and windows should be done together, because new siding is trimmed and flashed around the windows and you do not want to disturb it twice.
In the newer neighborhoods built in the 1990s and 2000s, everything was installed in the same year, so everything wears out together. Roofs and windows usually go first. Get the roof inspected for hail before paying for one yourself, then plan windows in phases, and finish with siding on the three non-brick sides.
Where we would start in Bolingbrook
For a 1960s Bolingbrook ranch, windows and the front door give the most comfort for the money, and the roof is simple and inexpensive when its turn comes. For the larger 1990s homes, sequence matters more: roof inspection, then windows in phases, then siding. Both kinds of house benefit from 6-inch gutters if water is overshooting.
The right order for exterior work
- Roof. Everything below it depends on it. Roofing crews also drop debris, so the roof goes before new siding and gutters.
- Windows and doors. They are flashed into the wall, and that flashing sits behind the siding.
- Siding and trim. Installed after the openings so it can be fitted and sealed around them.
- Gutters, soffit and fascia. Hung last, on the finished roof edge.
If you can only do one thing this year, do the one that is letting water in. Water damage grows; faded siding does not.
One season or several years
Doing everything at once has advantages: one crew schedule, one set of colors chosen together, flashing details done once and often a better price. Phasing spreads the cost. If you phase, tell your contractor the full plan up front so this year's work is built to accept next year's. We keep measurements and color selections on file for that reason, and 0% financing for 12 months is available on approved credit.
Choosing colors that work together
Start with what is not changing: brick, stone and, if it is staying, the roof. Pick siding to sit comfortably with those, then trim, then the front door as the accent. Our exterior designer lets you try combinations on three house styles before you commit.
Permits in Bolingbrook
Permit rules are set by the Village of Bolingbrook. We check what your project needs and pull the permit when one is required. See everything we do in Bolingbrook, or read the guide for Naperville, or read the guide for Romeoville.
Common questions
Call (331) 250-3726 or request a free consultation in Bolingbrook.