Planning a full exterior renovation in New Lenox? Order of operations, bundling savings, and how one contractor handles your entire project in Will County.
If your New Lenox 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 New Lenox tend to need, and how to plan it over one season or several years.
New Lenox homes at a glance
New Lenox is a few minutes from our Manhattan office. The older part of town near Route 30 and Cedar Road has ranches and split-levels from the 1960s and 1970s, and the rest is mostly 1990s and 2000s subdivisions with larger brick-front two-story homes.
Will County has seen repeated hail in recent years. If neighbors on your New Lenox street have had roofs replaced, a free inspection will tell you whether yours was hit too.
Being this close, we do a lot of repeat work in New Lenox: a front door one year, the windows the next. We keep notes on each house so the second job matches the first.
Many New Lenox homes are brick on the front and vinyl on the other three sides. Residing those three sides in James Hardie or insulated vinyl changes the whole house without touching the masonry.
What New Lenox homes usually need first
In the older part of town near Route 30 and Cedar Road, 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 subdivisions built through 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.
On the larger lots with custom-built homes, the scale changes the plan. A complex roof, a large window package and several doors are each major projects. Most owners take one per year, starting with whatever is letting water in, and keep products consistent across phases so the house still looks like one design.
Where we would start in New Lenox
New Lenox is close enough to our office that many customers phase their work over several years with us. A typical sequence is roof, then front door and the worst windows, then the remaining windows, then siding. We keep each house's measurements, product lines and colors on file so every phase matches the last.
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 New Lenox
Permit rules are set by the Village of New Lenox. We check what your project needs and pull the permit when one is required. See everything we do in New Lenox, or read the guide for Frankfort.
Common questions
Call (331) 250-3726 or request a free consultation in New Lenox.