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Question about exterior modifications.

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by L0stS0ul, Jul 16, 2008.

  1. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

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    Hello,

    We're having a lot of work done to our house in the coming month or so and one of the things we're gonna have done is removing a rear exterior double door that van metre put in our house and replace it with windows. We are moving the door to be a single door entering into the kitchen and not the family room.

    When the work is done you won't even be able to tell we made a change unless you knew the type of house we had and where the doors/windows were originally.

    Since this is in the rear of the house and we're not changing any looks I was not sure if this required association approval or not.

    Thanks.
     
  2. neilz

    neilz New Member

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    Unless this has changed, any exterior modification to a structure requires approval. For instance, I remember someone was replacing their garage door without windows to one with windows. A minor change, since other houses on the street had windows in their garage doors. However, the HOA covenants are specific, any change had to be approved.
     
  3. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

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    yes, you should submit a modification application. Here is link to document. Sounds like a nice upgrade What kind/brand of doors are you going to use. I may want to change my back door to the one with those shades on the inside.

    http://www.broadlandshoa.org/node/49
     
  4. neilz

    neilz New Member

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    We did a retrofit on the doors VM installed by buying a unit you installed on the outside of the door (inside the house). You would remove screws from the door, install the unit, and replace the screws. I believe they supplied longer screws if needed.

    It worked great, and looked nice too.

    We talked about a door replacement, but then wondered what would happen if the interior shade got stuck, how could you fix that.
     
  5. L0stS0ul

    L0stS0ul hmmmm

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    Thanks for the info. I will talk to my contractor about submitting the information. It was the wording that said:

    "Generally, no application is required for the replacement of existing doors, or storm/screen doors, that are similar in type, style and color."

    that confused me. Our biggest problem since we moved in with the home is where the rear door enters the house. Who in their right mind would design a house that the rear door enters into a carpeted area when not more than 2 feet away you could have the entrance into a tiled kitchen area? Having now lived in the house for 5 years it's become painfully obvious that we just can't keep that carpet clean with a dog that's constantly in and out of that door. Plus it's a french door that only one door opens. How stupid is that. Anyway enough of my rant :) We're basically gutting the entire back of our house and redoing the kitchen. Don't get me started on how dumb the person was that laid out the kitchen as it is now is. The only exterior mods we are doing is replacing the fake french doors with identical windows and replacing one single window in the bump out with a single door.

    I don't know the brand of door off the top of my head. Our contactor has all that info. We were originally looking at doing one of the doors that has the blinds on the inside but our contractor warned us against them. Said the cheaper ones tend to have leaks and other issues that standard doors of similar price don't. He did also mention trying to fix a broken interior shade :)
     
  6. neilz

    neilz New Member

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    Normally, just a replacement is that, but you're moving the door to another part of the house. Even though you're installing a window where the door was, you are changing the original design of the exterior from what it was.

    If I remember right, you really don't have to get too technical with the request. You can mention the type of window is an exact replacement, and if you go to Home Depot to get a brochure showing the approximate look of the new door, that should suffice.

    A small sketch showing what you're doing will also need to be included, but again, you can do that yourself.

    However, before you start work, and this is important, get that paper in front of the committee. You must get approval before you start to do any type of renovation.
     
  7. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    Take some pics of the house and simply hand draw what you want to remove/add/change.

    Bob T. - Modifications Sub-Committee member
     
  8. Brassy

    Brassy Hiyah

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    Yep Lost soul I completely agree with you. AS an original owner at this price point for our house I couldn't believe we had a fixed French door. It only took two years before I replaced it with a real French door by Andersen that i have dual screens on and the doors open into the house rather than onto the screen porch (which would have cut out room on the porch.) Of course it had to be modified up top to fit the taller opening left by the removal of the original door and we needed 4 inch molding to help cover the 2 inch difference in width! But it sure is nice to have now! Good luck with your modification. Our next thing is an irrigation system going in on 7/28-29. Koas and I will be very happy not watering by hand anymore and not worrying things will die while we are gone!
     
  9. foodie

    foodie New Member

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    Brassy--

    Don't forget to have soaking hoses around your gardens (flowers and/or vegetables). My hubby hooked up our soaking hoses for ALL of our flower beds, large herb gardens, fruit trees, and veggie gardens up to our sprinklers and irrigation systems. Therefore, all of our watering is run by timers from our sprinkler and irrigation systems for our farm.

    Also, if you need a soaking hose for your flowers around trees, I would suggest using a tree ring soaking hose. You can order one for about $15 online at Merrifield Garden Center's web site.

    www.merrifieldgardencenter.com (Merrifield Garden Center's site/info).

    You can hook up your soaking hoses to your irrigation system and let it run on timers. When Loudoun County had a drought last year; and we were restricted on watering lawns, gardens, etc., ours is buried (soaking hoses) underground and linked to our sprinklers and irrigation systems--we were able to water without being fined. Of course, we have rainwater collection barrels and other water-saving equipment for our farm.

    Sorry for being off topic--have a good week--

    Foodie:)
     
  10. Thunderchild

    Thunderchild New Member

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    I was wondering if I replace a window that has a "grid" to one that does not do I need a modification review or can I just do it?

    Also, the new window will open, where as the old one does not.
     
  11. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    Err on the side of "approval". ;)

    Submit an application.
     

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