Siding Renovation Case Studies From Blue Jay Exterior Renovations
Real Examples Of Successful Projects In The Edmonton Area
Anyone can talk a big game during the early stages of a siding renovation (you know, before the actual installation starts). So to show you what a Blue Jay exterior renovation is all about, we've put together a few detailed case studies for your review.
Each project demonstrates our expertise, and our ability to transform any home with durable, stylish siding solutions that stand the test of time.
Whether it’s modernizing an outdated exterior design or updating the entire building envelope, these homeowners’ stories prove our commitment to siding excellence for every single client.
Hardie/Vinyl Combo With Exterior Insulation
Many people don’t realise that both Hardie and vinyl siding can be installed in the winter. But this project proves that not only is it possible, but for many people, it’s the perfect time for a siding renovation!
The clients in this late 1960s West Edmonton home were tired of being cold in their 2x4 framed house. And check out the “before” photos: there wasn’t much curb appeal with the tired aluminum/stucco/brick design. So they called Blue Jay to take care of both problems.
First, we removed the brick and metal siding and installed new Tyvek DrainWrap. Then, we installed a massive 2.5” thick layer of EnerSpan over the DrainWrap, and also over the original stucco. This much EnerSpan insulation adds R 11.75 to their walls!
Over the top of the insulation, we installed Deep Ocean HardiePlank lap siding on the front walls and Marine Blue vinyl siding by Royal Building Products on the sides and rear. Combine that with brand new soffit, fascia, and eavestrough, and it looks like a completely new house!
From the pictures above, you can see that we completed this entire project in the winter. Hardie, vinyl, insulation, strapping, caulking, and eavestrough all done in December and January. The only thing that had to wait until springtime was a final cleanup and paint touch-ups! And the homeowners got to start enjoying their warmer rooms right away.
Granted, this project took us longer to complete than it would have in July. We dealt with major cold snaps in both December and January that shut down all of our crews for about a week. But given that the temperatures were below -20C for these weeks, it isn’t as though the homeowners would have been outside anyway. And we sent them daily updates with the weather, so they always knew if we would be on site that day.
A winter siding project isn’t for everyone. But if you’d rather not sacrifice two to four weeks of your backyard leisure time next summer, it’s worth thinking about!
Siding: James Hardie Deep Ocean, Royal Marine Blue vinyl siding
Exterior Insulation: 2.5” Enerspan Insulation
Modern Farmhouse Bungalow Exterior
We replaced the existing vinyl siding with new vinyl board and batten from Gentek in Snow White. The Snow White siding stands out perfectly against the new black soffit/fascia/eaves we installed, and pairs perfectly with the existing black capping around the windows.
A Gentek Iron Ore accent wall looks fantastic by the front door, and ties in perfectly with the existing accents in the landscaping.
Evening Blue Hardie Bungalow Renovation
What do you do when you want to make your home ooze curb appeal, but you don’t want the expense, mess, or hassle of removing your existing stucco? Well, you may want to consider installing new Hardie board siding over top of the stucco layer.
For this project, the clients had stucco that was in excellent shape - they just didn’t like the look. Also, their front bow window was originally built much too close to grade, and was a constant problem for water leakage. The clients ended up choosing Hardie board siding because of its durability, moisture resistance, and great looks.
As an added bonus, the clients chose Paul’s favourite Hardie colour!
Evening Blue Hardie Plank, and a mixture of Arctic White and Evening Blue Hardie trims give this bungalow a classic new look that will certainly stand the test of time. We strapped over the original stucco and into the existing framing before installing the new siding, and the results are gorgeous. And a special shoutout to that new front door - we didn’t install or select it, but it certainly looks great with the new siding!
Royal Marine Blue Siding Renovation
Beautiful In Blue
For this project in southwest Edmonton, quality products and thoughtful design choices come together to make for an amazing transformation.
The homeowners had had enough of the original vinyl siding. Chalky taupe and cream siding added no curb appeal whatsoever to the home, and it blended in on the street. Not anymore! The clients chose Marine Blue vinyl siding by Royal Building Products and Arctic White HardieTrim boards at the openings for extra definition.
Adding HardieTrim at the windows meant installing around curved windows. How exactly do we install a solid fibre cement trim board around an arched window? We use a jigsaw to cut the shape of the arch of wider trim boards! It takes patience, skill, and practice, but the end result is worth the effort.
