how to design a low maintenance home with street appeal

By Ania • Zephyr and Stone

Street appeal is everything when it comes to home facades, but choosing the right exterior product isn’t as simple as ticking the aesthetics box…

When choosing exterior products, it’s vital to consider the long-term maintenance and cost of the upkeep of a product otherwise, you may find yourself pulling out the paintbrush and putting your hand in your pocket every single year. With this in mind, aluminium battens were the obvious choice for our #Coastal2Ways duplex project. Here’s why…

• Zephyr and Stone • Coastal House Facade Project featuring DecoBattens in Curly Birch — • Zephyr and Stone • Coastal House Facade Project featuring DecoBattens

What’s The Weather Like?

It seems obvious…but often in the excitement to choose external finishes, it’s easy to overlook whether a product is practical where you live.

For us, living on the sunny Southern Queensland Coast, the weather was a vital consideration. Here we’re exposed to weather extremes including hot Summers, wet South-Easterly winds, sea salt, bushfires and heavy rain. Thankfully not all at once!

We used DecoBattens as they come with a Marine Grade powder coat, making them suitable for most Coastal environments and ensuring issues like rust are not on the agenda. They’re also non-combustible making them suitable for bushfire-prone areas tested to AS3837, AS 1530.1 and AS 1530.3.

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• Zephyr and Stone • Coastal Modern Facade Project featuring DecoBattens in Curly Birch — • Zephyr and Stone • Coastal House Facade Project featuring DecoBattens

What’s The Orientation?

Or to put it simply, do you face North, South East or West? This is an important consideration as the Summer sun can cause fading of a product, even paint, whilst winds, rain and humidity can also cause damage or result in mould.

Our street house facade faces South and is on the Eastern Coast in the Southern hemisphere, which means we get a little sun in the Winter months. This combined with wet South-Easterly winds and humid Summers made Aluminium DecoBattens an obvious choice as they aren’t prone to mould and rot like timber.

We used the light timber grain DecoWood colour ‘Curly Birch’ which would fair well when exposed to the Summer sun on the East and West faces. Lighter colours are a better option on any home facade that’s exposed to direct sunlight for long periods during the day.

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How Much Maintenance?

When choosing any product for your home, it’s vital to consider not only the cost today but the cost during its lifetime. Homes come with maintenance, especially when it comes to external finishes exposed to the elements. By choosing products with forethought, you can significantly reduce the need for ongoing maintenance and also ensure your home looks new for longer!

For us, being low maintenance was by far one of the most attractive qualities of the DecoBattens. Being powder-coated aluminium, there’s no ongoing sanding, staining or painting required. A quick blast of high-pressure water is all they’ll ever need to remove any dirt or salt build-up.

So there you have it, DecoBattens are definitely a low-maintenance choice for your home exterior.

Better yet, they come in a range of DecoWood timber grain colours so whatever the style of your home, there’s a colour or timber grain to suit; ensuring it’s easy to tick the street appeal box in the process.

• Zephyr and Stone • Coastal Facade Project featuring DecoBattens in Curly Birch — • Zephyr and Stone • Coastal House Facade Project featuring DecoBattens

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