Kerb Appeal. The Key To Selling Your Home & How to Do It

If you’re looking to sell your property, you’ve moved into a new one or you just want to give your exterior a fresh lease of life, here are some things you can do to help bring style and kerb appeal to your home. And, with some great offers here at AWBS, this August Bank Holiday is the perfect time to start.

What is Kerb Appeal?

Kerb appeal describes the qualities of a building and its surroundings that a buyer would find attractive and that make a good overall first impression which is so very important when selling your home.  Giving your home kerb appeal can have greater benefits beyond creating a great first impression for potential buyers. So, what are the benefits and how can you simply and cost effectively improve the appearance and desirability of your home?

The benefits of improving your home’s kerb appeal

Freshening up the outside of your home will help enormously if you’re getting your house ready to sell – after all, the entrance to your home is the first impression any prospective buyer will get, and ugly homes don’t appeal! Not only will a well-kept exterior make selling your house easier, it can even add value and encourage neighbours to do the same, potentially lifting the value of the whole street.

Refresh your front door and windows

Whatever the style of your property, your front door and windows can have a huge impact on its overall appearance. You can easily refresh uPVC doors and window frames with a specialist cleaner, and wood can be instantly transformed with a new lick of paint – whether a bold and bright or neutral colour. A matching garage door gives a stylish finish.

Use gates and fencing to bring style to your entrance

Giving a fresh coat of paint and updating the handle and catch can instantly transform an old and shabby looking gate, and if you have a wooden front door you could co-ordinate the two, with any colour exterior gloss or stain. Or, you could install a new garden gate from our fantastic range of attractive wooden gates – the perfect finishing touch to the entrance of period properties or cottages.

"The addition of an attractive wooden gate and fencing in this front garden instantly make the property more attractive"

Paint a tired looking fence repair any broken fence posts or panels – we have a fantastic variety to choose from, as well as a wide range of fence fixings. Our selection of fence panels offers styles to suit all tastes and budgets – from lap or board panels, to decorative screens. And, with every panel of our AWBS value board and lap fencing you buy, you get a free 3-inch fence post!

Decorative fencing and trellis can instantly transform the kerb appeal of your house and clearly define boundaries, which is great if you are preparing a house for sale. Our wicket fencing is a highly attractive and cost-effective choice for period and modern properties alike, and all our wicket fence panels are available with matching gates, for a wonderful finishing touch. We also offer a wide choice of trellis in a range of styles, offering the ideal decorative solution to enhance your outside area.

Making it stand out from the crowd is a good tip for selling your house, and our willow and hazel fence panels can help you do just that, giving a wonderfully unique appearance to both traditional and contemporary properties.

Revitalise driveways and paths

Instantly bring your driveways and paths back to life by removing weeds and moss and cleaning paving and slabs. If you have block paving, replace any blocks that are stained and brush in our Kiln Dried Sand to seal the gaps and make your driveway look as good as new again.

"The kerb appeal of this period home has been improved with new plants and a Brett block paved driveway"

If you have natural stone paving or concrete slabs, use a pressure washer with a specialist outdoor paving detergent. Clear cracks between paving by getting rid of any moss or weeds left after washing. You can easily repair any areas of damaged pointing with a suitable jointing compound, and our range of jointing compounds can be simply brushed into the joints. Use Geo-Fix All Weather jointing compound for concrete paving, which is ready mixed and available in three colours. For natural stone, we recommend the perfect clean finish of our new Pavestone Point Fix, and a stone protector, such as Geo-Fix Stone Protector, for long lasting protection.

Top up gravelled areas

While gravel is aesthetically pleasing, it can thin and wear over time. Topping up any gravelled areas will make them look as good as new again. We have a huge range of beautiful decorative gravel to instantly revamp your driveway or border, from cobbles, chippings and flints, to shingles and slates, with five for the price of four on our small 23kg bags. You can also purchase a sample bag to help you choose the exact colour you want.

Tidy overhanging greenery and rejuvenate lawns

Make your entrance more welcoming and let in more light by cutting back any vegetation that’s overhanging walls, fences, gates, paths or your front door. Give your lawn some TLC by removing weeds, thatch and moss and mowing it regularly. Tired lawns can be revitalised with a fertiliser, such as Rolawn Growright Fertiliser, which also controls moss and weeds, and improve the soil condition with a top dressing soil like AWBS Premium Top Soil or Rolawn Top Dressing.

"A revitalised lawn can significantly increase the kerb appeal of your home and make it easier to sell"

Use a good quality grass seed, such as Rolawn Lawn Seed to repair any small areas of damage, or lay new turf for larger areas – Rolawn premium quality Medallion turf is cultivated to produce an outstanding fine-leafed appearance, while being slow growing and exceptionally hard wearing.

For the ultimate low-maintenance lawn you could consider artificial grass – this is the perfect way to have a beautiful-looking lawn, all year round. We supply three varieties of the finest fake turf, from one of Britain’s biggest suppliers, Artificial Grass.

Visit one of our branches in Oxford, Swindon or Yarnton and take advantage of our exclusive August Bank Holiday offers. We offer free delivery on all our paving, decorative gravel, fencing, path edging, lawn care, decking and building and landscaping products, within a 20-mile radius of each branch.