One more little detail to point out is the vinyl corner posts. Most of the corners on the home are white, providing a bit of “pop” to the design. But for the bay windows, we went with Marine Blue corners to match the siding. We believe that having white corner posts at the bay windows would have looked awkward, and would have taken away from the visual impact of those beautiful arched windows!
Siding: Royal bevel profile - Marine Blue
Trim: James Hardie Trim - Arctic White.
Contemporary Lux And Vinyl Siding Renovation
If you've ever played around with a design program, you know how challenging it can be to add contemporary products to a more traditional home. But when it works - look out!
Credit to the homeowners here, who picked some very exciting products from Lux and integrated them perfectly.
We installed Lux Random Plank in Kona, with a Lux V Groove accent on the chimney in Onyx. Random Plank provides a lot of depth and texture on top of the stunning woodgrain finish Lux made its name with.
The Onyx finish on the V Groove on the chimney is a standout finish as well. Black isn’t an accent colour you get to see with frequency in residential exteriors (no vinyl manufacturers or fibre cement manufacturers currently offer a true black in anything but trims). When you do see it, it catches your eye! And because this dark finish is on heavy gauge steel - you won’t run into any issues with warping/cracking down the road.
On top of the cool Lux accents, we replaced the rest of the original wood siding with new White vinyl from Royal Building Products. It helps keep the rest of the house contemporary as well, without taking away from the standout accent features. New black soffit, fascia, and eavestrough round out this gorgeous update.
Exterior Insulation And Iron Gray Hardie Renovation
Major Exterior Insulation Upgrade
Our clients for this project certainly jumped into the home retrofit process with both feet! Inspired in part by government rebates for environmentally friendly home improvements, they added solar panels to the roof and a thick layer of exterior insulation to help with energy consumption and overall comfort. As an added bonus, the federal and municipal governments helped out with the costs, through the Greener Homes and HERA grant programs!
First, we removed the brick facade and existing siding. In these areas, we installed new Tyvek DrainWrap to protect the existing sheathing. We also installed new aluminium soffit where we had to damage the existing ones to remove the bricks.
From there, we installed a continuous layer of 1.5” EnerSpan GPS insulation over the DrainWrap and over the existing stucco that remained in place. On top of that, we installed a layer of 1” thick pressure-treated wood strapping, and filled in the spaces between boards. The overall insulation value of this assembly is massive - adding over R11 of additional insulation to the walls!
For the siding, the clients chose James Hardie’s HardiePlank siding in Iron Gray, along with white Smart Trim boards at the corners and openings. As an extra accent, they added a Versetta Ledgestone manufactured stone accent in Northern Ask - the darkest colour in their line.
The dark siding and masonry stand off beautifully from the bright white trim boards to create a gorgeous total package.
James Hardie Siding With R9 Insulation
Great Designs And Well-Planned Installations Lead To Excellent Results
For this renovation, our client needed to improve the overall performance of the wall assembly while upgrading curb appeal. At the end of the project, they were extremely happy with the results!
First, we removed the original pebble-dash stucco from the exterior. This is a messy step of the process, but it allows us to install a new layer of Tyvek to the sheathing and peel & stick flashing at the windows and doors. The result is better moisture sealing, a tighter exterior leading to less air leakage, and peace of mind for the client, knowing that the underlying structure of the home is in good condition moving forward.
Once the new Tyvek DrainWrap was up, we installed 2” EnerSpan GPS insulation panels. EnerSpan offers good thermal performance (R 4.7 per inch) that is stable over time and in any temperature, combined with excellent breathability (5.2 perms). Since the insulation layer was so thick, we needed to install a layer of wood strapping for siding attachment as well.
For the design, the client loved James Hardie’s Aged Pewter, and selected it as the main siding colour. Arctic White window trims add definition to the openings, especially when paired with corner trims that match the main siding colour. To add a splash of colour to the front door area, the client went with Lux Architectural Panels in the Folded Wall style. This commercial panel is a bold and unique accent, especially when paired with more traditional design elements elsewhere on the home.
When the project was finished, the client was pleased to report that they were already noticing a major improvement to the home – no more drafts by the windows or floorboards! And of course, they were loving all the compliments from the neighbours for the beautiful new design!
