Burbank Remodeling Contractor remodels the outside of Burbank homes. The work worth hiring a general contractor for is the coordinated kind, where the stucco, the windows, the entry, the roof edge and the trim are all handled in one sequence so the finished house reads as a single design rather than a series of repairs done in different decades.
That coordination is also practical. Windows have to go in before the stucco is patched around them. Fascia work has to happen before the roof edge is closed. Doing these separately means paying twice for the same scaffold and living with visible seams. Call (747) 330-0305 and we will look at the whole envelope.
What Fails on a Burbank Home's Exterior
Stucco cracks in this climate are mostly from movement and thermal cycling, and hairline cracking is normal. What is not normal is cracking at a consistent diagonal from window corners, which usually points to framing movement, or bulging and hollow-sounding areas, which mean the stucco has delaminated from the lath or that water has been getting behind it.
The other common finding is water intrusion at penetrations. Windows installed without proper flashing, hose bibbs and vents cut in without sealing, and a missing or failed weather-resistive barrier behind the stucco. Painting over that is cosmetic and the damage continues underneath.
The Elements of an Exterior Remodel
Stucco Repair, Re-Stucco and Texture Matching
Patching, full re-stucco over new lath and paper, or a smooth finish coat over existing. Matching an existing texture takes a plasterer who can read it, since sand finish, dash and the various twenties finishes are all different techniques rather than different products.
Siding Replacement
Removing failed wood or composite siding, correcting the sheathing and weather barrier underneath, and installing new. The barrier is the part that matters and the part most often skipped.
Window and Door Replacement
Full-frame replacement with proper flashing and integration into the weather barrier, rather than a retrofit insert set into a rotten opening. Title 24 sets performance requirements on replacement glazing.
Entry, Porch and Roofline
The elements that decide how the house reads from the street: the front door and its surround, porch structure and columns, fascia, eaves and gable detail. Small changes here do more for curb appeal than a whole new paint color.
Getting the Architecture Right on an Older Burbank House
The single most common mistake on exteriors here is applying detail that does not belong to the house. Shutters bolted to a Spanish Revival. Craftsman-style tapered columns added to a postwar ranch. Vinyl windows with fake grids on a house that had steel casements.
The houses that look right after an exterior remodel are the ones where somebody figured out what the house was trying to be and pushed it in that direction. Burbank's stock is mostly Spanish, Craftsman and postwar ranch, and each has a vocabulary that works. Our background is carpentry and detail, so this is the part of the conversation we want to have with you.
Before choosing a paint color, decide what style the house is. Half of the exteriors that look wrong are simply detail borrowed from a different kind of house.
Exterior Remodel Cost and Sequencing in Burbank
Cost varies enormously with scope, since a re-stucco with new windows on a 1,600 square foot house is a very different project from a fascia and paint refresh. As a rule the work divides into what protects the house, meaning the barrier, flashing and windows, and what dresses it, meaning finish, trim and color. Fund the first category properly before spending anything on the second.
Sequencing matters: structure and framing repair, then windows and doors, then weather barrier and lath, then stucco or siding, then trim, then paint. Doing them out of order is how you end up cutting into finished stucco to fix a window six months later.
Talk to a Burbank general contractor about your project
Tell us what you have in mind and we will give you a straight answer on scope, permits, timeline and price.
Call (747) 330-0305Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit for exterior work in Burbank?
Re-stucco, siding replacement and window replacement generally require permits, and window replacement brings Title 24 performance requirements. Painting does not. Structural repair to porches, fascia or framing does. We pull whatever the scope requires and schedule the inspections.
Can you match my existing stucco texture?
Usually, yes, and it depends on the texture and how large the patch is. Sand finishes match well. Heavy dash and some hand-worked twenties textures are harder, and on a large repair the honest answer is sometimes that re-stuccoing a whole elevation will look better than a patch that never quite disappears.
Should I replace my original wood windows?
Often not. Old-growth wood sash can be restored, reglazed and weatherstripped to perform well, and on a Spanish or Craftsman house original windows are a large part of what makes it look right. Where sashes are truly gone or the house is a postwar ranch with aluminum sliders, replacement makes sense.
How long does an exterior remodel take?
A full envelope project on a typical Burbank house is generally six to twelve weeks, driven mostly by stucco cure times between coats and by window lead times. Weather matters more than people expect, since stucco and paint both need a run of dry days.