Exterior renovation on semi, do we have to copy neighbours?

[Humptynumpty02]

Just that really, we are about to renovate our semi detached house. Ours neighbours are in the process of doing theirs but we don't like the render colour they have used.

It got me thinking, what are the do's and dont's when renovating a semi? We want to give our house its own identity but don't want to make it unsellable in the future should that situation ever arise.

Anyone able to offer advice?

I don't think you have to match, maybe tone in! Think of all those lovely seaside terraces in differing colours.

I live on an estate known locally as Balamory! It's quite pretty.

No need to match but don't go for a completely different style of you can help it.

So red roof tiles, white windows, beige render vs white render, slate roof and grey windows is a no no, Dina1234?

I think 2 different roof tiles would look a bit odd, otherwise fine

are you changing it very much from how it is currently, or are they?

In my opinion, houses ALWAYS look better when they are closer to how they were originally designed. I don't know which this is, in your case. Stick to original materials and try not to alter design features too much and you can't go far wrong.

Both of us are radically changing the external appearances, both are ugly 1970's boxes with faces only a mother could love and were purchased for the potential to make improvements. We've both been building up to this, and now we look to have differing tastes so it's a matter of who gives in I guess.

I'd try to match the rood tiles, but the fronts don't matter so much, so long as they don't clash. There's a few of these 70s estates near us and there's rendered houses next to ones with the original shingle and others with scandi style wooden cladding and it all adds a little character, but wildly clashing roof tiles on semis or terraces always look odd. I wouldn't veer from the predominant local style (roman, flat, whatever) of roof tile because that's the thing that looks most out of place and seems to be most likely to cause leaks at the join.

I've often wondered if it makes more sense in semis to have both roofs done together, so as to prevent any possible weakness where they join that might let water in. Plus if you're both having the roof tiles replaced you might be able to negotiate a better deal with a builder to do them both together?