Modern Farmhouse Exterior Renovation
Arctic White Hardie Board
Cedar accents are vibrant against the gorgeous backdrop of Arctic White Hardie Plank and Panel. Black aluminium soffit, fascia, and eaves tie in perfectly with the new black windows, while funky new exterior lights, house numbers, and the vibrant blue front door add a ton of personality.
This is modern farmhouse done right, and the result is stunning.
For this renovation, the existing wood siding (live edge cedar) was removed and we began by installing new Tyvek, peel and stick, and metal flashings. We cut back the scalloped fascia, and cut more ventilation holes into the existing wood soffits before covering both with new aluminum. When we add ventilation into wood soffits, we use a ratio of 150 square feet of roof deck to 1 square foot of new soffit ventilation. The building code recognizes this as the correct ratio for an unbalanced ventilation system.
The front of the home features Hardie Panel on the two entrance walls installed following the board and batten method, with 2.5” batten strips set over the Panel. The vertical lines give the classic look of a farmhouse exterior.
8.25” Hardie Plank lap siding covers the sides and back of the home. The same-coloured product mix adds layers of texture to the design without taking compromising the farmhouse aesthetic. For design as well as durability, Hardie Trims surround all corners and windows.
Hardie Deep Ocean Front Façade Renovation
For some projects, the clients decide that they will get the best bang for their buck by renovating just the front of their home rather than the complete exterior. That’s just what the clients at this West Edmonton home decided to do. The original vinyl siding on the front of the home was faded, brittle, and chalky - but the stucco on the sides and rear was still in decent shape.
We removed the existing siding and installed new Hardie Plank lap siding (colour: Deep Ocean), with Hardie Roughsawn Trims in Arctic White at the windows. “Roughsawn” is the wood texture that James Hardie offers on HardieTrim in the Alberta market. The look is meant to mimic a roughsawn cedar trim. It doesn’t match the usual “cedarmill” texture of HardiePlank, so it still provides a nice texture contrast to the plank.
For the corner posts, the clients chose to match the colour to the siding, which makes the white window trims stand out even more. After we had finished our work, Justin Avery Masonry installed the gorgeous new stone to take this one to the next level.
The existing stucco on the sides/back of the home stayed intact, but we were still able to totally change the look of this home!
Renovating For A Modern Design While Dealing With Unwelcome Guests
Our customers in southwest Edmonton knew it was time to renovate their exterior when they realized that no amount of elbow grease was going to bring their original cedar siding back to its former glory. On the rear of the home that sees the most sun, boards were cracking and swelling, and woodpeckers were attacking the siding all over the place.
The customers selected James Hardie siding in Iron Gray for their front elevation and accented it with Black Water HardieTrim boards at the corners and windows & doors. In order to save on costs, they chose vinyl siding for the large side and rear walls. And finally, the front door wall became the dominant architectural feature, showing off Lux Panel steel wood grain siding in the colour Saddle.
Before we got started on the siding portion of the project, the customers hired a window replacement company to change their windows and doors. The window installers reported higher than usual ant activity around the south-west corner of the home, so we were on our guard for an infestation. Even still, we weren’t ready for what we uncovered: the entire rear-lower portion of the home was absolutely infested with carpenter ants!
We called in an exterminator to deal with the carpenter ant infestation over the course of two sessions. Luckily, the ants made their home in the thick layer of Styrofoam insulation rather than eating into the wood. We had to strip the siding, spray the Styrofoam, strip the Styrofoam, spray the plywood, strip the plywood, and spray the stud cavity to make sure the ants were gone for good. From there, we re-insulated the studs, installed new plywood and new Styrofoam before we could continue. We also found a significant section of rotten wood to replace, just as a special bonus.
These homeowners definitely got more than they bargained for when they started their renovation project, but it’s a good thing that they proceeded when they did! The exterminators estimated that the ant’s nest was at least 10 years old, and they would definitely have chewed up all that valuable insulation if they’d been allowed to continue unchecked.
If you have an exterior renovation project on your mind, you need a contractor that will competently take care of unexpected issues as they arise. You can trust Blue Jay Exterior Renovations to keep you informed of any unusual conditions and give you professional recommendations that always put your best interests first.
